shop steward

American

noun

a unionized employee elected to represent a shop, department, or the like, in dealings with an employer.

shop steward British

noun

a coworker elected by trade union members to represent them in discussions and negotiations with the management

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shop steward

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

shop steward

Rafael Rendon, a custodian at Disney’s California Adventure Park, has talked to fellow SEIU-USWW members as a shop steward to see what matters most to them ahead of the Master Services Council’s upcoming contract negotiations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2023

“I don’t feel bad for her that she got a decrease,” said Jimi Hadley, UPS package driver in Roswell, Georgia, and Teamsters shop steward.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2023

A trade union shop steward in Glasgow's shipyards before he moved into football, Ferguson's final team talk concentrated on working-class values.

From BBC ● May 7, 2023

In October 1991, Ms. LaTour struck up a conversation on an uptown Manhattan A train with Russell Smith, a union tour guide and shop steward.

From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023

"Late again, I see," the shop steward growled.

From Meeting of the Board by Nourse, Alan Edward

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023