A union representative, union steward,[1] or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold this position voluntarily (through democratic election by fellow workers or sometimes by appointment of a higher union body) while maintaining their role as an employee of the firm. As a result, the union steward becomes a significant link and conduit of information between the union leadership and rank-and-file workers.
The duties of a union steward vary according to each trades union's constitutional mandate for the position. In general, most union stewards perform the following functions:
Unlike other union representatives, stewards work on the shop floor, connecting workers with union officials at regional or national levels. The role of shop stewards may vary from being a mere representative of a larger national union towards independent structures with the power of collective bargaining in the workplace.
In the United Kingdom, a network called Shop Stewards Movement organised shop stewards against the First World War. In Germany, a network of shop stewards called Revolutionary Stewards took an important role in the revolutionary "January Strike".[2]
Father of the chapel (FoC) or mother of the chapel (MoC) are the titles in the United Kingdom and Australasia referring to a shop steward representing members of a trades union in a printing office or in journalism. The FoC or MoC is assisted by the clerk of the chapel or by a deputy FoC/MoC. In the printing trade, a chapel is the traditional name given to a meeting of compositors. The name originates in the early history of printing in Great Britain, though the National Union of Journalists states that the precise origins of the terms are unclear.[3]
