Nobody's Perfect

We all make mistakes. We're human. Shop stewards even make mistakes. Some of these mistakes are particularly serious. Here is a list of 20 mistakes that shop stewards make. Read them over. Nod your heads. But don't make them again!

· Always wait until a worker comes to you with a grievance.

· Walk around the worksite with a chip on your shoulder.

· Pretend to know all the answers to all problems.

· Give out false information or spread rumors.

· Fail to keep members posted on disposition of grievances.

· Violate company rules.

· Violate the contract.

· Always try to talk members out of filing grievances.

· Present a grievance that isn't one.

· Forget to investigate a grievance thoroughly before handling.

· Blow up when dealing with the supervisor or workers.

· Use profane language to intimidate the boss.

· Argue a grievance by taking personal issue with the supervisor and directing personal remarks.

· Miss membership meetings.

· Bawl out a member in front of co-workers or in front of a supervisor.

· Stall when workers call you.

· Keep all the information to yourself.

· Permit workers to push you around.

· Enhance the supervisor's prestige by permitting the supervisor to use you as means of doing his / her dirty work, such as enforcing company rules or calling the workers down for minor abuse of certain privileges negotiated by the union.

· Manage the workers.

Employers often assert that the only role of a steward at an investigatory interview is to observe the discussion, in other words to be a silent witness. The Supreme Court, however, clearly acknowledged a steward's right to assist and counsel workers during the interview. Decided cases establish the following procedures:

When the steward arrives, the supervisor must inform the steward of the subject matter of the interview, i.e. the type of misconduct for which discipline is being considered (theft, lateness, drugs, etc.)

The steward must be allowed to take the worker aside for a private pre-interview conference before questioning begins.

The steward must be allowed to speak during the intervieerg-Iversonw. However, the steward does not have the right to bargain over the purpose of the interview.

The steward can request that the supervisor clarify a question so that the worker can understand what is being asked.

After a question is asked, the steward can give advice on how to answer.

When the questioning ends, the steward can provide additional information to the supervisor.

It must be emphasized that if the Weingarten rules are complied with, stewards have no right to tell workers not to answer questions, or to give false answers. Workers can be disciplined if they refuse to answer questions.

"The company will pay Stewards, members of the Shop Committee and aggrieved employees at their regular hourly rate, or average hourly earnings, whichever is greater, for time spent in processing grievances in accordance with the provisions of this agreement."