Public Employee Press

Blue Collar Shop Stewards train for union activism
Education for Leadership

BY DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Eighty-five shop stewards and local officers strengthened their skills Sept. 13-15 at the DC 37 Blue Collar Division’s “Celebrating Education” conference.

“Shop stewards are on the frontlines of the labor movement,” said Division Director José Sierra. “They are the link between DC 37 and its members. When our stewards are trained to resolve workplace issues, the union runs more effectively.”

Members from locals 376, 924, 983, 1087, 1320, 1322, 1455, 1505, 1508, 1597 and 1797 met with top DC 37 officers and received three days of leadership training. DC 37’s Safety and Health Dept., Legal Dept., benefit funds and pension advisers held workshops to help stewards and officers improve services to their members. And the Political Action Dept. urged stewards to boldly carry the union’s political agenda forward.

The Ed Fund, the locals and the Blue Collar Division coordinated the event, which was the division’s first conference in five years. DC 37’s Blue Collar workers maintain the city’s roadways, parks and infrastructure. They also played a major role in the recovery and clean up of the World Trade Center site. Originally planned for September 2001, the conference was postponed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Division secretaries Yesenia Colon and Irene Adams arranged the retreat, which was held at the Villa Roma Resort.

“A strong, active steward system is the key to a strong labor movement,” said DC 37 Education Fund Program Coordinator Larry Kelly, one of several staffers who conducted training workshops that weekend. The sessions helped identify problems the stewards face and stressed their important role in reaching out to involve members in all aspects of union activity, especially the political process.

“DC 37 was built by blue collar workers,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, who led a “familychat” Saturday afternoon to hammer home the connection between the union contract and the voting booth.

“Shop Stewards are political activists who have a lot more contact with voters than politicians, so let your voice be heard,” Ms. Roberts said. “The political apparatus is an extension of your contract. If we elect Carl McCall for governor and carry DC 37’s political slate to victory, we can work out solutions to our hardships.”