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Organizing: A Tale of Two Stewards

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

Dean Vercruysse is a steward dynamo. The Local 1492 steward and Washington Council 2 executive board member will pitch in wherever help is needed. That is how he became involved in the effort to organize the school bus drivers employed by Laidlaw here.

When he learned about the conditions under which the drivers worked, he was even more willing to help.

"It got me fired up when I heard about one bus driver who had five children and no health insurance," says Vercruysse. "One day her son was hurt in an accident and needed brain surgery. She called her boss and said, 'I can't come in today because my son is having surgery.'

"Her boss told her she would lose her job if she didn't come in. She had to work her full shift before she could go to the hospital to see her son."

The Laidlaw campaign had been a long one with a variety of stops and starts going back to 1996. The drivers kept their eyes on the prize even as management tried to kill the organizing effort every way they could. Finally, in mid-September 1999, the union and management agreed to an election in late October, giving the union just about a month for its campaign.

Vercruysse went out on weekends and afternoons to visit the drivers at their homes. A corrections officer at the Spokane County Jail, he was able to share his experiences as a union activist and steward.

"They're out there every day, taking care of our children," he says. "They're as loyal as the day is long, but the company isn't loyal to them."

October 28 — election day — was a day to celebrate. AFSCME won the election 142 to 79. Vercruysse was proud of what they had accomplished.

"They are really hard-working people, and that company exploits their hard work," he says. Now the workers have a voice; they will be able to speak up for themselves.

 

MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN

Manitowoc is not very big, but it is solidly union. Just about all the town's public employees were unionized — primarily by AFSCME — except the school support staff. So, when they wanted better treatment, they knew where to turn: Council 40.

The council asked Nancy Becker to help. Becker is a Local 1288 steward at the Manitowoc Health Care Center. She serves on Council 40's executive board.

"The support staff were upset about the way they were treated," says Becker. Their issues were "raises, benefits and especially seniority. When it came to raises, some people got them, some people didn't. There was a lot of favoritism."

Becker started making phone calls. "A lot of the workers knew me but didn't know I was active in the union," she says. This made it easy to break through the barriers and talk about the practical value of unionization.

Some were afraid to sign authorization cards. "I said, 'That's a very normal feeling.' But I told them that nobody knows who has signed a card until we have enough to request an election."

Becker did not twist arms, but she admits she was a little pushy with one woman. "I asked her, 'Why haven't you signed a green card? Your husband's a strong union man, and your son just joined the union.'" She got the signed card in the next day's mail.

In addition to making phone calls and holding informal discussions at football games, Becker attended group meetings. "I talked about the union and how much it's helped us. Then we had open discussions so they could ask us questions."

The election was conducted by mail ballot, counted on Dec. 15. AFSCME won handily: 30 to 4.

This was not Becker's first organizing effort, and it won't be her last."I believe in AFSCME," says this organizing steward.

 

Salute Your Stewards

AFSCME stewards are our union's lifeblood. They are the frontline volunteers who get things done for our union and its members. We want to tell their story and acknowledge their accomplishments in these pages.

Does your council/local union hold steward recognition events? Do you have steward training programs — especially programs that focus on special topics or advanced training? Has one of your council/local union stewards — or a group of stewards — accomplished something you think all AFSCME stewards should hear about?

Let us know. If we get enough advance notice, we may even be able to send a photographer. Call (202) 429-1000 or e-mail afscmepa@afscme.org.

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