Stewards

AUPE’s goal is to have union stewards on all job sites. Stewards are union activists who are trained to help union members resolve a wide range of problems and issues with their employer. Your union steward is your first line of defense if you ever have a problem related to your employment. Union stewards are prepared to help you if you feel you have been the victim of harassment, unfair discipline or if the employer has been ignoring the provisions of the collective agreement to deny you things to which you are entitled. Get to know your union stewards and don’t hesitate to bring your concerns to them. This is your right under all AUPE contracts. In fact, if you have any questions about your collective agreement, your steward is your first source of information.

Often, union stewards can resolve workplace problems with ease. But if a problem should prove to be more difficult, the steward has the option of bringing in an AUPE Membership Services Officer to help deal with the situation. AUPE’s collective agreements provide specific steps for filing a formal grievance. Depending on the nature of the grievance and your status as an employee, the final step is arbitration before a single arbitrator or a board. If that happens, both sides of the dispute are heard by a third party, and the decision handed down is binding on union and management alike.