2023 Shop Steward of the Year Award: Shaun Fisher (IBEW 2071)

PHOTO: Steward of the Year Shaun Fisher (IBEW 2071)

This year’s Maine AFL-CIO Shop Steward of the Year Award goes to Shaun Fisher, an IBEW Local 2071 chief steward at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Shaun was nominated by his co-workers for going above and beyond to serve his fellow union members, leading by example, and showing others what it means to be a union member and the importance of sticking together.

Shaun’s coworkers say he embodies what it means to be an excellent shop steward and a true union brother. He is dependable, empathetic and works very hard to support his fellow union brothers and sisters.

“Nobody deserves this award more than Shaun does,” said Debra Drake, a chief steward and Ironworkers Local 745 member and trustee on the Metal Trades Council at the shipyard. “He is always the first to volunteer to organize new employees and educate them on the benefits of being a part of a union. Even in an open shop environment where employees do not have to be dues paying members, Shaun is able to sign members up constantly and show them the worth of being a part of their labor organization. He is always on the shop floors talking to employees and asking if they need anything and taking an interest in their workplace problems.

“More importantly, he always follows through with their concerns. Everyone, across all trades, trusts Shaun and knows he’s going to be there to help in every way he can. They feel comfortable coming to him, they trust him and they know he will handle things promptly and properly. He promotes camaraderie among all the trades and treats everyone with respect. He is not afraid to stand up to management when our bargaining unit employees are being mistreated. Shaun embodies everything that a shop steward should be.”

Fisher comes from a strong union family. His father, who was a Machinists Union member and shop steward at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, always told him to join the union so that’s immediately what Shaun did when he started work at the yard the day before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Fisher, who works as an electrical inspector at the yard, says his work as shop steward comes natural to him.

“I’ve always been a people person and I love to help people,” he says. “I love to make sure everyone at the shipyard is being supported. It doesn’t matter if they’re in my local or not, they’re all my family.”

As someone who has struggled with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) all his life, Fisher is very empathetic to people with similar struggles. Throughout his career, he has helped those workers by making management aware of their conditions and showing supervisors how to help them to be successful at their jobs.

After dealing with substandard living conditions and other problems at PNSY’s detachment in San Diego, Fisher worked with the Metal Trades Council back in Portsmouth to fix the problems with management. His hard work paid off and he was made chief steward shortly afterward. When the COVID 19 pandemic hit and coronavirus infections swept through the yard, Fisher went above and beyond to make sure management was following COVID safety guidelines and that workers were protected.

“Shaun quickly stepped up to the tasks of helping our members at all hours of the day, and has even gone as far as helping to represent two other locals with their organizing, and representation due to those locals being short handed with stewards, and organizers,” said Glenn Sell, President and Business Manager of IBEW 2071.

When Debra Drake needed to have major surgery last May and needed to be out for three months, it came at a very difficult time for her local because it had just lost its chief steward. Without even being asked, Fisher immediately volunteered to take over her steward duties, even though she in a different union.

“It was like an automatic response for him and for that I am truly grateful to him,” said Drake. “Even coming from an entirely different local and different trade, Shaun handled everything impeccably and beyond expectations. I really feel that Shaun’s example shows us the true meaning of being a union brother or sister.”