Mentoring New Stewards Means Building a Stronger Union!
As a leader and steward in your workplace, your job is to identify and mentor new stewards; but, recruiting members to serve as stewards can be one of the most challenging tasks in union-building. How can you know if the person volunteering is the right individual for the job? Are they a natural leader? Do they have a unique set of skills? Do they have the right motivations? Can you find individuals that are representative of your entire membership--job classifications, age, race, gender? Choosing the right person is both about them and their ability to help all members feel they have a voice in the union.
All prospective candidates, those that volunteer and those coaxed into the role, need to feel that they are up to the task. One way we can help with this is to mentor, offer resources, and give support to help them grow into their new role. Ask yourself: What concerns did you have when you first became active in your local union? What do you wish others had told you? (Other than don’t do it!) What was the best piece of advice you ever got? It’s a big step for a member to take on this role, so a bit of help goes a long way. Here are a few basic resources and bits of advice that can help on the journey:
Make sure prospective candidates receive basic steward training before starting in their new roles.
We have new steward training sessions that are hosted regularly. Make sure new stewards are signed up before they are placed into the role.
Provide the tools for them to do the job.
Make sure they have a copy of the CBA, Union Reps contact information, access to union applications and grievance pads.
Make sure they take advantage of continued training offered by the union. You can find these in the steward newsletter or on the upcoming events page.
Follow up frequently and listen to their concerns.
Meet with the new steward regularly. This allows you to give guidance and for each of you to share your experiences.
Be supportive.
These are difficult jobs; a pat on the back and telling someone "good job" can make a big difference to a new steward.
If they make a mistake, help them learn from it and don’t let it discourage them.
Have stewards-only meetings with your Union Representative.
Organizing regular stewards-only meetings with your Union Representative creates a space for other stewards to share their knowledge and experiences in a group setting.
It makes it harder for the Company to divide the Union if we are all on the same page.
Be a good communicator on every level.
Stewards need to know what is going on to do their jobs effectively.
Nothing will frustrate a person more than to find out they are giving out the wrong information. This is an excellent way to lose good people.
Remember that as a mentor, you will likely learn much from those you are mentoring. So be ready to be open to those lessons. Working together makes us all better. We are not just filling an empty Stewards position; we are building a stronger Union. Our role as leaders is to make sure that happens and that the future of the Union will continue to grow after we have stepped down or retired from our positions.
