November 30 - December 5, 2025
Please note, the following workshop has material fees in addition to the registration fee. Please ensure these fees are added to your registration payment.
Health and Safety - $50.00
WSIB - $140.00
***FOR WSIB LEVEL III - LAW, Please note you must have completed Level I & II from Prevention Link**
***FOR HEALTH & SAFETY LEVEL II - LAW, Please note you must have completed Health & Safety Level I from the Workers Health & Safety Centre**
Registration payment must be submitted by mail upon completing the online registration. Please make cheque payable to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (MSS) and mail to CUPE - Ontario Regional Office, 80 Commerce Valley Drive E., Markham, ON L3T 0B2. Attn: Daniela Greco.
DO NOT make cheques payable to the Ontario Division or they will be returned. Payment must be received by October 31, 2025 or spaces will be released and given to a member on the wait list.
PAYMENT DEADLINE: October 31, 2025 without exception. Any space not paid for by this date will be released.
No refunds will be issued for cancellations after October 31, 2025, without exception.
English
Classroom
CUPE/SCFP
Michael Stokes Memorial Weeklong School 2025
SLS - Duty of fair representation
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Learn about where stewards get their authority in the workplace, the duty of fair representation, and other labour laws that cover the workplace. NOTE: Please bring your Steward Handbook to the workshop.
SLS - Grievance handling
Dec 1, 2025 (1:00pm-4:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Share tips and successful practices with other stewards, and learn strategies for handling difficult grievances. NOTE: Please bring your collective agreement and Steward Handbook to the workshop.
SLS - Challenging racism in the workplace
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
This workshop covers what racism looks like in the workplace, and your role as a steward in challenging it.
SLS - Disability and ableism in the workplace
Dec 2, 2025 (1:00pm-4:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Explore what ableism is, how to recognize it, and ways to address it. Learn about how to make your workplace and union accessible to workers with visible and invisible disabilities.
SLS - Handling discipline and discharge
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Learn about key legal concepts and terms, and the role of stewards during an employer’s investigation, when discipline is given, and during grievance meetings. NOTE: Please bring your collective agreement and Steward Handbook to the workshop.
SLS - Representing members in front of management
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
This module equips stewards to be proactive when meeting with management. Learn tips for effective meetings, and build confidence by practicing meeting situations.
SLS - Ally skills for stewards
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Effective stewards are champions for human rights and equality. Explore what it means to be an ally, and ways that stewards can step up as allies in the workplace and the union.
SLS - Conflict skills for stewards
Dec 4, 2025 (1:00pm-4:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Unresolved workplace conflict is stressful and weakens the union. Learn about the sources of workplace conflict and how to choose a response that fits the situation. Practice conflict communication skills that will help you resolve conflict at work and in the union.
SLS - Taking on privatization
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (17 spaces available)
Learn about different forms of privatization in CUPE workplaces, how it impacts our members, services, and the public, and what stewards can do about it.
LET - Parliamentary Procedure
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (14 spaces available)
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (14 spaces available)
This workshop is about following rules of order when chairing union meetings. Learn about the role of the chair and the different elements (motions, amendments, points of order, etc.). Get a chance to put the learning into practice. NOTE: Please bring a copy of your local bylaws to the workshop.
LET - Leadership Essentials
Dec 2, 2025 (1:00pm-4:00pm (Eastern)) (14 spaces available)
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (14 spaces available)
Who am I as a leader? Who are we as a local union? How do we fit into the broader movement? Learn how to use the power of your elected position to build power and strengthen solidarity in the union, in the labour movement and in our communities.
LET - Essentials for Inclusive Unions
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (14 spaces available)
As activists in our unions, we often ask why members are not more involved. This workshop asks a different question: Who is involved and who isn't and what might be some reasons why? How might our unconscious biases contribute to this? How can we represent members in a way that invites those on the margins to get involved and to see the union as place where they want to make a difference?
