Campaign Organizing

This nine-hour course introduces participants to campaigns as a central aspect of union and community mobilizing and organizing around issues.  Participants define what makes a campaign, and why they are an important element in the various aspects of union and community work.  Participants will look at the three stages of a campaign and what happens at each stage.

Participants will also review workplace campaigns as well as campaigning at the federal and municipal level as a way that unions build capacity in the labour movement.  When members are engaged in campaigns that put forth their issues and can elect those who best represent those issues, then they can make their workplaces and communities work for them and their families.

Collective Bargaining Level I     

This course is primarily designed for participants who have not had a lot of experience or formal training in Collective Bargaining, but who are members of negotiation committees or who deal with selecting bargaining issues and priorities in their unions.  In this course, participants will discuss how to deal with preparation for bargaining, including obtaining the members’ opinions on important bargaining issues and how to prioritize them.

Time will also be spent on preparing for bargaining by reviewing past bargaining issues, grievances and other information that may be useful in the process.

Participants will also look at the structure of negotiations, effective negotiation and bargaining skills, and some collective bargaining language.

Duty to Accommodate  

The duty to accommodate is the faster growing area of labour law.  With an ageing population and an increasing awareness of accommodation issues among working people, this course offers a basic understanding of the rights and responsibilities of employees needing accommodation, employers and union representatives.  It will raise awareness of barriers that persons with disabilities experience in the workplace.  Participants will develop action plans.  Participants will gain tools on how to make the workplace accessible.

Facing Management

This course deals with the tactics employed by management to prevent workers from building on the gains of their collective agreements.  This course exposes the corporate agenda in the workplace, from union weakening tactics to various participatory management schemes and offers local union leaders strategies to deal effectively with these tactics.

Health and Safety (An Introduction To)

This course is suitable for new members of occupational health and safety committees and union activists interested in learning about the basic rights of workers in health and safety.  It allows for a general overview of health and safety programs, provisions under the legislation and a knowledge of the role of the union in health and safety.

Health and Safety - New Strategies for Building Enforcement and Bargaining  

The new Strategies for Building Enforcement and Bargaining provides both new and experienced activists with new tools to deal with health, safety and environment skills. Using an organizing and building activism theme, the course covers leadership skills, problem solving and representation skills for activists who are union representatives on joint health and safety committees and environment committees. The course also covers how to get government inspectors to enforce health and safety laws. For bargaining, the course allows participants to build their skills in preparing for negotiations, writing contract language, and developing bargaining strategy.

Labour Law

This course presents an overview of labour legislation and its impact on the strategies and actions of unions.  The topics to be explored will include certification and dispute settlement procedures, unfair labour practices, duty to bargain in good faith, strikes, lockouts and picketing; the duty of fair representation; and grievance - arbitration law and the duty to accommodate.  Participants in this course will attain a good understanding of the basic principles underlying Canadian Labour Law and the specifics of labour legislation in their own jurisdiction and region.  As this course is a requirement to complete the Labour College program, priority will be given to those who have completed or are applying for the Residential Program.

Leadership Training

This course will familiarize participants with a variety of methods by which they can evaluate local union leadership and their performance.  Introduces participants to the concept of problem solving in their local union activities. Has participants implement their understanding of evaluation and problem solving by case analysis. 

Learning About and Becoming Involved in the Union

This is a day-long course (7 hours) which introduces the new activists to their union.  It explores how a union functions and how new activists can become involved.  It also looks at the political structure of Canada, and how unions work with that structure to make changes that benefit union members and their families.  This course also looks at the broader labour movement and how and why it is so important for unions and activists to get involved in their Labour councils.  It is hoped that by the end of the day, participants will feel confident and enthusiastic about getting involved with their unions and their labour councils.

Lobbying

Union members in Canada have always known that our job doesn’t stop after work.  Changes for the good of our families and of our communities are not solely made at the bargaining table.  This course and the accompanying CLC video entitled “Opening Doors - Lobbying” is designed to assist local union and labour council activists with the tools to lobby face to face with politicians and to sensitize the community on a wide variety of issues that will emerge.  After all, if the community is with us, the politicians will have to take notice. 

Media- How to effectively work with the media  

If you have a message and you want the public to hear about it, you need this course.

This 9 hour course will help you better understand the media in your community or province. It will give you tools and tips which will help target your message out to the public in an effective way.

The course will walk you through the necessary steps to developing your message. It will also review how to write a letter to the editor, a news release, a news advisory, organize a news conference.

Time will be spent learning how to best prepare for a media interview, and includes tips on the do’s and don’t’s when dealing with journalists and how to present yourself in an appropriate manner.

