The job of a steward is the most challenging, most rewarding and most important job in our union. That’s because you are on the front lines of our fight to protect our members’ rights and bring fair and decent treatment to the workplace.
Stewards have an immeasurable impact on the members’ faith and belief in the union. In the eyes of most HGEA members, you are the union. The steward is the one union person our members see every day when they go to work. Members and non-members alike form opinions about the union’s effectiveness based, in large part, on the actions of their steward. Those opinions then have a ripple effect. They play a big part in your co-workers’ decision to join the union and then, once a member, become more active in the union.
A union’s strength comes from good, old-fashioned hard work. It comes from you, the steward, carrying out a number of roles – leader, organizer, communicator, representative, educator and problem solver. By performing these steward tasks, you will gain the confidence and respect of your co-workers. You will earn management’s respect. Our union – your union – will be stronger and better able to protect workers’ rights and fight for improvements in wages, hours, working conditions and quality of life on the job.
There is a phrase, a cliché that says “the steward is the backbone of the union.” This is one time when a cliché is right on the money. Stewards are the backbone of our union – HGEA.
For more information, contact the HGEA Member Service Center at (808) 543-0000 or email service@hgea.org.