Public Employee Press

Local 1501 trains stewards in grievance handling

The new contract, bargaining and representing and empowering members were among the wide range of topics covered at Wildlife Conservation Society Local 1501’s first shop steward training held March 9-11 in Rye Brook, N.Y.

“We provided the training to bring our stewards and officers up to speed and onto the same page,” said Local 1501 President Marty Zybura. The local represents Maintainers, Attendants, Keepers, Food Service staff and Gardeners at the Coney Island Aquarium and the zoos in Brooklyn, Queens, Central Park and the Bronx.

Zybura planned the retreat with DC 37 White Collar Division Director Mike Riggio and the Education Fund.

“At first members just listened, but gradually they opened up and participated more,” said Riggio. “They presented issues they encounter at work, and by the end, everybody was ecstatic about what they learned.”

DC 37 Ed Fund Coordinator Larry Kelley taught the local’s 25 stewards and officers about the importance of listening and communicating when investigating grievances and representing members. Participants also learned the local’s history, and the roles AFSCME and DC 37 play.

“One highlight was learning the investigative process of grievances,” said Marcy Farley, a Sr. Wild Animal Keeper and shop steward at Queens Zoo.

Investigating grievances
“As shop stewards and elected officials, we are on equal footing with management when investigating a grievance,” she said. “We are responsible for empowering our members and getting them to understand they have rights and the union will back them up.”

“It was great to get information directly from DC 37,” Zybura said. “We benefited from their expertise,” which reinforced union solidarity, he said.

“What these guys learned in two days took me two years of trial-and-error to figure out,” said Vice President Bob Herkommer, a 17-year Wildlife Conservation Society veteran.

The local plans future training sessions to immerse newcomers and retrain others. “To build on this, we’d like to plan satellite refresher courses at the workplace,” Zybura said.

“Each year management gets more and more sophisticated, and we have to be prepared. We can’t afford to go in as novices,” said Zybura. “There’s too much at stake.”

— Diane S. Williams