Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The Education schedule has been updated with courses scheduled in Abbotsford and Prince Rupert!

Check out the entire schedule for the province and/or  apply for these courses online.

The 2010 weekend course schedule for Vancouver and Vancouver Island has been posted in the education section. We are in the process of scheduling courses in the Valley, North BC and the Interior – check back or sign up for the monthy emailout to be notified when those schedules are available.

A few upcoming courses …

• Talking Union Basics – Jan 22, 23 in Victoria
• Talking Union Basics – Feb 6,7 in Vancouver
• Understanding & Interpreting the Collective Agreement – Feb 27 in Nanaimo
• *Bargaining From Strength – March 20,21 in Vancouver*
• Understanding and Interpreting the CA – April 10 in Vancouver
• Understanding & Interpreting the Collective Agreement – April 10 in Courtenay
• Grievance Handling – May 8,9 in Vancouver
• Understanding & Interpreting the Collective Agreement – May 15 in Victoria

Visit the education page for the entire 2010 schedule and apply on-line here.  Here are the course descriptions.

*We are happy to offer the Bargaining from Strength course for the first time in BC!*

Want to get more information about the Collective Bargaining process and how it affects you? Wondering how it all works and how you can get more involved? Ever pondered the connections between bargaining and the larger political context? Understanding and being involved with the Collective Bargaining Process is essential for all union activists.

This 2 day course will provide an overview of the Collective Bargaining process and how it connects to broader global, economic and political context and more specifically to the union’s work on Political Action.

Please note the CLC Labour College application deadline has been extended to July 24, 2009. Information and application forms are available on the CLC website.

The Union Development Program (UDP) – PSAC BC Region

• Level One: December 1st  December 5th, 2009. Metrotown Hilton, Burnaby
• Level Two: January 31st  February 5th, 2010. CLC Winter School, Harrison Hot Springs
• Level Three: April 26th  May 1st, 2010. Metrotown Hilton, Burnaby

• Deadline for applications has been extended to  October 9th, 2009. Late applications will not be accepted.
• Prerequisite: All UDP applicants must have taken the PSAC Talking Union Basics (TUB) course or equivalent.
• Apply online here or download and mail in an application form (pdf)
• Download the UDP brochure (pdf)

The Union Development Program (UDP) is a sixteen-day intensive education program designed to develop the leadership skills of emerging union activists. The UDP includes three levels of learning events [UDP 1, UDP 2 and UDP 3] with specific leadership assignments in between. The complete program takes place over a 5 month period.

UDP 1:  At the Workplace  focuses on building the union at the Local level. At UDP 1, we explore union principles and we look at how privilege and oppression impacts us, our family, our community, our workplaces and the union. We analyze dynamic models of engaging and organizing members, develop effective communication strategies, practice public speaking, develop strategic planning skills and plan inclusive and strategic workplace actions.

UDP 2: Labours Role in Society deals with labour’s role in the social and economic fabric of our society. At UDP 2, we discuss the roots of racism and its impact. We look at our union’s history and the history of the Canadian labour movement. We explore ways of navigating and participating in the PSAC, discuss the impact of the economy on labour and society, and we look at how labour operates nationally and internationally.

UDP 3: Leadership in Action focuses on building and sustaining activism in the union. We are inspired by the work of other union and social justice activists. We look more closely at how to develop ourselves as union activists: building on leadership skills and looking at healthy ways to sustain our energies. At UDP 3, the participant becomes the facilitator through development and delivery of interactive presentations on current issues requiring action. The course highlights a mock convention where we practice our political skills and model union democracy. UDP 3 is our springboard to increased activism. We will wind up by planning and celebrating our role in building the future of the union.

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PSAC BC and the TB JCTC are co-sponsoring 3 courses to take place during National Public Service Week.

