Members in Meetings: A Good Idea?

Dear Teamster Troublemaker,

I’m a steward, and the supervisor likes to cut deals behind members’ backs; he doesn’t want members present when we meet. Should I bring members into grievance meetings anyway?

— Not Horsing Around

Absolutely. I do it all the time.

First of all, it’s just great to let the member see how the process works, and get them involved in their own case. And it builds trust between you and the grievant.

Get your grievant to tell their story, and say what they saw. It’s great to watch the sups squirm when your grievant has evidence that contradicts management’s story of what happened.

Finally, management knows they can’t horse trade with you when the member is staring right at them.

Now, I’ve had some managers come up to me after the meeting, and try to wheel and deal then. I just tell them I’m going to bring the grievant over so we can discuss the settlement.

It’s usually good to bring the member in. But you’ve got to do a little more legwork upfront. But trust me: you’ll spend less time later explaining to the grievant what happened.

Before the meeting, I sit down with the member, and make sure they know what to expect and what I want them to do.

Go over with the member what they’re going to say, and not say. If your grievant changes their story in the middle of your meeting, your case is sunk.

Make sure they know to talk about what they saw firsthand. It doesn’t help to talk about what Sally said she heard from John, who heard it from Jose….That’s just hearsay. It doesn’t help your case.

If things aren’t going well in the meeting, I stop the meeting and take the member out for a caucus. I let them know they can pass me a note and stop for a caucus anytime.

One word of warning: make sure your grievant can keep their cool in the meeting.

As a steward, you have some degree of protection if you blow up at management. The grievant doesn’t. They can be disciplined for insubordination. If you don’t think they can keep it together, leave them out of the meeting.

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