Mobilizing the Membership

This course deals with the very important issue of recruiting and maintaining local union activists. Discussions focus on how we entice volunteers in our locals to become active, and how we keep them active.  The course will also briefly examine how we work within the structure of the labour movement to achieve our goals, how we organize campaigns in our locals, and how we work with other groups outside our local unions to get our message out.  Participants will spend a little time as well perfecting some of the "tricks" used to prepare ourselves and our message for the public and our members.

Parliamentary Procedure

This course deals with how to run a union meeting.  The duties of the Chairperson, Secretary, Sergeant-at-arms, the quorum, the motion, amendments, agenda and all pertinent matters will be discussed.   

Role of Labour Representatives on Bi-partite, Multi-partite and Other Joint Boards and Committees  

This course is meant to provide a basic labour oriented background to appointed union members on the various bipartite and multipartite boards and commissions where labour sits.  Participants will learn how to develop skills related to confident and effective participation on these boards and commissions, and how to be an effective spokesperson in putting forth labour’s agenda.  The course will look at how to present labour’s agenda.  The course will look at how to present labour’s points of view, and policies on the various issues that arise.  The course will also explore some of the obstacles as well as the benefits to labour’s participation on these boards and commissions.

Say What You Mean: Clear Language is a Union Issue

The labour movement relies on written material to inform our members and to encourage them to participate in the workplace, the union and in the community. As union activists, we want the written word to work with us in organizing and educating workers to understand and defend their rights. Clear language and design are important tools to help us think about who our audience is and to make the union’s message more reader-friendly and  accessible to our members. They will become familiar with the tools and techniques of writing in clear language and more aware of clear design,  developing their skills as advocates for “clearly union” communications.

Steward Training

Steward Training Level I: Building Unions in A World of Change

This introductory course provides a solid framework for learning the roles, rights and responsibilities for a steward as a problem solver.  The course encourages activism and challenges participants to broaden their understanding of the labour movement in the context of global solidarity within our communities.  New stewards and other union members interested in becoming more active and informed will want to take this course as it focuses on building the leadership and communication skills of participants. Participants should bring their collective agreement with them to this course.

Steward Training Level II - Representation Skills & Tools

This second level course builds on the framework of steward skills established in our Level I course. The course will focus on representation issues:

• knowing your membership;
• working with your union executive, grievance preparation;
• problem solving, conflict resolution and representation skills.

Steward Training Level III - The Steward As Leader

The Steward As Leader highlights the basic leadership role of stewards in the local union and the responsibilities that this role entails in the face of a changing union and growing legislative responsibilities.  The theme of this course is how to effectively build the union which is fair and inclusive for all members, what kind of commitments and strategies are required from the steward, the executive of the local and the union itself.  Legislative responsibilities such as human rights and the duty of fair representation will be highlighted. The Steward As Leader is third in a series of CLC Stewards courses.  Participants should already be well grounded in basic stewards training.

Steward Training Level IV - The Steward As Educator

Education of union members is crucial to the survival of local unions.  The Steward As Educator is designed to assist the steward, local union leader, or local union activist develop skills and confidence in educating members around union issues in the workplace and issues that affect the workplace and community issues of the day. 

The course offers new ideas and methods of discussing membership education and communication, and offers participants a look at how they can strategize around making union education and the role of steward a crucial part of the local union culture.

Note: It is preferable that participants have completed a basic steward course. 

Union Action on Climate Change

In this workshop participants will learn the nuts n’ bolts about climate change, but also look at the topic from a working class and equality analysis.  By the end of the workshop, participants will be equipped to counter myths about climate change, take effective actions, and raise concern through the union about the impact of climate change on working people.

Women’s Economic Equality - Education for Action and Solidarity

Women in Canada have not achieved economic equality.  They are still fighting to reduce the wage gap, get pay equity, have real access to Employment Insurance, have good pensions, a national child care program or live without violence in the workplace.

To make gains, women have to organize campaigns, be political and speak out.  This course is composed of five modules that will help you to develop your campaigns, organize to lobby your elected officials, prepare you to speak publicly, be comfortable with the media and step up your activism.

This course will help women to be more efficient with their struggles. 

X, Y or Boomer? Talking Between Generations in the Union

This course will increase your awareness of the needs and realities of the members of different generations in the union and workplace. It will build your level of comfort and skills for engaging in meaningful cross-generational dialoghe. We invite you to explore how the union might respond to the values of the different generations in our midst, and share perspectives on how union culture can continue to adapt to meet the needs of each generation. This course requires the participation of both young workers, and workers of other generations who are young at heart in order to run successfully.