Educate Your Members Regarding Their Contract

The more they understand, the easier your job will be

Stewards who continually educate their members not only reduce their own workload, but also build solidarity within their local. Education is important in a number of areas -- safety, how unions work, and the union advantage -- but no area is more important than the contract you work under.

The union contract is the single most important fact of union life. Your contract defines the relationship between your local and your employer. Without a written contract that is binding under law, we would be no better off than nonunion workers.

Yet many union members have no idea what is in their contract or how important it is. Many don't even truly understand what a union contract is or why union members have fought and died for the right to bargain collectively with their employers.

A union contract sets down in writing what an employer can or cannot do. It also defines what rights union members have and how those rights can be enforced. Members often overlook the most fundamental parts of the contract and focus on the economic parts -- the wages, paid holidays, vacations, etc.

Those parts are important, and union contracts nearly always guarantee much better economic conditions than workers can get without a contract. But they can only be effective because the contract gives the union the power to negotiate with the employer.

The single most important aspect of any contract is the union recognition clause. It's usually the first thing in the contract, and it rarely changes, so we may overlook it. The union recognition clause gives your local jurisdiction over the classifications and type of work covered in the agreement.

You probably won this right through a union election certified by the appropriate labor board. But that certification really doesn't mean much until you sign a contract with the company which includes the recognition clause.

That's when you really begin to represent your members.

The grievance procedure is another aspect of contracts too often overlooked by the average member. This section of the contract spells out exactly how the company and the union will work out problems that arise when a member believes he or she is not being treated fairly. Grievance procedures vary from contract to contract, but they usually include several steps, the final one being an appeal to a neutral third party.

The significance of that last part is easy to overlook. No businessman wants to let anyone else tell him how to run his business. And yet, because of the collective power of organized workers, virtually every union contract includes a clause that says if the company and the union can't agree how to handle a problem, the company agrees to let some outside person decide what should be done -- and they will abide by that person's decision.

Steward's Sourcebook

To learn more about the educational opportunities available from the International, or to schedule a steward training session for your local lodge, contact Education and Training Services.