Northwest Steward Councils: Not just for stewards anymore

Once only for union stewards, the meetings have become a training forum for all UBT co-leads

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011 :: By Jennifer Gladwell

Stewards councils provide training for stewards and managment co-leads

Stewards from the Northwest’s five unions meet monthly, but their councils address more than union business and often include their management partners.

Attend a Steward Council and you’re likely to see guest speakers and regional leaders from almost every area of the organization offering information—and sometimes stewards asking for help. The meetings focus on improving patient care and allow UBT co-leads to share best practices and discuss barriers to their work. They provide valuable information for stewards to take back to their teams and their union members.

Where did the steward councils come from?

Stewards from the region’s five unions (Service Employees International Union,  Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Oregon Nurses Association, United Food and Commercial Workers and International Longshore Workers Union) have been meeting regularly for almost eight years. The meetings take place during the work day and stewards are released from their regular jobs and backfilled.

“By all the unions coming together in one forum, we are better able to work in partnership, to accomplish strong leadership, transparent communication, accountability and, ultimately, taking care of the people we serve in our respective roles,” explains Amber Stockwell, SEIU Local 49 member and LMP performance improvement adviser.

The steward councils from each service area meet twice a year. More than 300 stewards attend those joint councils to learn, exchange ideas and celebrate success. Leaders from outside the region, like John August, the executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, address the meeting.

KP security officer and ILWU steward Greg Chavez thinks the councils are valuable.

 “We’re one of the last UBTs to get going.” he said. “To hear what other people are doing saves us time; we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can utilize a shared experience and not feel like you’re alone.”

Sharing with managers and physicians

Several times this year, management and physician UBT co-leads have been invited to the steward councils to learn about key issues along with their labor counterparts. Training all co-leads together on new tools and concepts has become common practice in the Northwest.

For example, union partnership representatives discussed in March how regional 2011 goals lined up with the UBT goals and—for the first time—with the PSP. Together, union and management co-leads learned how their goals fit into the regional picture.

A few months later, managers were invited back to learn how to use the UBT Tracker to document their team’s progress and to help spread best practices.

“By combining the skills and ideas of our partners with our own, we maximize our ability to overcome challenges together, motivate our team from within, and deliver an ever increasing level of service and care our members have come to expect,” says Philip Taylor, patient care manager at Lancaster Medical Office. 

Steward Councils have become an effective way for communication to filter through the organization. From flu shots to marketing, it’s a sure bet that if you need to get something out to our front line, the steward council is the place to start.