April 25, 2018 - District 3 will be holding a weeklong Summer School at the Trickle Creek Lodge & Kimberley Alpine Resort in Kimberley, BC, on June 10-15, 2018.
The school commences with registration on Sunday, June 10th and continues until noon on Friday, June 15th. For those students new to the D3 Summer School, they will be holding registration in the Stemwinder from 2:00 pm-5:00 pm and a "Welcome" barbeque for all at 6:00 pm.
USW Local 1944 will be selecting up to 8 rank-and-file members to attend the D3 Summer School.
Available courses:
Facing Management
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.
Occupational Health and Safety
This course is designed to acquaint participants with provincial health and safety law along with Part 11 of 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.
Leadership for Action
Steelworkers are leaders inside and outside of our workplaces: 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.
Political Action and Lobbying
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.
Globalization
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 workers 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.
If you are interested in attending the District 3 Summer School, please submit an application for consideration. The deadline to apply is Thursday, May 3th, 2018 at 4:30 pm Pacific Time.
Please note that only members from District 3 will be selected to participate.
In Solidarity,
USW Local 1944
