As a brand new union steward I was full of energy and determined to change the world for the better. My peers had demonstrated their faith in me by over-whelming voting me into office and I wasn't about to let them down. For months I scurried around like a squirrel storing acorns for the winter, not realizing I was only chasing my tail. I probably would have turned homicidal had I known management was snickering at me as they watched me run head on into one wall after another.
I remember watching other union officials accomplish things over the phone that took me ten trips from one end of the building to the other to accomplish. I was growing frustrated, tired and most of all full of self-doubt. How did these other stewards do so much working at a snail's pace compared to me? What was wrong?
Nobody ever told me what was wrong, but I finally figured it out on my own and it wasn't an easy answer. For beginners there is no substitute for experience. That is the time it takes to establish your credentials, learn the people, union and management and learn how to cut through the BS. But just as important is knowing the procedures and the behind the scenes activities which makes everything function.
I swore then that one day I'd write a book and include everything I could to give a new steward ideas, procedures, inside working and time tested techniques so they would have a solid foundation and could hit the ground running. It has only taken me 40 years to fulfill that self-imposed oath, but what can I say.
I'll give you as much information in easy to understand layman's terms and language as possible. It may not come off as written by a Philadelphia lawyer, but hell, I'm not a Philadelphia lawyer. Or any other kind of lawyer for that matter.