• INTERPRETING THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
• UBC Robson Square (800 Robson Street, Vancouver)
• Tuesday, June 16 (8:00 – 16:00) Room C215
• Workshop # 90215

• INTERPRETING THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
• Ramada Inn (36035 North Parallel Road, Abbotsford)
• Tuesday, June 16 (8:00 – 16:00)
• Workshop # 90226

• EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
• UBC Robson Square (800 Robson Street, Vancouver)
• Tuesday, June 16 (8:00 – 16:00) Room C225
• Workshop # 90216

For more details, and to apply online, visit the JLP website.

Wednesday, September 30th – Sunday, October 4th, 2009, Metrotown Hilton

Application Deadline: June 30th, 2009 (late applications will not be accepted).

Please note: The LOAT is open to Stewards and Local Officers.

Prerequisites: Talking Union Basics (TUB) or equivalent

“Strong and effective Locals are the building blocks of our Union. They are essential to having a mobilized membership. Education is critical to the development of strong and effective Locals.”�� National Board of Directors (NBoD)

Are you a Local Officer and/or Steward? Are you interested in finding new ways to make your local executive function more efficiently? Do you want to gain tools and knowledge that will help you develop leadership, problem-solving and mobilization skills? Do you want to meet and network with other members from across the region and share skills and experiences?

Then the Local Officers Advanced Training (LOAT) is the course for you! The LOAT is an Advanced, In-Residence course that is geared specifically towards Local Officers and Stewards. The LOAT will provide you with an in-depth understanding of the tools necessary to run effective locals and provide you with the skills needed to be a successful union activist.

Course content includes the role of the local executive, strategic planning, local activities, local committees and terms of reference, communicating and recruiting, building an inclusive union, representation issues, local meetings, improving the rights and protections of union representatives and many other topics. Participants will also learn about social activism and how to involve members in the broader labour movement!

Expenses:

Loss of Salary – Participants scheduled to work during the course will be reimbursed loss of salary.

In-Residence Courses – The LOAT is an Advanced, In-Residence Course and all participants for this course will be provided accommodation and considered in travel status.

Family Care – The PSAC covers family care expenses for PSAC courses, union schools and other education events.

For further details regarding expense entitlements, please click here.

Apply now.

Please note that the TUB course scheduled for March 27,28 in Courtenay has been postponed until the Fall. The Victoria office will be contacting members who have applied for the course with more details.

Young, Organizing, Unionizing and Resisting!

YOUR course is a participatory, action-oriented course for PSAC members under the age of 30. Come meet other young workers to share experiences, discuss and analyze the issues they face at work, in the union and in society.

Participants will talk about their rights as workers, find out what it means to be in a unionized work environment, and a member of a union like the PSAC. They will also share and learn about global issues and the role of young workers in the dynamic movement for social justice.

The course will take place in Vancouver, March 26-27, 2009. Members under 30 from across British Columbia are encouraged to apply before the deadline of March 5.� Apply on line here.

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Joint JLP Workshops Being Offered by the PSAC and the Pacific Federal Council in Vancouver, Surrey and Abbotsford.

The PSAC and the Pacific Federal Council are working together to offer Joint Learning Program (JLP) workshops during National Public Service Week in the Vancouver and Fraser Valley areas.

We are offering the 1-day respecting Differences/Anti-Discrimination workshop in Vancouver, Surrey, and Abbotsford.

The dates and locations for the workshops are:

• Vancouver: June 17th, Vancouver YWCA, 733 Beatty Street
• Surrey: June 17th, Surrey Days Inn, 9850 King George Hwy
• Abbotsford: June 18th, Best Western, 32110 Marshall Road

This exciting and interactive workshop examines what is meant by diversity and why gaining an understanding of issues of diversity and equity is both an individual and organizational necessity. There will be an exploration on how unconscious biases or assumptions impair our ability to work with others and limit our lives. By using various exercises and case studies, participants will practice skills to deal with the challenges of facing diversity in a reflective, responsible, and proactive manner.

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October 3,4,5: Building Our Union, Building Our Movement! Ensuring Labour’s Relevance in a Changing World

The theme of this year’s union school is “Building Our Union, Building Our Movement! Ensuring Labour’s Relevance in a Changing World.” Our goal is to strengthen our union and ensure the relevancy of the labour movement in a changing world by building solidarity with other workers and communities, both locally and globally.

