By Jon Olsen, Communications Staff
Anyone who regularly attends staff meetings knows how repetitive they can be. The same people, discussing the same things, with often the same outcomes. It can feel like your workday is being played on a loop.
But for union stewards, no two meetings are quite the same. A steward’s role can range from supporting a Membership Services Officer (MSO) by taking notes in a meeting all the way to arguing forcefully with an employer in a grievance hearing.
Different types of meetings include employer investigations, union investigations, disciplinary or outcome meetings, grievance hearings, and accommodation meetings. Each meeting presents a slightly different challenge, and as a steward you need to know which skill set is required for each meeting.
Employer investigations are often triggered by allegations of wrongdoing. These meetings can be described as “fact-finding missions” with the employer interviewing all sides (and witnesses) to see if discipline is necessary.
Primarily, a steward’s role in an employer-led investigation, or any meeting, is to protect the member. You must ensure the member always gives honest answers while also ensuring that they do not harm their own case. Stewards also make sure the employer does not violate the members’ rights, and that the employer does not harass them. Stewards should come prepared to take notes and be ready to ask clarifying questions.
In this meeting, your role is not to challenge the employer—this is their investigation.
Union investigations are initiated by a member complaint against their employer. Common accusations that lead to an investigation by the union are that the employer has violated the collective agreement or legislation.
In a union investigation the roles are reversed, and the steward is now tasked with finding the facts of the case. This includes building the case by interviewing the member making the accusation and any witnesses involved.
You and the member should discuss what their expectations are for a resolution. Stewards should also speak with management and try to resolve the issue before it escalates. It can be easy to resolve a misunderstanding or small mistake without a grievance. However, a grievance may be necessary if a resolution cannot be found.
Disciplinary or outcome meetings usually take place after an employer investigation. As the name suggests, it is the meeting where the employer reveals their investigations findings and whether the action requires discipline or not.
The role of a steward in a discipline meeting is, again, to take notes and advise the member not to say anything rash or incriminating. But stewards also need to begin working on the disciplined members’ defence.
You should question whether the employer has just cause, look for holes in the employer’s investigation, and question whether it was thorough. Asking these questions at the outcome meeting, and taking notes, will lay the foundation for any future grievances filed on behalf of the disciplined member.
Grievance hearings are when a union representative, typically a steward or Membership Services Officer (MSO), argues for a filed grievance. Grievances are filed for a variety of reasons, including as a response to discipline by the employer or complaints that employer has violated an employee’s rights.
Stewards and the employer stand on equal ground in grievance hearings. When you present your arguments in the hearing room you do so as a union representative, not an employee. You can go toe-to-toe with the employer in a grievance hearing without fear of reprisal. But even though there are allowances in arguing the case, you should always be respectful—argue the case, not the person.
Stewards are expected to present the facts of the grievance; address the collective agreement articles that have been violated; argue against the employer’s position, investigation, and outcome; and state why the grievance should be upheld and what the desired resolution is.
Accommodation meetings are related to the Duty to Accommodate provisions of the Alberta Human Rights Act. Unlike other meetings, an MSO must be present at an accommodation meeting.
Even with an MSO in attendance, stewards play a vital role in accommodation meetings. They are expected to support the member, ensure their rights are not being violated, and as always, take notes. You will also consult with the MSO and the member seeking an accommodation.
While the differences between the skill sets needed to navigate each meeting may be subtle, they are important. Not knowing your role in a meeting could lead to serious repercussions for you or the member you are defending. A steward always needs to be aware of what their role is and how to meet those expectations.