LET - Conflict-Ready Executives
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (14 spaces available)
In this workshop, participants will explore: - The value of conflict for effective groups - How our beliefs about conflict shape how we respond - The kinds of conflict executives struggle with - Productive ways to resolve conflict on an executive
An interactive and analytical course, Prevention Link has developed a holistic and intuitive course meant to prepare participants for WSIB and WSIAT hearings. Using case file examples and mock hearings, this intensive course will provide participants with the practical skills to prepare and present oral hearings before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance and Appeals Tribunal. Participants will review a file, gather additional evidence, research law, policy, and precedent, and prepare witnesses. They will also prepare witnesses for questioning, cross-questioning, and re-directing at a hearing. Total Cost $2240
WSIB III - Appeals and Dispute Resolutions
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern))
An interactive and analytical course, Prevention Link has developed a holistic and intuitive course meant to prepare participants for WSIB and WSIAT hearings. Using case file examples and mock hearings, this intensive course will provide participants with the practical skills to prepare and present oral hearings before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance and Appeals Tribunal. Participants will review a file, gather additional evidence, research law, policy, and precedent, and prepare witnesses. They will also prepare witnesses for questioning, cross-questioning, and re-directing at a hearing. Total Cost $2240
Prerequisite: Level I Program Duration: 30 hours Health and safety laws seldom anticipate the needs of individuals, their families or communities. Governments usually only respond after workplace tragedies and demands for change from workers and their unions. With this in mind, the Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) offers two programs, Level II Law (Provincial) for worker members of joint health and safety committees (JHSC), worker health and safety representatives, and other union representatives employed in Ontario-regulated workplaces and Level II Law ENFORCING WORKER RIGHTS Drawing on lessons from past successes, Level II Law participants learn how workers won health and safety rights and what needs to be done in the workplace to enforce these rights. Both 30-hour programs build on knowledge gained in the WHSC Level I program, respectively taking an in-depth look at Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act or Part II of the Canada Labour Code and their regulations. Through participant discussions and skill-developing exercises participants learn how laws are made and amended, as well as how to read and interpret laws and regulations that set out worker rights and employer responsibilities. They also learn how to find the “loopholes” or deficiencies of the law that require shortterm strategies in the workplace and in collective bargaining. ENSURING EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE The programs are divided into modules covering the following topics: • The law and the workplace • Occupational health and safety legislation in Ontario (provincial and federal) • How laws are made and read • Duties of individuals under the Act/Code and regulations • Joint health and safety committees (provincial)/workplace and policy health and safety committees (federal) • Duties of inspectors (provincial)/health and safety officers (federal), orders and appeals • Regulations • Changes and interpretations • Other legislation affecting worker health and safety. Upon completion, Level II Law participants are better prepared to help ensure employer compliance with existing health and safety law and union efforts to continue the improvement of health and safety law. Total cost: $2150
Health and Safety - Level II - Law
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern))
Prerequisite: Level I Program Duration: 30 hours Health and safety laws seldom anticipate the needs of individuals, their families or communities. Governments usually only respond after workplace tragedies and demands for change from workers and their unions. With this in mind, the Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) offers two programs, Level II Law (Provincial) for worker members of joint health and safety committees (JHSC), worker health and safety representatives, and other union representatives employed in Ontario-regulated workplaces and Level II Law ENFORCING WORKER RIGHTS Drawing on lessons from past successes, Level II Law participants learn how workers won health and safety rights and what needs to be done in the workplace to enforce these rights. Both 30-hour programs build on knowledge gained in the WHSC Level I program, respectively taking an in-depth look at Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act or Part II of the Canada Labour Code and their regulations. Through participant discussions and skill-developing exercises participants learn how laws are made and amended, as well as how to read and interpret laws and regulations that set out worker rights and employer responsibilities. They also learn how to find the “loopholes” or deficiencies of the law that require shortterm strategies in the workplace and in collective bargaining. ENSURING EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE The programs are divided into modules covering the following topics: • The law and the workplace • Occupational health and safety legislation in Ontario (provincial and federal) • How laws are made and read • Duties of individuals under the Act/Code and regulations • Joint health and safety committees (provincial)/workplace and policy health and safety committees (federal) • Duties of inspectors (provincial)/health and safety officers (federal), orders and appeals • Regulations • Changes and interpretations • Other legislation affecting worker health and safety. Upon completion, Level II Law participants are better prepared to help ensure employer compliance with existing health and safety law and union efforts to continue the improvement of health and safety law. Total cost: $2150
BARG - Bargaining solidarity
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (12 spaces available)
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (12 spaces available)
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (12 spaces available)
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (12 spaces available)
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (12 spaces available)
This workshop uses an intensive roleplay to help union activists develop the skills they need to build and maintain solidarity throughout the bargaining process. Discussions include analyzing internal and external forces that influence collective bargaining, identifying effective strategies and tactics for engaging members, and thinking about ways to reach marginalized members. NOTE: This workshop is for activists who want to learn how to use collective bargaining to build union power. This is not a “learn how to bargain” workshop.
