Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk is running for shop steward at Lounais-Suomen Tietojakelu in Turku. Kulka-Kowalczyk decided to stand in the autumn shop steward elections to boost the unionisation rate at his workplace and across the entire sector. He believes there is huge membership potential, especially among foreign-background employees.
Text: Antero Eerola
Photos: Vesa-Matti Väärä
SHOP STEWARD ELECTIONS Nov 1 – Dec 31, 2026
Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk
- Newspaper delivery worker
- 2nd deputy occupational safety representative
- Lounais-Suomen Tietojakelu Oy, Turku
- Turun Kirjatyöntekijäin Yhdistys, local branch 456
Five years ago, Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk, 35, who moved to Turku from Poland with his family, found a job at the local delivery company Lounais-Suomen Tietojakelu. The company delivers the region’s main newspaper, Turun Sanomat, as well as other papers, letters, advertisements, and small parcels.
Trade union activities quickly drew him in. Kulka-Kowalczyk stepped up to become the 2nd deputy safety representative at his workplace.
Now, he is aiming for a shop steward position in the Industrial Union’s November–December elections.
– Reaching out to unorganised workers and recruiting members are among a shop steward’s most important tasks. This is especially true in our agreement sector, where union density is relatively low.
“There is a need for a proactive shop steward who organises meetings, develops remote communication channels, and visits workplaces.”
The company employs about 500 people, of whom only 70 are union members. The unionisation rate is a modest 15 percent.
In the delivery sector, the main challenge is that contact with other employees rarely occurs, as workers operate alone in their own areas. Getting people together is a real challenge.
– That is why there is a need for a proactive shop steward who organises meetings, develops remote communication channels, and visits workplaces.
Teollisuuden Vaikuttajat is the faction within Industrial Union that has best understood that employees with a foreign background represent great membership potential, says Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk.
Union envoy reaches out to foreign workers
Having a large number of foreign-background workers brings its own set of challenges. They may not necessarily be familiar with Finnish society, working life, or trade unions.
The company’s workforce includes people from at least twenty different countries.
– I believe there is great membership potential there. That is why I am also an active Industrial Union envoy and try to help the union reach out to foreign workers.
“It should be an active shop steward’s job to reach out to new employees”, says Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk.
”Orpo recruited me into the union”
Kulka-Kowalczyk’s own path into the organised labour movement was not a given. He had already been with the company for a couple of years before joining.
– I only became interested in joining the trade union in 2023, when the wave of strikes against [Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s] reforms began. The Prime Minister recruited me into the trade union, he chuckles.
Of course, that’s not how things are supposed to be.
– It should be an active shop steward’s job to reach out to new employees, encourage them to join, and explain why it’s beneficial.
“It is important to ask for opinions from other shop stewards and employees”, reminds Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk.
Local bargaining is crucial
Kulka-Kowalczyk emphasises that especially in the delivery sector, local bargaining plays a huge role.
– In our collective agreement, we have an hourly wage and overtime pay. But working hours depend on many factors: route length, as well as the number of mailboxes, apartments, and floors. The volume of letters, newspapers, and other products affects it too.
Working hours are calculated according to previously made local agreements.
– When a new product comes into delivery, the working time factor or piece count becomes a matter of negotiation.
Kulka-Kowalczyk points out that the responsibility for bargaining lies with the chief shop steward, but they should not do it alone.
– It is important to ask for opinions from other shop stewards and employees. That way, even difficult decisions will gain wider acceptance.
“From the Teollisuuden Vaikuttajat list, foreign-background workers made it to the Industrial Union’s Congress, demanding in their speeches that the union expand its work to include foreigners”, explains Michał Kulka-Kowalczyk.
Representation works both ways
Within the Industrial Union it was easy for Kulka-Kowalczyk to choose the Teollisuuden Vaikuttajat (“Industry Influencers”) faction. There were at least three reasons.
– In terms of views, the Teollisuuden Vaikuttajat group was simply closer to my own. Personally, I also appreciate that the group gathers politically independent members as well.
– It also matters to me that it’s from this exact list that foreign workers made it to the Industrial Union’s Congress, demanding in their speeches that the union expand its work to include foreigners.
Expanding this work even further is one of Kulka-Kowalczyk’s main goals.
– A shop steward must remember that they represent in two directions: employees toward the employer, but also the Industrial Union toward the workers, he outlines.
– That means their actions either question or reinforce the reliability of the union.
Finnish version of this article was also published in Vaikuttaja magazine, issue 1/2026.
