A WORD F ROM YOUR BUSINESS MANAGER

UNION FAMILY,

Welcome to the Spring 2023 issue of the SMART Local 100 newsletter. Nothing makes me think of new beginnings quite like the beautiful spring weather in our part of the country. So with that in mind, I want to share with you our union’s vision for a more constructive and member-driven future.

The key to that bright future for Local 100 is a culture of respect. Like everything else we’ve built together in the labor movement, a culture of respect isn’t just something that’s imposed from the top down. It’s built by members and member leaders – and whether we’re talking about mutual respect between members or respect between members and elected leaders, it’s everyone’s responsibility.

In the labor movement, respect is the glue that holds us together, and it comes in many forms. Often, it’s about listening, like giving your fellow members the time and room to voice their opinions in a membership meeting. Or taking a moment to consider what you’ve just heard from an elected official in our union before responding.

Listening to our fellow members and our elected officials is key not only to making your fellow members feel heard, but increasing the quality of interactions between all of us here at Local 100. We all want to feel heard. That means when it’s another member’s turn to speak, it’s our turn to listen.

Not listening to one another is disrespectful in and of itself, and it makes things worse for us all. When we don’t listen, we miss valuable opportunities to learn from one another – and we cause unnecessary tensions that can prevent us from working together effectively.

Respect also means being proactive in our support for one another. It may sound like more work, but it really isn’t. Believe it or not, showing up for our union family members can be a pretty easy thing to do.

The simple act of checking in with a fellow union member can make them feel supported. Let’s be honest, the past several years have been chaotic for everyone, and we all can benefit from feeling supported by our union family. Taking a few seconds to ask a union family member how they’re doing can make them feel that their fellow union members are in their corner and have their back. In the short term, they’ll know they’re not alone, and in the longer term, they’ll be more inclined to support you when you need it. Another important but often overlooked way we can show respect to one another is by simply giving each other the benefit of the doubt. We’ve all learned rumors or heard someone gossiping about someone who isn’t there to defend themselves. Interrupting the spread of gossip and rumors is absolutely essential to building a culture of respect. Fortunately, that doesn’t take much. While you may confront that sort of behavior head on, you can also disrupt it by simply not joining in. You can make it a personal practice to not speak of fellow members when they aren’t around.

Or, if you hear a rumor about a fellow member, you can simply ignore it and not share it with anyone else. Small steps like these can make our local feel like the sort of healthy and supportive environment it always should be. Finally, respect can come in the form of common courtesy, which, as its name suggests, is easy to do and doesn’t cost a thing. It can mean showing restraint when a fellow member or an elected leader says something we may disagree with, even if the first thought to cross your mind is to yell something out. It can also mean taking the time to speak to a union family member in private if there is tension or if you previously had an interaction that left a bad taste in your mouth. Taking this approach may take a bit of maturity, but it’s far more effective than starting a conflict.

Listening to each other, giving each other the benefit of the doubt, and showing some common courtesy: that’s how we can build a culture of respect in our union. Changes like these, though small, can have a great impact on how we, as a local, work with each other. In the end, we all deserve respect from one another. It’s what we owe each other as a union family. We are all part of a movement for worker’s rights, for better pay, for a secure and dignified retirement, and just as importantly, respect in the workplace.

We all know what it feels like when things change in the shop or on the job site, when we go from feeling taken for granted to finally feeling respected at work. As members of the same union family, we owe ourselves and each other no less. Let’s go forward with the deliberate intention of treating each other with the same respect we would demand for ourselves. I promise you it will be worth it.