Roles and Responsibilities - EDUCATOR

The steward has the responsibility of educating the members in his/her department, both the old and new, about the collective bargaining agreement, union policy, and why changes occurred. Listed below are some of the things that the steward should do and know to fulfill the role of educator and suggestions as to how to do them:

The Steward as an Educator

What You Do:

1. Keep members fully informed.
2. Discuss and explain policies.
3. Tell about union counseling.
4. Clarify union objectives.
5. Explain legislative program.
6. Stress registering and voting.
7. Interpret labor legislation.
8. Tell economic "facts of life".

What You Need To Know:

1. Informed members are loyal members.
2. What your union is doing.
3. Social agencies and programs available in the community.
4. Union history.
5. How laws are make and their impact on unions.
6. Responsibilities of citizenship.
7. How labor laws operate.
8. How our system functions

How You Go About It:

1. Make person-to-person contact daily – tell your story – ask for ideas.
2. Hold regular department meetings to tell your people what’s going on.
3. Distribute union periodicals and literature – check mailing lists.
4. Enlarge your own knowledge by attending classes whenever available and share this knowledge with your fellow members.
5. Keep your communication lines open – invite criticism, suggestion and full discussion.