Region 2 – Weekend Virtual Educational – November 20 and November 21, 2021

Member Education/Formation des Membres logo
Saturday, November 20, 2021
To Sunday, November 21, 2021
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Virtual
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Region 2 is offering a Virtual Weekend Educational as follows:

  • Saturday, November 20, 2021 – 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
  • Sunday, November 21, 2021 – 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Courses offered:

Basic Grievance Handling for Union Building

This course is designed to examine the grievance process from a workplace organizing perspective. Grievances are opportunities to build the union. This hands-on course helps members analyze situations to decide whether a grievance is the best approach.

They will learn about different types of grievances and the remedies available through the grievance/arbitration process. They will develop technical skills in writing, processing grievances, and practice communication to assess whether a member’s rights have been violated. Participants should bring their Collective Agreements to the course.

Dismantling Anti-Black Racism (DABR)

The 1.5-day Dismantling Anti-Black Racism course will raise awareness, provide a better understanding, and include strategies to dismantle anti-Black racism (ABR). It explores the topics of what anti-Black racism is and provides Black history highlights for a deeper understanding of the history of slavery and its impacts today. The course addresses the need to confront white supremacy. Participants will understand how colonization and the socially constructed concept of race have affected Black people. Additionally, the course highlights past, present, and future efforts to address anti-Black racism in the workplace and in OPSEU/SEFPO.

In this introductory course, participants will develop skills and strategies in order to identify and intervene in situations of anti-Black racism. They will use case studies, videos, and real-life scenarios to navigate difficult conversations. Participants will also have access to current terminology and be provided with tools to have (ABR) discussions that are important to engage in, especially with family members, fellow union members, neighbours, and co-workers. This course will equip participants with the knowledge and ability to take action against anti-Black racism in our Union.

This course is a core OPSEU/SEFPO educational component that is valuable for all Union activists to attend.

Interpreting Your Collective Agreement: An Activist’s Role

Do you know what your collective agreement is? Do you have a copy of it? Have you ever wondered what is in your collective agreement and how to find information on different articles? Do you know how the collective agreement is structured? Are you confused by some of the terms used in it? In this newly revised version of the Contract Interpretation course members will be assisted in understanding the power of their collective agreement and how to interpret and enforce their collective agreement. Using interpretation guidelines developed through case law, participants will build the skills and confidence needed to understand and use their collective agreements. Activities will give participants an opportunity to review legislation, examine the importance of timelines, discuss case scenarios and debate some common clauses and what they mean. Participants should bring their Collective Agreements to the course.

Newly Updated: Mental Health: Challenging the Stigma in the Workplace

As workers and labour activists, we are faced with economic, social, and political changes in our workplaces that impact our mental wellbeing on a daily basis. We all respond differently to situations that impact our lives and subsequently, our mental health. This introductory course explores mental health, mental health concerns, and stigma in the workplace. Some of the topics covered in this course include: demystifying mental health; individual, union, and employer responsibilities; member-to-member issues; and some strategies to challenge stigma and build inclusion.

Stewards 1: Making a Difference in the Workplace

This updated version (March 2015) of Stewards 1 includes a more detailed description and history of OPSEU/SEFPO’s equity-seeking groups. The course continues to support stewards through a range of tools and practical activities. The key aims are to strengthen steward skills to orient a new employee to the union, have effective one-on-one conversations with a cross-section of members, develop a communications strategy to enlist diverse member involvement, and develop approaches to everyday workplace problems.

Throughout the course, participants are supported as they develop a profile of their members, clarify the tasks of the steward, find the resources and information in OPSEU/SEFPO, and understand the grievance process and their role in it. Stewards 1 is a prerequisite to Stewards 2 and must be completed before taking Stewards 2. Participants should bring their Collective Agreements to the course.

Stewards 2: Facing the Employer, Building Member Involvement

Prerequisite: Stewards 1

This revised follow-up to Stewards 1 focuses on investigating and writing a grievance, facing management, and involving members in worksite action. Participants will use their own collective agreements to identify grievances. They will become immersed in an evolving case study in order to interview a grievor, write up a grievance, face the employer at Step 1 and make a presentation on safety issues to the union side of the Joint Health and Safety Committee. They will examine the elements of effective mobilization and develop a campaign strategy for a local. Participants should bring their collective agreements.

Application forms

Applications are now closed.

 

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