April 9, 2008

On March 22, Local 317 in Syracuse, New York hosted a seminar with stewards from BorgWarner, Inc. in attendance. The seminar focused on the roles and responsibilities of the Teamster steward with additional emphasis placed on the grievance process. Bill Munger, Eastern Region Coordinator of the Teamsters Training and Development Department, conducted the seminar.

“The leadership of Local 317 recognizes the importance of education and should be applauded for providing this tool to their stewards," Munger said. "The steward’s dedication and interest in the program and their local union was evident by their level of participation and eagerness to learn. This greatly contributed to making this program a success.”

"We are very excited to provide this seminar to the members of Local Union 317,” said Mark May, Vice President of Local 317, who opened the program and welcomed the stewards.  May also updated the stewards on current contract negotiations.

The stewards all responded positively to the training. “The seminar gave me valuable information and enhanced my skills so that I can better represent my members, said steward John Cometti.”

“The seminar reinforced my role as a steward," said Boyd Davis. "The exercises on examining and studying the language of the contract were very useful to me.”