Can our union and the labour movement remain relevant in an increasingly changing world? How can we mobilize to protect the rights of our members and build solidarity with other workers struggling against exploitation? How can the labour movement organize a collective response to the increasing corporatization of our workplaces and our communities? How can we engage our political system, particularly at a municipal level, to make sure that as trade unionists, our voices are heard in the larger arena?

By working hand-in-hand with other members of our locals, our unions and communities around the world, we can create and build a labour movement that can respond to the many challenges that workers face today. By building solidarity with other workers – particularly those that are working in unorganized workplaces, in temporary jobs and often in precarious working conditions – and exploring creative strategies to protect our collective rights, we can forge a vibrant movement for social change that in will in turn, strengthen our own union.

This theme underscores how critical it is for our survival and growth as trade unionists to identify new strategies for resistance that are rooted in building alliances across unions, communities and borders, particularly with those workers and other members of our society who are the most marginalized.

Plenary sessions and guest speakers will demonstrate the links between strengthening our union, maintaining the relevance of labour movements at both a local and global level and protecting the rights of all workers.

Visit the Union School 2008 page for more information, course descriptions, and application forms.

Bosses and Workers’ Differing Perspectives on Economic Issues

• 4 Week course
• February 20 & 27, March 5 & 12
• Wednesday evenings, 6:30 to 9:00 pm
• CAW Hall, 312 12th Street
• New Westminster

Course Outline:

• Day 1 – Labour Markets – Why do most people need jobs, but some don’t?
• Day 2 – Stock Market and Shop Floors – Where does all the wealth come from?
• Day 3 – Budgets, Deficits, and Taxes – Who’s paying all the bills?
• Day 4 – Privatization – Who owns the world?

Courses will include lecture, discussion, with integrated use of media such as music and video to illustrated the prevalence of hidden economic persuasion in everyday life. A strict distinction between the mainstream view of businesses and alternative views will be made in each class in order to understand how economic issues are
shaped by the social position of the people involved.

Underlying Philosophy:

Workers often share a common sense understanding with other ordinary people; they understand the economy as a mysterious world of financial markets, which is inhabited by investment bankers, stockbrokers, and media pundits. If the workers are unionized, labour law, collective bargaining and organizing professionals complement this world of
finance. The contrast between such perceptions and everyday experience of the individual pursuit of jobs and work place conflicts produces widespread feelings of isolation, alienation, and powerlessness that hamper workers’ individual capacities and collective activism.

One factor to overcome such impediments to strong labour movements is to focus labour education on economic issues. This, however, should not counter neo-liberal mainstream views with an alternative variety of expert knowledge. The starting point should be the experiences of individual workers as job seekers instead. Proceeding from there, it should be explained why working people have to sell their labour power to the bosses’, and also why the latter are on top of the hierarchical power relations at the workplace. Only on this basis can management strategies, economic policies and international economic relations be understood as processes that ultimately depend on workers as the producers of wealth. The ultimate goal of this type of worker education is to build capacities in such a way that enables them to get involved in economical and
political self-representation.

Course Instructor: Ingo Schmidt

Ingo Schmidt teaches Labour Relations at Athabasca University and is developing a course on Economics for Workers. He has written books and articles on economic policies. Collaborating with the Working Group for Alternative Economic Policies and major unions, Ingo worked as a labour educator in Germany before he came to Canada.

Course Fees: $25 (subsidies available)

Please register through the Vancouver & District Labour Council, 604-254-0703, or office@vdlc.ca

Presented by the Vancouver & District Labour Council Education Committee

via Vancouver & District Labour Council

A Chance to Go to School in Cuba

Wouldn’t it be great to have a place to meet other activists, learn something useful and have some fun in the sun at the same time?

Well how about getting together in Havana, Cuba in May, 2008 for a week of global solidarity courses and a program of events designed especially for activists.

