Public Employee Press

Blue Collar Cconference
Stewards sharpen skills for helping members

Nearly 150 shop stewards from 12 locals spent a recent weekend becoming stronger on-the-job advocates for their Blue Collar Division co-workers.

The Oct. 5-7 conference in Lake Harmony, Penn., provided the stewards with an opportunity to share war stories about their work sites, discuss techniques for resolving conflicts with management and deepen their knowledge about using working condition contracts and labor laws to protect members.

“We received a lot of input from local presidents and activists to design a conference that would address the needs of shop stewards, who are the union’s key players in the workplace,” said Blue Collar Division Director José Sierra. “We presented a lot of important information, and many of the stewards said they came away feeling a lot more confident about being able to speak up and defend their co-workers.”

Stronger grievance skills
Traffic Device Maintainer Kenny Ghany said the conference helped clarify how he could better use his contract to protect the rights of his co-workers. “I was able to ask questions about some issues that weren’t clear to me,” Ghany said. He said the session on workplace safety, led by Director Lee Clarke and Principal Program Coordinator Guille Mejia of the DC 37 Safety and Health Dept., was particularly helpful.

City Parks Worker Ethel Taylor, a Local 1505 executive board member, said she deepened her knowledge of the job specifications of the titles represented by her local.

She will now be on firmer ground while working on out-of-title grievances. “I learned a lot about the contract and workplace rules and regulations, which I will be able to go back and share with my members,” Taylor said.

The conference included discussions of Workers’ Compensation, the role of the shop steward, collective bargaining and pensions. To address the unique concerns of the division’s job titles, local unions also held their own workshops led by their presidents with other officers and DC 37 reps. The stewards also enjoyed a session in which they considered three arbitration cases.

During a morning session on the last day of the conference, participants got a rundown on the various benefits and services offered by the union.

Additional speakers and panelists included Associate Director Oliver Gray, Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido, Research and Negotiations Director Dennis Sullivan, Interim Organizing Director Edgar deJesús, Blue Collar Assistant Director Danny J. Ambrosini, Sr. General Counsel Robin Roach, Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli, DC 37 benefit fund staffers Viviana Tillman, Larry Kelly, Dennis Deahn, Eric Reid and David Boyd, attorneys Matt Funk and Robert Grey and AFSCME trainer Yolanda Medina.
The union locals attending the conference included 983, 1087, 1320, 1322, 1455, 1505, 1506, 1507, 1508, 1597, 1797 and 2906.

— Gregory N. Heires