Workshop Catalog

Good bylaws are an essential component of a well-functioning local. In this online workshop, you will learn the principles of good bylaws and how to make sure they are in compliance with CUPE's national constitution. We'll also look at how clear language bylaws help our members get involved in the work of the union.

NOTE: You will need your local bylaws to participate.

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

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

Learn about your local's duty to represent the members in your union, the legal requirements of fair representation and how it applies to your collective agreement and other laws covering your workplace.

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?

This workshop is for all members in an elected position within the local union. Whether you are a trustee or a member of the executive, learning about the basics of the local union’s finances is a priority. In this workshop, you will learn about your duties regarding the finances of the union, budgeting and how to be transparent and accountable to members. 

NOTE: This workshop is a pre-requisite for Secretary-Treasurers and Trustees wishing to take LET - Financial Officers.

Following the completion of LET - Financial Essentials, this 6-hour workshop allows Secretary-treasurers and Trustees to delve deeper into local finances.

Secretary-treasures will learn how to use the CUPE electronic ledger, manage the local union's funds and accounts, and prepare reports to the membership and the trustees.

Trustees will learn how to properly perform an audit of the local union's books, accounts, properties, and assets. At the end of this workshop, Trustees will be able to make recommendations to the local union to improve the local union's financial health.

NOTE: Please bring a laptop, if possible.

Have you ever sat through a meeting, either as a participant or a facilitator that you knew could be more focused, efficient, inclusive, or effective? We use Bourinot's rules of parliamentary procedure to make important decisions in a way that is fair. But sometimes a different kind of conversation is needed to be inclusive and build our movement. In this workshop, executive members learn how to find and lead the right process for the work that needs to get done.

Parliamentary procedure is an important part of our democratic process in CUPE. Some conversations are better had using other approaches. How do you decide when parli-pro is needed and when another approach could help?
Build your facilitation skills for supporting effective and inclusive discussions, learn and practice some processes that you can use in your day to day work.

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.

In this workshop, executive teams explore power and responsibility that comes with it, how we work in teams and how to balance our leadership styles to engage the membership and work effectively across diversity.

In this workshop, executive teams explore power and responsibility that comes with it, how we work in teams and how to balance our leadership styles to engage the membership and work effectively across diversity.

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.

This workshop is for local executive members who have previously taken the the 9-hour parliamentary procedure workshop, to help refresh and practice chairing skills; or who have not taken the full workshop and need a primer.

NOTE: Participants should bring their local bylaws to the workshop.

Learn principles and processes to plan member engagement in your local.

Learn to recognize the signs that privatization is coming.
Learn how to be prepared.
Strategize and plan to stop privatization at your workplace before it starts.

Recording Secretaries play a vital role in keeping local unions strong.
Learn how to:
• take clear and accurate meeting minutes;
• organize files;
• process and write correspondence; and
• communicate effectively with members.

NOTE: Please bring your local bylaws, sample meeting notices, sample membership meeting minutes and a laptop or tablet (if you have one) to the workshop.

This online workshop will help newly-elected treasurers learn about the basics of the local union’s finances. You will learn about your duties regarding the finances of the union, keeping the books, and how to be transparent and accountable to members. 

Staff work with locals to put together a strategic planning session. Strategic planning is a collaborative way to set achievable and measurable goals for your local. It will help you determine what will be implemented over a matter of weeks and years so your local can evolve and grow to serve your membership better. It is also a way to build capacity and activism within your local. This is not an off the shelf workshop. Each situation is different and requires a tailor made approach.

This online workshop will help new trustees understand their role and responsibilities. You will leave the workshop with a better understanding of union finances, financial controls, and financial terms as well as the basics of the trustees' audit.

This online workshop will prepare you to run a membership meeting online. Learn how to use features in Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms to present reports, move and discuss motions, and vote. The workshop includes a parliamentary procedure refresher and pointers for how to chair a good online meeting.