How Do Shop Stewards Perceive Their Situation and Tasks? Preconditions for Support of Union Work

Abstract

When unions worldwide confront a decline in density and power, pressure increases on shop stewards. They occupy a position desribed s demanding, which involves striking a balance between conciliation and tough negotiation, between ordinary work and union work, and feelings of isolation from members. If shop stewards already experien a demanding work situation, and parallel to this the overall union conditions become aggravated, a next step would be to find out in what ways their situation can be facilitated. This article is based on data desribing recent experiences of Swedish shop stewards, and it compares their situation to that desribed in the international research literature. It is found that the basic components of union work remain stable, in spite of rent labour relations changes and national differences. However, lees than half of the reported problems were related to direct contact with the employer. Shop stewards generaly experience a situation characterized by inherent conflict and wide-ranging tasks, resulting in high demands on their skills and in role overload. On the other hand, the results indicate differences with regard to the ulnion affilation, age, experience and gender. En the eyes of union members the shop stew ards largely emb ody the ui on organizati on. Therefore, they should reeive increased attention when dealing with the problems of unions. Measures to facilitate their work can include training, supportive networks and access to adequate information technology, and can further be targeted with regard to age/experience and gender.