The Card Player
George Tobin—in spite of his longtime membership in PEF—was still a relatively new steward when he encountered some resistance among members he was trying to recruit for a legislative lobby day. He turned to his friend, Dominic Gerrit, an experienced steward, for advice. “I’m so frustrated, I’ve given everybody a flyer about the lobby day rally, but all I get are blank stares—especially from those guys down the hall—I hardly know them. But I know they’re PEF members.”
Dominic was understanding. “Look, buddy, motivating people is sometimes more difficult than it looks. But don’t give up.”
“But what should I do?”
“Do you remember when Peggy Rice was the steward in your office?”
“That was like six years ago; then she moved to Kentucky.”
“And who took over after Peggy?”
George shook his head. “Roger. He was so officious—he thought being the steward was like being a boss. Nobody liked him.”
“I’m sure he was a very lonely guy,” said Dominic.
“But Peggy—“ George couldn’t keep the smile off his face, “what a smart woman! You know, I almost forgot that she was the steward, now that you mention it. It seems like she was always around, friendly to everyone, and talk about hard-working! I think she understood every single person’s job in the office. Not to mention that she could play a mean hand of poker!”
“Are you listening to yourself, George?”
“I inherited some disinterest and distrust, I think. It’s not fair, but if I need to rebuild union confidence, well I guess I just have to decide whether or not I want to be a Peggy or a Roger.”
“I appreciate that you came to me for advice,” Dom said, slapping George on the shoulder. “But it seems to me that you’ve known the answer to this problem all along. What’s your next move?”
“That seems pretty clear,” said George, laughing. “I guess I better brush up on my Texas Hold ‘Em!”
