Edited by David Prosten
The first edition of this book, published in 1997, quickly became the workplace bible for tens of thousands of stewards across North America. Fully illustrated and indexed, this second edition’s eleven chapters offer hands-on counsel on problems and concerns ranging from the basics of grievance handling to dealing with difficult supervisors or co-workers to ways of increasing membership involvement in the union. New material includes counsel on workplace concerns ranging from computer and privacy issues to a new chapter dealing with the changing workplace, including the growing number of workers from other nations and cultures.
The chapter on Handling Common Grievances and Disciplines has been greatly expanded and is sure to be of help to overworked stewards, and the revised format of the book itself will make for even easier reading.
The Guide is designed for new stewards and veterans alike. Like the first edition, it is based on the popular Steward Update newsletter, read regularly by more than 80,000 stewards across North America. The original edition won praise from leading labor educators and in publications ranging from the AFL-CIO’s America@Work magazine ("provides lively details on the range of stewards’ duties") to SEIU Action ("thorough and very readable"), to the Milwaukee Labor Press ("the ultimate handbook…it contains everything you need to know about being on the union’s front line") and the Detroit Labor News ("an outstanding resource for new and veteran union activists"). Contributors include Pat Thomas, George Hagglund, Jim Young and Ken Margolies.
"In this era of increased challenges for the labor movement, the new edition of The Union Steward’s Complete Guide provides the kind of heavy weaponry that’s needed if the good guys are going to win the war. If you don’t have it, get it."
ROBERT M. SCHWARTZ, AUTHOR, THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF UNION STEWARDS AND THE FMLA HANDBOOK."Working people need unions as never before in this country, and effective stewards are key to their growth and success. There is no more valuable tool than The Union Steward’s Complete Guide to help these front-line activists in labor’s struggle for workplace justice and dignity."
DAVID BONIOR, CHAIR, AMERICAN RIGHTS AT WORK"What I like best about The Union Steward’s Complete Guide is it’s holistic approach to the steward’s job, from grievances to member mobilization to surviving the whiners. It’s full of good advice and real experiences, and it’s a very usable reference for day-to-day problems. This book works well in classes with students from more than one union. The writing and presentation are very accessible."
JUDY ANCEL, DIRECTOR, THE INSTITUTE FOR LABOR STUDIES, UNIVERISITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY AND LONGVIEW COMMUNITY COLLEGE