Several people have asked me recently what it is like to be a steward. I have also asked myself the same question. Mindful of the fact that I have been a steward for less than six months, I realize that whatever conclusions I might have reached are likely to change as I put in more time on the job. However, for those of you that are interested, here's my report so far.
I feel rushed and stressed out. I wake up at night (or fail to fall asleep at night) because I fear I have made some elementary error in processing a grievance. When I get steward time at work, it never seems enough to investigate fully, to write up my findings coherently, or to negotiate a settlement thoughtfully.
I feel incompetent. After many years of just delivering my route and knowing what I needed to know to do that, I now find daily reminders of things that I do not know about the contract, the various supporting manuals, the expectations that exist on how management and the union should work together.
I feel frustrated. This should not be surprising, given the two points already made. To add to those, there is the realization that no matter how much I might learn to reduce stress and gain competence, the supervisors I have to deal with daily are suffering from their own stress and incompetence. (I do not mean that as a cheap dig at anyone. I simply mean to acknowledge that there is pressure on the 'other side' too.) I feel frustrated too at the shortage of opportunities for communication among ourselves. We, as a union, come together as a group very infrequently and when we do the structure of our meetings is such that meaningful communication is very hard to achieve.
I feel humbled. Perhaps it is long overdue, but the awareness of how much there is that I do not know has been very strong these past six months.
I feel strengthened. I have been a member of the union from my first days on the job over twenty years ago, but being a union member was not a central factor in my identity. It has become one now. As I look at the declining and divided state of the union movement in this country it pains me but it also gives me hope that the movement that emerges from this transitional time will be stronger and smarter than the earlier version. Over the last six months I have come to know better some strong and intelligent people who are working hard to achieve goals that I share. That, as Mr. Rogers would have said, is 'such a good feeling'. It must be my recent trip to Pittsburgh that brought that on.
I feel challenged. For most of my life, when the going got tough I got out of the way. I did not choose a Postal career because I wanted change, excitement and challenge. The job offered security and a reasonable income with little stress and for many years I enjoyed those qualities. I also realized that I could do more and several times looked to go back to school or change jobs. With a family to raise, though, I always used the excuse of the need to support my family as a reason for not making changes. Working as a steward has been a tremendously enriching experience for me. When I am tempted to give up my union duties and go back to just carrying mail-and I am probably tempted every day-I know that would be taking the easy way out. If anyone out there is ready to acknowledge that the easy way is not very satisfying, I urge you to put some of your energy into the union. You will be amazed at the rewards it will bring you.
I feel regret. Despite, or maybe because of, the difficulties I have talked about, I regret that I did not become active in the union earlier.
Finally, I feel thankful. I am thankful to all of you who have offered me encouragement over the last six months, who have expressed confidence that I can do the job and who have patiently answered the questions that have revealed the depth of my ignorance.
PS Reviewing this article, I am aware that a certain unbalanced negativity has crept in. That was not my intent.
Certainly, it is harder to come to work as a steward than it was to come to work and just case and deliver my route. I make it more difficult for myself by constantly comparing my performance as a carrier with my performance as a steward. I had a lot to learn as a carrier after six months too.
There have been moments of satisfaction and as I think about them I realize it wasn't so much about 'winning' or 'losing' so much as having an interaction, both with management and with other carriers, that began to build trust and mutual respect.
I have a lot to learn and I hope to gain both competence and confidence as the lessons keep coming.
I would like to thank the membership for sending me to San Diego to attend the Region One campaign school organized by John Beaumont and the California State Association of Letter Carriers. John is a real professional and we are very fortunate that we have access to the training he puts on. I also owe thanks to the Branch for sending me as a delegate to the recent AFL-CIO COPE ( Committee On Political Education) convention in Las Vegas. This article will draw from elements of both events.
There were four modules offered in San Diego and we were divided into groups of about a dozen so that we could rotate through the classes over the weekend of training. The modules covered the basics of recruiting and feeding volunteers, phone -banking and precinct-walking, technology issues and getting out the vote (GOTV).
