A lot of members ask some version of the same question.

“What is the union doing for me?”

“Why should I pay dues if you have to represent me anyway?”

Those questions didn’t come out of nowhere. For the past decade, especially after Janus, WPEA lost capacity. Some units only heard from the union when something went wrong. Some interactions with staff were rushed or tense. In a few places, a difficult conversation may have shaped the reputation of the entire organization for years. Members and staff both took hits from that period, and the relationship never fully recovered in some workplaces.

That history matters because it explains the real problem: not enough people doing the work.

Take Department of Revenue as an example:

Four stewards.

More than 1,000 workers spread out across the state.

That’s not a functioning structure. No steward team, no staff rep, no system can meet the needs of that many people if the workload is concentrated in a handful of volunteers.

Representation only works when information moves early and consistently. Staff are not in your team huddles. They don’t see the new rule your supervisor announced Tuesday morning. They don’t hear the shift in expectations or the tone in the room. They rely on stewards and on members who are willing to pass information along before a situation becomes a crisis.

WPEA’s staff is small. That has advantages. You get direct access. You’re not routed through a call center. You get someone who knows your employer and the issues you face. But the smaller the staff, the more every gap is felt. When a unit only has one or two people raising concerns, everyone feels the strain.

Most of the work members can do does not require becoming a full steward.

Checking in on co-workers. Flagging changes. Passing along updates. Helping plan a meeting. Taking notes. Welcoming a new hire. These small tasks keep the union functional. Without them, everything slows down and everyone gets frustrated.

The union isn’t the staff office. It’s your workplace. The staff provide backup and training. They aren’t the front line. Members are.

When more people take on even one piece of the work, support gets faster, communication improves, and the relationship between members and staff stabilizes. No one has to carry the entire load, and no one unit ends up defined by a string of bad interactions.

Participation is what makes representation effective. It’s also the only thing that rebuilds trust. One task at a time.