That is the idea behind a Global Solidarity School. Its being organized in Cuba by a group of Canadian labour activists and educators. The school will run from May 4 to May 10 and offer five week-long courses designed to interest activists and their spouses.

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PSAC BC Education Forum – Dinner and Workshop on Writing Effective Resolutions

• December 12th
• Dinner @ 5:30 pm, workshop @ 6pm
• Vancouver RO – 200-5238 Joyce, 1 1/2 blocks south of the Skytrain

Regional and component conventions are coming up quickly and the deadlines for submitting resolutions are fast approaching! Are you interested in finding out what makes a good resolution? Want to find out how to write resolutions more effectively and get support for them? If there is enough interest, we would like to hold an evening workshop on Wednesday, December 12th on how to write resolutions as part of our education forum series.

All members from Vancouver and the surrounding areas are invited -please RSVP by December 5th to Amal Rana, 604.430.5631 or ranaa@psac.com, a catered dinner will be served.

71 members from across the BC Region – two thirds of whom were attending their first school – recently came together for the 2007 PSAC BC Union School in Burnaby from November 2nd-4th.

Over 3 days, participants were inspired by guest speakers such as National President John Gordon and CCPA BC Director Seth Klein who spoke on the school theme of “Public and Proud! Building Union Resistance to Privatization” and called upon those present to defend quality public services and ensure that people come before profits.

click on the thumbnails for a larger photo
there are lots more in the Union School 2007 photo gallery.

Keynote speaker Malalai Joya – Afghan Member of Parliament and women’s rights activist – shared her thoughts on the current situation in Afghanistan.

The school was opened and closed by Aboriginal Elder Phillipa Ryan and made history by providing the first course specifically for Aboriginal members in the region called “Our Community, Our Union, Our Rights.”

Defending Our Communities – Resisting Globalization, Duty to Accommodate and Health and Safety Level II were the other courses offered at the school. Participants on these courses developed a plan to resist globalization, started a network of union activists working on Duty to Accommodate issues and identified ways in which to move forward Health and Safety issues in the workplace.

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To: All Lower Mainland Locals, Area Councils and Committees

Greetings Sisters and Brothers!

Our 2007 Union School is fast approaching and I am very excited and pleased to extend an invitation to all PSAC members in the Lower Mainland who are not attending the school to join us this year to hear two incredible speakers who will be speaking on November 2nd and November 3rd at the Metrotown Hilton in Burnaby (6083 McKay Avenue).

November 2nd, 2007 : We are greatly honoured to present Malalai Joya, member of the Afghan Parliament and world renowned activist as our keynote speaker at the school. She will open our school at on Friday, November 2nd at 12:30 pm.

Malalai’s upcoming visit to Vancouver and to our school represents a rare opportunity for us to hear directly about conditions in Afghanistan. Malalai is one of Afghanistan’s most courageous politicians and a dedicated defender of the rights of the Afghan people and women in particular. She has survived four assassination attempts and was recently suspended from the country’s parliament to which she was democratically elected in 2005. Despite this, she continues to speak out both in her own country and around the world.

• The week prior to the school, Malalai Joya will also be speaking at several engagements in Vancouver & Victoria – visit bclabouragainstwar.ca for details.
• Malalai Joya will be speaking at the stopwar.ca rally in Vancouver, Saturday October 27th – visit stopwar.ca for details.

November 3rd, 2007: Malalai’s key note speech at the school on Friday will be followed by a panel discussion on defending public services with PSAC National President John Gordon and Seth Klein – BC Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) – on Saturday, November 3rd at 9AM. We are very pleased that John will be joining us – please take advantage of this great opportunity to hear him speak about defending quality public services, collective bargaining, and other important issues in our union. John, along with Seth, will also be pleased to answer questions after the panel presentations.

