2018 District 3 Summer School

This course is an advanced course that will give participants basic knowledge of preparing and presenting at arbitrations. This will include presenting evidence, examination and cross examination, and opening and closing statements . Prior to the class, participants may be sent a case to prepare so please ensure that their email address is included in the registration.

PREREQUISITE: Participants must have completed Advanced Grievance Handling or have previous experience with arbitrations and comfort with accessing case law.

NOTE: If you have access to a laptop please bring it with you. If your local has access to Labour Spectrum, please make sure you can access it.

This course will assist members who serve on Bargaining Committees to understand the collective bargaining process. This course will prepare participants to work as part of the negotiating team. Participants will be better prepared for events in getting both themselves and the membership “ready and engaged” in the bargaining process. It will ensure participants are aware of the challenges they will face both within and outside of the committee while carrying out their responsibilities. Communication with the membership will be a key part of this training.

This course offers an opportunity to learn new skills and strategies for Steelworker activists to use in joint labour-management committees and as a shop steward . This course is designed for new and experienced activists that would like to learn about union-management relations, traditional and modern management theories and systems, and the history of work organization . Communication skills, group dynamics training, and conflict resolution skills will be emphasized. The course offers hands-on practice sessions in skill-building techniques so that you will be as comfortable in the boardroom as you are at a union meeting .

This course is designed to acquaint participants with provincial health and safety law along with Part 11o f the Canada Labour Code, its regulations, related laws, occupational health, principle of controls , workplace inspections, accident and incident investigations and other knowledge relevant to the duties of workplace committee members or health and safety representatives.

Steelworkers are leaders inside and outside of our workpl aces: protecting workers’ rights, speaking out for change, and motivating and encouraging the participation of members at work, in our communities and through political action . Leadership for Action will help you develop leadership skills, building on your strengths to communicate effectively with members to build solidarity . Sessions focus on leadership styles, presentation skills, strategic planning, campaign management, mentoring, problem-solving and conflict resolution.

This course will cover how to speak to elected officials and move our political agenda forward. Over the week, participants will learn the basics of the political system and how to speak to elected officials about our issues. The course will also cover how to support USW candidates from municipal to federal jurisdictions as well as how to communicate our issues to the broader public as well as our local membership.

Steelworkers are dealing with the consequences of globalization . Across the union, our members are negotiating with large multinationals for which Canadian workplaces are but a small part of their global operation. Consequences of this leave our members reeling from job losses brought on by free trade agreements, facing environmental degradation as the legacy of reckless resource extraction and long standing regulations that protect worke rs are eliminated . This course will look at the ideas sustaining this model of globalization, the tools utilized by employers and governments to gain support from workers and communities, the response from unions at the bargaining table and in politics, and the alternatives for a model of development rooted in global justice.