On Wednesday June 5, 2019, in Orlando Florida, an Advanced Shop Steward Training Course was conducted by Iliana Flores from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Training and Development Dept. along with Special Guests, Attorney Josh Mcinerney and Attorney Richard Edelman.
The day started at 9:00am with an introductory message to all the stewards from President and Principal Officer Josh Zivalich ,who was followed by Secretary Treasurer Roly Piña. Roly thanked all the stewards for their attendance and dedication and then gave a reading of the Locals’ current financial report from May’s General Membership Meeting. The stewards were informed of the strong financial position of our union which helps to give the members the best representation possible.
Josh McInerney, an Attorney specializing in the Railway Labor Act, began the training with the best way to handle grievances and represent members under the RLA and a very extensive Q&A session answering all the stewards’ questions about the way the RLA governs the industry, what can and cannot be done during the times contracts are “amendable”, arbitration and mediation processes.
Iliana Flores, Southern Region Training Coordinator at the IBT, continued the training by detailing the responsibilities of a steward, why they are needed and differences between grievances and complaints with the best way to approach them both. She also discussed the importance and best way of making sure all the facts are gathered using that information to determine if a grievance is valid or if in fact a violation has been made by the company.
Attorney Richard Edelman finished up the day, after a break for lunch, with a detailed history of the Teamsters and the reasons laws were enacted as a result of employee abuses. He spoke about the rights and privileges Unions have achieved for the middle class, all while making sure modern-day examples where given about how all of these laws and regulations are still relevant today, including how companies and corporations are still trying to diminish their effectiveness.
This training course was another example of Teamsters Local 769’s dedication to member education and each portion of the training was designed to be Airline Industry specific. This training is vital to help deal with the hurdles our Teamster stewards have to overcome in representing our members under the Railway Labor Act, (RLA).
We would like to thank all the stewards who attended the training for their hard work and dedication. We are stronger and our contracts are made more meaningful because of your efforts. We would also like to thank Iliana Flores and the IBT Training Department and all of our guest speakers for helping make this event a success.
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