Meet and Confer Chairs and Regional Steward Directors introduce Meet the Stewards program

Three dozen Regional Steward Directors and Meet and Confer Chairs came together for the inaugural Meet the Stewards program last month.  

“Our stewards might be seeing something on the ground, and the Regional Steward Director may not know whom to contact about it, so we brought the Regional Steward Directors and Meet and Confer (M&C) Chairs together to discuss issues that overlap,” Statewide Vice President Angela Halseth said. 

Halseth and Meet and Confer Chair Speaker Maureen Dunaway designed the program so Stewards and M&C leaders could gather regularly. The meeting began with workload Meet and Confers, and workplace concerns included the Respectful Workplace policy, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Return to Office (RTO) order, particularly as ADA impacts RTO.   

“We want to think about what we can do to build on and strengthen the Respectful Workplace policy; it’s not in the contract, and we have to strategize around that in Meet and Confers,” Dunaway said.  

Region 17 Steward Director Jennifer Johnson said she enjoyed the opportunity to “put names and faces together” since they are working on many of the same issues. “Knowledge sharing is building our power. If I’m showing up at a grievance hearing and I’m adding more because of what I’ve heard from the Meet and Confer Chairs, it just enhances my grievance case,” she said. 

Much of the day included facilitated discussions and sharing of best practices. “We wanted to hear what was happening in both groups and discuss how we could work better together,” Dunaway added. “Just having those two groups together meant a lot of power in that one room! I think members felt it and appreciated it.”   

Halseth said leaders are exploring the idea of the Meet the Stewards program meeting twice annually in the future.