The Way I See It: Perspectives on the Labor Movement From the People in It
“Stewards feel helpless. We can’t get things moving in the right direction. You feel sad, discouraged, fearful. People are loosing jobs. A lot of people at [a hospital] are over 40. Wondering why re-training is not available to us. Sometimes you feel pissed off at the union and at the hospital–the employer.”–Union steward.
Desperation. It’s what drives me to work and what walks me to the bar Friday night, and on a bad week, Wednesday afternoon. My colleagues and I don’t drink martinis. We aren’t leadership yet. We drink beer of whiskey cokes, something a person in a union jacket can order loud and someone else in a union jacket won’t jeer at. We drink in rowdy places that serve free pizza during happy hour. These are places our members never go–near our downtown offices.
“Members say the union just wants their dues and they get very little representation. They don’t know how many times the rep is here. In July we met three times. Your rep was at Human Resources three times. Heard four cases. Members need to be told grievances aren’t held because Human Resources isn’t available. Human Resources has a bad attitude. They don’t want to deal with the rep. A lot of personality. The HR director across the table with the rep is unbelievable. ‘I don’t like what you said. It’s over.’ Wrong choice of words. She [the HR director] should be professional.” Union steward.
We are different from those old me who came before us because it still gets to us. When I have proof that a housekeeper is unjustly fired for stealing because a customer wanted a free room for a night, it still takes a year before she comes back to work. I get furious. After two months her phone’s disconnected and the certified letters are returned–no forwarding address. She didn’t HAVE a year to wait. I slam phones and throw things. I stay late at night to prepare for arbitrations and in the middle of the night I wake up remembering one more meeting to put on the list for this week, one more letter that I should’ve sent last week. I tell myself I’ll sleep in one weekday and come in at 10 to make up for all the late nights, but my eyelids pop open at 6 a.m. from a dream about a grievance, or a meeting with management.
“You have to give a member the benefit of the doubt when they are terminated. If I’ve been 24 years paying union dues and no problems and you don’t want to spend two thousand dollars on arbitration, as far as I’m concerned it isn’t right. Other members look at the case–‘they do nothing but grievances,’ and that’s where a lot of faith in the union is lost. What often happens–the Local doesn’t want to admit it–union members pay a fee for a service. People should be treated accordingly. Everyone should have their day in court. You should listen to what I say without feeling it’s just wasting time. The local is a business. You have a budget you have to follow. It’s a business. To treat members like they are charity cases–‘I’m begging you to do a service for me.’ Because people pay a lot of money in union dues.” Union steward.
I am just one of thousands of union reps who dance this dance of anxiety and hope, sweat it out, take a swig and wonder if we’ll ever get done.
“Some people believe it’s too [difficult]. . . Something is lacking in those individuals. Something is lacking abut unionism. . . . People say “I paid my dues.” [I’ve done my part] What do you mean? If you work for a labor organization, you NEVER pay your dues.” Union rep.
We are chased by the an image we have. The ghosts of those white men who came before us we abhor as lazy opportunists. They have either retired or moved deeper into the leadership while they wait to retire. We clink glasses and complain about the filthy slate we started with when we took our particular “shops.” Members didn’t trust the union. Reps never returned phone calls or showed up for anything. We push every day to budge this movement, pushing against a mountain of mistrust. When I win a worker’s job back for her, or return a single phone call to someone feeling under siege by his manager, I know I’m rebuilding that trust. I don’t have enough years in me to get it done, or even make a noticeable dent. It’s a living, we joke to each other, as we order another round.