The District 3 School will be taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Ktunaxa Nation. Ktunaxa (pronounced ‘k-too-nah-ha’) people have occupied the lands adjacent to the Kootenay, Columbia Rivers and the Arrow Lakes of British Columbia, Canada for more than 10,000 years and covers approximately 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles) within the Kootenay region of south-eastern British Columbia and historically included parts of Alberta, Montana, Washington, and Idaho.
Times to note for 2024:
Sunday, September 15
• Registration – 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm
• Elder Opening – 6:00 pm
Monday, September 16
• School Opening session – 9:00 am
• Classes begin after opening to 4:30 pm
• Evening session – 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Tuesday, September 17
• Class 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
• Evening session – 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, September 18
• Class – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
• Free Night
Thursday, September 19
• Class – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
• Banquet – 6:00 pm
Friday, September 20
• Class – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Closing session – 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Courses
Bargaining in a Borderless World: Confronting Globalization and Building Union Power
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.
Advanced Grievance Handling (Stewards 3)
This advanced grievance handling course will cover how to strategize for the final grievance meeting and look at how to resolve, withdraw, or move forward. Participants will learn how to use research to determine if they have a case to move forward with and how to prepare their case. If you have a laptop, please bring it to the course.
This is an advanced course that will cover:
• Analyzing grievances
• Duty of Fair Representation
• Introduction to case law
• Research
Prerequisites: Steward 1 and 2
Occupational Health and Safety
This course is designed to introduce members to their role as a worker representative and their role on the joint occupational health and safety committee. This course will look at how to identify and address hazards, and how to assess the controls required to address hazards. We will introduce participants to how to access their provincial health and safety law along with Part II of the Canada Labour Code, regulations, and related laws. Participants will practice workplace inspections, accident and incident investigations and discuss other duties of workplace committee members or health and safety representatives.
Leading Bargaining
This course is for members who are ready to level up their bargaining, and prepare to lead bargaining. It is an advanced course, and participants will require previous experience in bargaining.
Participants will:
• Work through challenging case studies
• Practice techniques to lead bargaining
• Prepare proposals
• Broaden their understanding of how the law works in different jurisdictions during the bargaining process
• Share knowledge and best practices with other USW members
• Learn about process and strategy in bargaining
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. 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.
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 and communications skills to build solidarity.
Sessions focus on:
• Leadership styles
• Presentation skills
• Strategic planning
• Campaign management
• Mentoring
• Problem-solving
• Conflict resolution
Due to the number of courses being offered, class sizes and registration will be limited.
All courses are registered on a first come – first serve basis.
Enroll early!
For your information
- The registration form and fee per person must be received in the District 3 office no later than FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2024.
- The registration fee includes all meals from Sunday evening to lunch at noon on Friday. There will be a banquet dinner on Thursday night. The fee also includes accommodation (Sunday to Thursday inclusive) and course materials.
- Transportation will be provided from/to the airport. Please include your flight number and time during registration (if you have it at the time of registration) or provide it to Jullin at jaberly@usw.ca.
- You are expected to attend and participate in all sessions, including the evening sessions. You are there with the trust of the members to use their union dues in a way that will benefit members. Locals will be contacted if attendance is an issue.
- Cancellations: If for any reason a student is unable to attend the school, please inform the District Office no later than one week prior to the commencement of the school.
- Registration will take place from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday, September 15 in the St. Eugene’s Lobby (near the Casino).
Please ensure that each student has a copy of all the information contained in this package.
YOU will be required to pay for any incidentals incurred while in attendance at the school. If you do not cover these costs, the hotel will contact you or your local for the remuneration of these costs. The District will not be responsible for these costs.
Classes will end at 12:00 pm on Friday, and there will be a closing session from 1:00 pm -2:30 pm.
Robbie Kilbride Scholarship
In memory of Brother Robbie Kilbride, District 3 is offering a scholarship to a local union member who wants to participate in the Advanced Grievance course.
To apply for this scholarship, you are asked to write a 300-word essay on: “Factors to consider when making the decision to move forward in advancing a grievance”.
The essay is to be sent to the District 3 office no later than August 17, 2023, along with a completed registration form and registration fee. The local of the successful applicant will be reimbursed the registration fee.
Robbie passed away on June 7, 2004, leaving behind a long legacy of participation in the District 3 Summer Schools. His years of dedication to the Arbitration course have left his mark not only on the course but also on the hundreds of students who witnessed Robbie at his finest in the classroom. When it came to instructing others and mentoring Shop Stewards, Robbie was an accomplished teacher.
Robbie started his career at IPSCO in Port Moody, B.C. as a member of Local 5404 in 1974. Robbie held many positions in his local, including President. When IPSCO closed its operation in 1989, Robbie became an Organizer for the Steelworkers.
In June of 1990, Robbie became a staff representative and was assigned to service in Kimberley, B.C. His skills at the bargaining table and before an Arbitration Board assisted him to carry the local unions in the area through some difficult times. His passion was doing arbitrations and he was widely known and respected for his abilities by trade unionists, as well as employers and the lawyers he went up against.
In June of 1995, Robbie was assigned to the Trail, B.C. office where he remained until 2000 when he was transferred to the Winnipeg office and became the Area Supervisor. He was also the District 3 Health and Safety Coordinator and a member of the National Health and Safety Committee. Robbie was an active member of the NDP and sat on the Manitoba Federation of Labour.