John Gordon was elected as the PSAC’s National President in May 2006 at the PSAC’s Triennial Convention. John had been the Union’s National Vice-President since 2000. Prior to 2000, he was the National President of the former Union of Public Works Employees component (now Government Services Union). He has also been a union activist in the broader labour movement with extensive involvement in the Labour Council of Metro Toronto and the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Seth Klein is the BC Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a public policy research institute committed to social, economic and environmental justice. He is a frequent media commentator and public speaker on public policy issues. He has authored numerous studies and newspaper articles.

We very much hope that you are able to join us to hear these amazing speakers. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like more information. Hope to see you there!

In solidarity, Amal Rana, Regional Education Officer

Here are some upcoming Joint Learning Program events in Vancouver, for more information about the JLP visit www.jlp-pam.ca or

• November 6,7,8 – Facilitator Clinic.
  • Day one of the clinic will be devoted to learning activities, including a piece on questioning skills, public service renewal and building a tickle trunk.
  • Day two will be practice facilitation and day three in the afternoon will be devoted to a workshop presented by the Aboriginal Speaker’s Bureau, Catherine Blackstock, focusing on the history of of First Nations in the context of present day events.
• Facilitator Orientation Sessions -  November 19,20,21,22,23, Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver.

This years Union School will be held November 2,3,4 in Burnaby. The Application deadline is September 28th.

What is the Union School? Union training at its best! It is an opportunity for active PSAC members to gain more specialized knowledge and skills. You will network with other members from BC and return to your workplaces and locals energized and educated to work on behalf of the membership.

• Apply on-line here.
• More information & course descriptions.

The theme of this year’s union school is “Public and Proud! Building Union Resistance to Privatization.” Our goal is to organize and mobilize members of our union and our communities and build an agenda of resistance to the privatization of public services.

The PSAC BC Regional Education Program is coming to your neighborhood!

• 4 – 7PM, Wednesday, September 12th
• The Ramada Plaza & Conference Centre, Mt. Baker Room
• 36035 North Parallel Road, Abbotsford

The regional education program is coming to your neighborhood and we want to hear from you!

• Share your thoughts and feedback on union education and courses for your area!
• Help shape the future of the regional education program!
• Join us for some great food, company and conversation!
• Meet other PSAC members and staff!

Refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact Amal Rana (Regional Education Officer) at the Vancouver Regional Office @ 1.800.663.1655 or ranaa@psac.com

The PSAC BC Regional Education Program is coming to your neighborhood!

• Penticton: August 21st, 2007, 5pm to 8pm – Lakeside Resort, 21 Lakeshore Drive West, Merlot Room
• Kelowna: August 22nd, 2007, 5pm to 8pm – Coast Capri Hotel, 1171 Harvey Avenue, Shiraz Room
• Vernon: August 23rd, 2007, 5pm to 8pm – Best Western, 3914 32nd Street, Okanagan Room

We want to hear from you: share your thoughts and feedback on union education and courses for your area!

• Help shape the future of the regional education program!
• Join us for some great food, company and conversation!
• Meet other PSAC members and staff!
• Refreshments will be served.

For more information, please contact Amal Rana (Regional Education Officer) at the Vancouver Regional Office @ 1.800.663.1655 or ranaa@psac.com

Here are some photos taken at recent PSAC and related events … updated June 28^th

Advanced Stewards Training in Vancouver

Members from many different components & locals came together at the beginning of the month to take four-day Advanced Steward Training courses held in Vancouver & Victoria. The objectives of the course were:

• To identify the roles and responsibilities of PSAC Stewards.
• To develop participants’ confidence in their ability to be effective Stewards in the workplace.
• To increase participants’ understanding of how to empower and motivate members.
• To provide participants with the opportunity to develop and practice the skills necessary to be effective advocates in representing their members.
• To motivate participants to use their knowledge and skills as Stewards to establish an effective union presence at the workplace.

Stewards from across the province built on their knowledge, skills and confidence so that they could provide effective representation in the workplace and mobilize members. Here are some photos, click the thumbnails for a larger view.

Visit the PSAC photo gallery for all the pictures taken at the Advanced Steward Training course in Vancouver.

Here are the members in Victoria who took the AST, click for a larger view …

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