This June, AUPE members from across the province attended the union’s annual Steward Workshops. Two workshops were in Edmonton, and one was in Calgary. These were exciting days of education and activism, as the workshops brought some of the best stewards and worksite advocates in the province under one roof.
These workshops are available to all stewards in good standing. Susan Slade, AUPE Vice-President and chair of the Membership Services committee, encourages all eligible members to attend future workshops.
“Our Steward Workshops are always a great experience, and this year was no different,” she says. “Building a strong worksite presence is how we build a strong union. It was great to see so many stewards eager to participate.”
Members spent the time reviewing union steward fundamentals as well as exploring brand new aspects of being an AUPE steward. For example, all stewards, including Chief Stewards, will work with and be supported by Headquarters' new Facilitation and Mentorship Membership Services Officers.
New Chief Steward Position
AUPE’s Provincial Executive (PE) has made electing Chief Stewards a priority. Under PE’s direction, a strategic planning group worked to reinvigorate the Chief Steward position, as well as devising strategies to recruit and retain new shop stewards.
Chief Stewards are elected at special meetings involving all stewards from a Local. These special election meetings will be held every two years, just like Executive elections, and Chief Stewards will serve for two-year terms, also just like the elected Executive.
A Chief Steward’s duties include educating and mentoring other stewards and members, organizing and mobilizing their coworkers, acting as a source of knowledge about the union, as well as common steward tasks like filing grievances and attending investigation and grievance meetings.
AUPE’s Chief Stewards will gather on October 11, 2023, for a province-wide workshop, where they will refine their public speaking, organizing, and mentorship skills.
“We have to be there for each other. We have to get organized again and we have to have each other's backs. That’s the key to a successful union, and having a strong group of stewards will help us get there.”
Mobilizing Your Co-workers
Stewards are grievance and labour relations specialists, but not all are experienced organizers. Mobilizing Co-workers was one of our key workshops, designed to bridge the gap in our collective organizing knowledge. Stewards learned how to identify worksite leaders, have meaningful organizing conversations, and plan worksite mobilization.
Things got fun when members participated in a murder-mystery style activity designed to test participants’ identification and critical thinking skills. Slade says this was the most exciting workshop out of the bunch.
“You learn more when you’re enjoying yourself,” she says. “Holding a workshop on organizing and mobilizing—a very serious topic—could have been predictable. Instead, we put stewards’ skills to the test in a fun, energizing way.”
Grievance Writing Practice
Of course, a steward’s main job is representing coworkers and filing grievances. To that end, each Steward Workshop included grievance writing practice sessions. Members had the opportunity to analyze and write a report on several hypothetical grievances, some straightforward and others complicated.
For the most part, longtime stewards teamed up with newer stewards to work on this activity.
“Experienced stewards helping newer stewards only makes sense,” says Slade. “The very act of teaching is a refresher for longtime stewards as well. That’s what solidarity and teamwork looks like. This reflects how we want our relationships with each other to play out for real at our worksites.”
Participants also relied on the new Life of a Grievance flowchart, a project that came out of AUPE’s Strategic Plan. The flowchart makes it easy for stewards to determine if an issue is grievable and what is likely to happen with it, such as settlement or arbitration.
Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
Grievances related to inclusion, diversity, and equity (IDE) are becoming more common as society comes to accept, and discriminate against, new forms of sexuality and gender expression. During the workshops, stewards learned of other ways to fight discrimination at work, such as filing harassment or human rights complaints and taking collective workplace action.
Not only does IDE matter when it comes to grievances and bosses mistreating workers, it also matters when it comes to how we treat each other. AUPE’s statement of equality is clear that all members are to be welcomed and treated fairly. In short, IDE issues are union issues.
Members had an important discussion on pronouns, gender, and how human rights relate to respectful and accepting workplaces. Slade says it is important to have these conversations in safe and judgement-free environments.
“Most people have good intentions, but not all of us are knowledgeable about these issues,” she says. “Our Steward Workshops were an open, safe space to have these conversations about gender and other topics related to inclusion, diversity, and equity.”
A stressful situation
Workshop participants also heard from registered social worker Barb Barber. She led discussions on how to manage mental health and stress. One key takeaway from Barber’s talk was that you must care for yourself first before you can care for others.
“Just like they tell you when you fly on an airplane, you have to secure the mask over your own face before you’re able to help the person next to you,” says Slade.
The conversation then refocused on the role of stewards in caring for our coworkers. Many of us believe we should mind our own business when it comes to our coworkers and what troubles them, but being a steward means it is your responsibility to help if you can, especially if they are troubled because of a work-related issue.
“We have to be there for each other,” says Slade. “We have to get organized again and we have to have each other's backs. That’s the key to a successful union, and having a strong group of stewards will help us get there.”