Stewards lead the way doing real representation

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When our members find themselves facing conflict in the workplace over contract language, their first line of defense is their Job Steward. Across the state, more than 800 SEIU Local 1000 members have stepped up to act in the role of advocate for their coworkers – receiving regular and thorough training in our contract and the codes and regulations that protect our rights and working conditions.

Many issues are solved through meetings with management. When we’re unable to reach a solution, we will file a grievance and initiate a process that brings to bear the full resources of our representational staff, which includes specialists at our Union Resource Center and our union’s team of labor attorneys.

Recently, one of our represented employees at DMV called our Union Resource Center—after her scheduled shift—because managers in her office were preventing employees from calling Local 1000 “on their own time or during breaks.”

This is a clear violation of our contract, Article 2.7 Employee Time Off, which reads in part:  Employees shall be entitled to reasonable time off without loss of compensation to confer with a Union representative on representational matters at the work site in accordance with section 2.2 above during work hours, subject to approval of the employee’s supervisor.

It took a number of calls and discussions with the local DMV office management, and higher up the DMV chain of command, to resolve this issue. Now, the employees are able to conduct Union business during work time.

Having a strong union means having the power to protect our rights and enforce our contract, and a powerful search tool allows our members easy-to-use access to the hundreds of contract articles that govern our wages, benefits and working conditions.

If you’re looking for information about sick leave, vacation accrual, or how to take advantage of an upward mobility program in your department, the answers are just a click away at contract.seiu1000.org