Debbie Chesser, Maryland

One steward leading the charge

Over the last two years, AFT Healthcare-Maryland has seen a significant increase in the number of health professionals switching from being agency fee payers to becoming full-time members of the union. This increase in full membership is a result of the union's work to rebuild its steward structure as well as the training it offers to members who are willing to be stewards, says AFT Healthcare-Maryland president Debra Perry. "People are upset and they are looking for answers, and we are trying to provide them, she says. "We are making a concerted effort to fight back, and our stewards are leading the charge."

Debbie Chesser, a 32-year veteran registered nurse and an AFT Healthcare-Maryland member accepted the challenge to lead and became a steward for members at Eastern Shore Hospital in Cambridge, Md. When she started at Eastern Shore a year ago, Chesser had never been in a union, but she had been in management. "I've seen both sides of things, and I saw things that I knew were not right. I wanted to speak up about it."

Chesser's goal as a steward is to educate her colleagues about their voice on the job and the work of the union. Although the steward structure at the hospital is a work in progress, Chesser and her fellow stewards have managed to persuade a significant number of fair share members to become full-time members through their one on-one communications with them.

"When I approach people about the union, I focus on issues that are important to us all—like workplace safety and staffing," Chesser says. The union has done a lot in those areas, she adds, and members are excited about that, and so they are open to what the stewards have to say and they want to be a part of what the union is doing. "The fact that our union has been proactive in addressing our priorities has had an effect on the membership. It has awakened a voice that we may not have had a few years ago."