Application formApplication deadline: January 28, 2026 by 04:30 pmSend via email to
[email protected]Note: Applications need signature or email approval from Local LEC
Course Descriptions:
Mandatory Equity Plenary Session
February 28, 2026 from 0830 to 0930All participants will be required to attend this information session prior to attending the course of their choice. Breakfast
will not be provided during this session.
Stewards 2: Facing the Employer, Building Member Involvement
February 28, 2026, 0930hrs to 1630hrsMarch 1, 2026, 0900hrs to 1300hrsThis 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 a 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.
Duty to Accommodate 1: A Tool for Inclusive Workplaces
February 28, 2026, 0930hrs to 1630hrsMarch 1, 2026, 0900hrs to 1300hrsProvincial legislation and existing case law require employers and unions to provide accommodation short of undue hardship. This interactive course examines the roles and responsibilities of the employer, the union, and the member in accommodating members with disabilities and all other protected groups under the Ontario Human Rights Code. It builds activists’ skills to support members requiring an accommodation, and to deal with employer resistance to accommodation in the workplace.
Basic Grievance Handling
February 28, 2026, 0930hrs to 1630hrsMarch 1, 2026, 0900hrs to 1300hrsThis course is designed to examine the grievance process from a workplace organizing perspective.Grievances are opportunities to build the union. This hands-on coursehelps members analyze situations to decide whether a grievance is the best approach. Participants will learn about different types of grievances and the remedies availablethrough the grievance/arbitration process. They will develop technical skills in writing and processing grievances, and practice communication to assess whether a member’s rights have been violated. Participants should bring their Collective Agreements to the course.
Union Skills for Workplace Investigations February 28, 2026, 0930hrs to 1630hrs
March 1, 2026, 0900hrs to 1300hrsHave you ever been called, at the last minute, to the employer’s office to “represent” a member who is being accused of serious wrong-doings? Have you wondered what to do and how best to represent this person, particularly if you suspect that they may have broken a rule or two?This hands-on course takes you step by step through a workplace investigations process. It starts with the first contact with the member, through to the response to the investigation findings, with lots of practice in between. Through case studies and a variety of active exercises you’ll practice interviewing the member, anticipating the investigator’s questions, preparing the member for meeting the investigator, taking good notes at the meeting, and working with the member to respond to the findings. The Resource Toolkit has additional information about investigations in different sectors, use of surveillance, and other issues.
Applications
Completed
application forms must include the signed recommendation of a Local Executive Officer (an approval via email from an LEC will be accepted if a signature is not possible) and be received by the Sault Ste. Marie Regional Office no later than January 28, 2026, at 04:30 pm to
[email protected]Location
Quattro Hotel & Conference Centre229 Great Northern Road, Sault Ste. Marie ON P6B 4Z1
Meals
No meals are provided by OPSEU/SEFPO for this event.Meals will be reimbursed at the rate of $23 for breakfast, $31 for lunch and $40 for dinner.
Accommodations Re Hotel
Information regarding accommodations will be provided to accepted applicants after the deadline ofJanuary 28, 2026 via email.
Lost wages / time off
Per past practice, lost wages will be paid for those members who are scheduled to work on these days or the nightshift before. Any claim for lost wages must be substantiated by proof from your employer.
Selection Process – Education Policy Section 7 (Policy Manual)
The selection process will be in accordance with the Education Policy – Section 7 of the Policy Manual. All Local Presidents have an OPSEU/SEFPO Policy Manual. Please contact your Local President to review this policy. Applicants will be notified via email after Janaury 28, 2026.
Cancellations
Notification by a member to cancel course attendance should be received by both the local president and the regional office no later than 48 hours before commencement of the regional school. When a member does not attend and the Regional office has not been notified 48 hours prior to the school’s commencement, the member will be assessed a $50.00 penalty. Extenuating circumstances will be taken into consideration.
Family / Attendant Care
Family/Attendant Care will be reimbursed as per OPSEU/SEFPO policy as outlined on the back of the expense claim. Such allowance is not intended to reimburse the claimant for dependant/family expenses they would have normally incurred as a result of employment except where the absence exceeds the normal workday or week. Family/dependent care will be reimbursed as per OPSEU/ SEFPO Policy Manual.
