Please be advised that the District School has been scheduled this year for SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 at St. Eugene Resort in Cranbrook, BC.
St. Eugene is proudly reclaimed and owned by the Ktunaxa Nation.
The following courses will be offered this year:
The cost for each delegate this year is $2,100.
Please note that we have updated our registration system. For security purposes, you will now need a password to access the page at usw.ca/d3school. The password is: 2026D3School.
In solidarity,
Dayna Sykes
Education Coordinator
2026 District School Courses
Mental Health: Understanding, Representing and Supporting our Members *NEW*
This course examines mental health as a crucial issue both in our workplaces and in our roles as members and activists in the union. The materials discuss what we can do, as a union, to support our members and encourage psychologically health workplaces. Participants should be trained shop stewards and should come with their current collective agreement.
Discrimination and Harassment: Trade Union Values and Legal Obligations
This course will broaden members understanding of the union’s obligations around harassment and discrimination. Topics covered will include impacts, root causes and the union’s responsibilities in the workplace and union.
Because we will be covering more advanced concepts such as legal frameworks, case law and strategies for locals, we recommend that participants have some knowledge of the grievance process and are active in their local.
Globalization: Bargaining in a Borderless World
Steelworkers confront the destructive consequences of globalization everyday. From forestry and mining, to manufacturing and telecommunications, our members are negotiating with massive multinationals for which Canadian workplaces are but a small part of their global operations. We’re often confronted by job losses due to unfair trade agreements, environmental degradation from reckless resource extraction and the weakening of laws and regulations intended to protect workers and communities. Meanwhile, new workers arriving in Canada hoping to build a better life often face exploitation, such as widespread abuses of the wage-suppressing Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Yet, recent events and trends, including the pandemic, geopolitical rivalries, problems in global shipping, the climate crisis and a green transition, and popular frustration with deindustrialization and the corporate-led race to the bottom, could also challenge or put limits on globalization as we know it. This course will look at the tactics and tools used by employers and governments to spread and sustain this model of globalization, the response from unions in collective bargaining and politics, as well as alternatives for a model of development rooted in global justice.
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 shop stewards. Designed for both new and seasoned activists, it covers union-management relations, traditional and modern management theories, and the history of work organization.
Emphasis will be on communication, group dynamics, and conflict resolution. Through hands-on practice, you’ll gain confidence in both the boardroom and union meetings.
Leading with Union Principles
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.
Leading with Union Principles will help you develop leadership and communications skills to build solidarity and will help you support future leaders in our union.
Arbitration: Prepare and Present
This course is designed to give participants who have previously completed Stewards in Action I, II & III, the practical skills required to prepare and present a case at an Arbitration hearing. Special emphasis is placed on collecting evidence, effective techniques in examination and cross-examination, development of an opening statement and final arguments, as well as discussion of current trends and emerging issues at arbitration
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