Steward Spotlight: Region 17

It wasn’t long after starting her job with the State that Jennifer Johnson found herself working in a toxic work environment and seeking help from her union, MAPE.

Since then, she’s remained active in MAPE and is current Region 17 Chief Steward, serving from her longtime post at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake.

“There aren’t too many of us stewards in Region 17, so I first got involved out of necessity,” Johnson said. “But since then I’ve had the opportunity to build some really good working relationships with our management.”

Johnson said by staying cordial and in communication with management, it gives stewards and leadership a chance to bring up rising issues or concerns before they bubble into bigger problems.

“That’s been a really cool thing, just collectively getting the experience and building that confidence to see myself as an equal with management and learning from those who led before me,” Johnson said. 

Johnson said with Region 17 being rather spread out, and having three locals, there is always a need for more stewards.

“We’re always looking for that talent,” she said. “You can set the terms of how much or how little you take on. If you’re swamped, we will step up. And if you've got the time to pick more up, that’s great. It’s all about being flexible with how much you can do.”

Johnson says she reminds stewards to trust their instincts and rely on what they’ve learned along the way.

“We know what we’re doing, even when we don’t. And when we don’t, we’re learning from that,” she said. “It’s having that confidence in ourselves and curiosity to see what happens. We’ll learn and use that for our next experience.”