One
of the words that you hear a lot at these trainings is "universe",
or "the universe of voters". Take the race for Nevada's second Congressional
District (CD 2). The incumbent is Jim Gibbons , but he is not running for
re-election to Congress (he is running for Governor instead). In the broadest
possible sense the universe of voters in this race consists of all citizens
who live in CD 2 and who will be 18 or over by Election Day, November 7th.
A smaller universe would be all of the registered voters living in CD 2. Even
smaller universes are all of the registered Republican voters in CD 2, or
all the registered Democrats or all the registered Non-Partisan voters. This
last group would be of particular interest to a candidate in CD 2. The Democratic
candidate in this race, Jill Derby, would probably hope to get the votes of
most of the registered Democrats and some of the registered Republicans. She
would be particularly interested in identifying the Non-Partisan voters and
targeting them with a campaign message designed to appeal to interests that
they seem to have in common with each other.
[Anyone interested in discovering the latest registration figures for this
race should visit the NV Secretary of State's website at
www.sos.state.nv.us and then clicking on the link marked Elections
and Voter registration reports 2006. You will find that of the 350,000 voters
in the District, about 34% are registered Democrats, 47% Republicans, 14%
Non-Partisan and 6% others.]
Labor unions have legal restrictions placed on them that limit the universe of voters that they may contact during an election campaign. Whether we work for or volunteer with an NALC effort or one organized by the State AFL-CIO, we can only contact union members and their families. Any one who has volunteered in the past will appreciate how important it is to have good mailing lists and phone numbers. It can be very frustrating to work through a list of phone numbers and find that a large proportion of the numbers are "disconnected or no longer in service" or connect you to the wrong person! As letter carriers we already know how frequently people move around. Often we are lucky if they file a change of address with us, let alone notify the Registrar of Voters or their union secretary.
Nationally, the NALC has one clear political goal which is to get Postal reform legislation enacted. At one point it appeared poised to pass but it has become stalled and prospects for action are uncertain at this time. Since this is action that can only occur at the Federal level, the NALC is interested in finding candidates for Congress and the Senate who are supportive of us on this issue. The NALC has much less interest in looking at candidates for State-wide or local office (Governor, State Attorney-General, State Assembly etc) Other unions, with whom we have contact through our State AFL-CIO or Central labor council, have local or State-wide issues that are very important to them and they often have strong positions for or against candidates for these races.
I recently participated in a day of interviewing candidates for local races that affect Northern Nevada. Members of several unions affiliated with the N NV Central labor council (one of three such labor councils in the State that are affiliated with the NV State AFL-CIO) met candidates who responded to invitations from the council. These candidates know that the support of labor-which can provide money and volunteers to help a campaign, and which can encourage their members to vote for or against a candidate by their endorsement-can be critical to their success or failure. This day of interviews produced a list of candidates that the N NV Central labor council recommended endorsing. The list (and similar lists submitted by the other labor councils in the State) was subsequently voted on by the full membership at the COPE convention on June 1st. This generated a list of all candidates who have labor's endorsement for the 2006 election. (You can see the list on this website.)
There is always a certain tension involved with endorsing candidates. How narrowly or broadly should a union define its interests? The NALC wants candidates for Congress and the Senate who support it on Postal Reform. But the NALC is also a member of the AFL-CIO and has an interest in supporting candidates who are supportive of organized labor in general. What should it do when an individual is supportive of Postal reform but generally hostile to labor issues? Or when two candidates for the same race are both supportive of Postal reform, both generally friendly to labor, but one is a Republican and one a Democrat? There is a strong argument to be made that the Democratic Party is more labor-friendly than the Republicans. Does that mean that our members' best interests are served by trying to elect Democrats in an attempt to win control of the House or Senate?
For
some, these questions are fascinating. Others find them frustrating.
For some, 'politician' is a synonym for 'liar'. Some think the fate of the
world hangs upon the result of the next election while others are not even
aware that an election is coming up and would scoff at the idea that the outcome
affects them in any way. I would like to encourage everyone who is eligible
to register to vote, to educate yourself about the candidates and the issues,
and to vote in every election. People in the past have died for us to have
those rights and we honor their memory by exercising them.