Navigating Interpersonal and Group Conflict
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (15 spaces available)
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (15 spaces available)
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (15 spaces available)
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (15 spaces available)
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (15 spaces available)
Conflict is a part of our lives – at work, in the union, and at home. In this workshop we’ll build our conflict skills by looking at: • How our beliefs about conflict and our conflict style affect what happens in a conflict. • Sources of conflict in the union and at work. • Conflict dynamics, cultural differences and power • Choosing the best response in a conflict. • Conflict communication skills and difficult conversations
Arbitration
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern))
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern))
This workshop is aimed at CUPE stewards and officers who are active in grievance procedures. Participants will gain a complete understanding of the arbitration process. You will have a chance to do the kinds of research that must be done before an arbitration hearing. Your local and your members will benefit from your new skills! This workshop is designed for those members who have taken Introduction to Stewarding and some Steward Learning Series workshops and have experienced preparing and presenting a grievance. Please note, this workshop requires evening work.
Human Rights - An Introduction
Dec 1, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (13 spaces available)
Dec 2, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (13 spaces available)
Dec 3, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (13 spaces available)
Dec 4, 2025 (9:00am-4:00pm (Eastern)) (13 spaces available)
Dec 5, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm (Eastern)) (13 spaces available)
This course provides leaders and activists with the opportunity to develop the skills and perspectives we need to build a stronger, more inclusive union. Employers use racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination against people with disabilities to divide us as workers. We’ll focus on the role the union can and does play in advancing equality and challenging employers. This course is not about the Human Rights Code
Oct 31, 2025
White Oaks Resort and Spa
235 Taylor Road SS4
Niagara On the Lake , Ontario
(map)
110
$2100
Registration payment must be submitted by mail upon completing the online registration. Please make cheque payable to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (MSS) and mail to CUPE - Ontario Regional Office, 80 Commerce Valley Drive E., Markham, ON L3T 0B2. Attn: Daniela Greco.
DO NOT make cheques payable to the Ontario Division or they will be returned. Payment must be received by October 31, 2025 or spaces will be released and given to a member on the wait list.
PAYMENT DEADLINE: October 31, 2025 without exception. Any space not paid for by this date will be released.
No refunds will be issued for cancellations after October 31, 2025, without exception.
PLEASE NOTE & READ CAREFULLY: Registrations must be completed with the name of the member who is attending the workshop. Any registrations where one name is entered multiple times in order to hold space will be deleted without notification. Registrations marked TBA will not be accepted and will also be deleted. Payment must be received by the registration deadline or space will be given to another member on the waitlist where payment has been received.
There is a maximum of 5 attendees per local for the school. Any registrations beyond the 5 allowed will be deleted.
Registration fee is $2,100 for the week. Registration fee includes accommodation, continuous refreshment service and meals (Sunday dinner to Friday noon).
Please note, the following workshops have material fees in addition to the registration fees:
Health & Safety - $50
WSIB - $140
Please ensure these fees are added when you send payment.
In response to the health concerns of our members and staff, CUPE has implemented a Scent-Free Policy at all of our workshops. Scented products such as hair spray, perfume and deodorant can trigger reactions such as respiratory distress and headaches. Facilitators and participants are asked to refrain from using scented products while attending our workshops and meetings. Thank you for your cooperation.
Amanda Taylor
ataylor@cupe.ca
Daniela Greco
dgreco@cupe.ca