The second Organizing as a Steward Training kept the momentum going

Energy around Organizing as a Steward Training (OST) continued with a second opportunity for stewards to broaden how they think about enforcing the contract to include what is currently not in the contract and therefore, not greivable. The second OST was held last month and was close to capacity with nearly 40 MAPE stewards in attendance. The focus of this training was “Building your Dream Team.”

“The first training laid out how we as stewards can start to bridge the gap between enforcement and organizing,” explained James Dirth, Local 201 Steward. “The second training taught us how to have conversations with people who experience something that is not grievable, but maybe could be if the contract is expanded.”

“Our stewards are a resource to make meaningful connections so our members and nonmembers have a person they can go to in the union,” Dirth continued. “Our formal role as stewards is to represent our fellow members; we have an opportunity to take these interactions with members a step further to make the connection about what is missing in our contract and what could be added so we could be more proactive.”

Last fall, Dirth became a steward and was elected to the Political Council. His Local leaders asked him to become a steward, and he agreed saying, “I have been a member since getting hired in this position and it was time to get more active in my union.”

Dirth has been a data analyst with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) for almost five years. He came to Minnesota after working two years in DHS in Wisconsin and says, “It is night and day difference. State employees are not in a union; they do not have steps, only COLAs and in the two years I was there, we only received about 2% increase.” “Retention is a huge issue for both employees and in management. I had three supervisors in two years, a lot of turnover on my team and morale was incredibly low.”

“I like to share my experience with nonmembers saying, ‘If you are hesitant to join MAPE, let me tell you about working in Wisconsin,’” he said. “We were at the total mercy the legislature, and it was challenging.”

As a steward, Dirth knows he can show both members and nonmembers the important work the union does and taking the skills he learned from the OST will aid him in doing an even better job. “Investing in your workforce tends to keep them better. If you don’t invest, they will leave for something better,” said Dirth.

“If we want big wins in our contracts, it is going to take all of us working together to put pressure on Minnesota Management and Budget,” he concluded.

The third OST will be held Friday, Nov. 1. All stewards are invited to attend regardless of having attended the previous trainings.