MPEC Steward Training October 2019

The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) trained another round of stewards on Thursday, October 17, 2019. The member activists serve the union on a volunteer basis and will be the point persons at their worksites for information their co-workers need to know. The day-long training took place at the Maryland Department of the Environment and featured presentations from MPEC board members and staff as well as staff from AFT-Maryland.

The new stewards represent agencies throughout the state. They learned about the contract, negotiations, safe and healthy work standards for their work environment, as well as the political and legislative role the union can and does play. As the union engages 21st century workers, stewards also learned about the best means for communication. Member-to-member engagement is always best for organizing new members or maintaining activism among existing members, but in those cases the union needs to take our message beyond the membership, stewards learned about how to engage the media.

Steward trainings are a core part of the work we do. Volunteer activists who are committed to ensuring fairness and democracy in their workplace are the hallmark of any effective labor union. The members of MPEC who were trained as stewards are demonstrating their commitment to their union, workers’ rights and to their fellow co-workers.

2019-10-21