Shop Steward Responsibilities

The Steward's Responsibilities.

Once unions are recognized as the representative of the workers and have successfully negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, they then have the responsibility to enforce the terms of that agreement. Over time, unions and employers have agreed in the contract to use a grievance procedure to settle disputes while the contract is in effect. Normally, this procedure involves several steps and ends in binding arbitration if the two sides are unable to resolve the problem at any of the steps in the grievance procedure.

Because the union is the exclusive representative, it alone controls the grievance procedure, and only the union decides which grievances will proceed to arbitration. With this right comes the responsibility to fairly represent everyone covered under the contract and to ensure that everyone is given equal access to the grievance procedure. Despite the fact that the union owns the grievance procedure, an individual worker may choose to represent him or herself in a grievance. However, even though a worker may decide to bypass the union in his or her grievance, the union has the sole right to decide if that grievance can proceed to arbitration.

The steward, as shop-floor representative of the union, plays an important role in the grievance procedure. Stewards are the representatives of workers in grievances and in grievance meetings with the company. Stewards also investigate grievances to collect the information necessary for the union to prepare its case. In addition, stewards are entitled to be present when management conducts investigatory interviews of workers.

In investigating grievances, it is important to ask some key questions:

• Who is involved in the grievance?
  
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• What happened?
  
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• When did the grievance occur?
  
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• Where did the events take place?
  
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• Why did the grievance happen?
  
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• How did the grievance occur?
  

In conducting a thorough investigation, you should interview all witnesses, request all relevant information from management in regard to the case, review the contract to see what violations occurred, look to see if a past practice was violated, and examine to see if there are arbitration awards on similar situations. Additionally, it is crucial that you document you investigation, especially interviews with witnesses, because if a case goes to an arbitrator, the arbitrator will make his or her decision based on the evidence that you are uncovering.

When you are representing a grievant, you need to go into a meeting prepared to provide the best arguments for your case. That means that you should have done a preliminary investigation, understand what facts support your argument, anticipate what arguments management will make, and understand what it will take for you to settle the grievance. As the union steward, you have the right to speak for the grievant and should exercise that right in most cases.

In presenting a grievance, you should remember that while you are seeking to resolve the problem, your primary responsibility is to represent the grievant. Present the facts and circumstances that led to the grievance, listen to management’s response to see if there is any room to settle, and if not, end the meeting. You are under no obligation to agree with management at this meeting. If you cannot resolve the grievance at this step, take the necessary action to move the grievance to the next step.

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