President Doug Knight welcomes nearly 260 participants to AUPE labour school in Jasper
JASPER – AUPE President Doug Knight welcomed nearly 260 participants to the union’s sixth annual Labour Education School Sunday evening, advising them to play an active role in their courses and to compare notes with one another about the challenges they face in their worksites.
“Your participation is what it takes to make things work, in this school, in this union and on your worksites,” Knight told the opening session of the five-day program for committed AUPE activists.
Knight noted that he’s been a student at several of AUPE’s past labour schools, and that he recognizes students are expected to work hard and deal with a demanding advanced curriculum.
“But I also want you to mix and socialize with the other participants, in other sectors, from other worksites,” he advised. “Talk about what’s happening out there, the problems you encounter and the solutions you find that will work.”
Students arrived at the Jasper Park Lodge by bus from various locations in Alberta throughout the afternoon Sunday, registered for the program and got ready for their first classes Sunday night.
Knight made his welcoming remarks at dinner, and by 7:30 p.m. students were taking part in the opening sessions of their courses. Classes will resume immediately after breakfast Monday.
The goal of the intensive five-day program is to provide advanced union education for committed AUPE activists, said AUPE President Doug Knight, who will address the school’s opening session at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Training at the 2007 Labour Education School, the largest ever organized by the union, is designed to help activists deal with workplace challenges frequently faced by union activists, said school organizer Greg Maruca, an AUPE Union Representative.
In addition, this year some courses are aimed at such specific challenges as the role to be played by union members in AUPE’s campaign to change Alberta’s labour laws.
Seven courses are offered at this year’s Labour Education School:
- Organizing
- Duty to Accommodate (two classes)
- Advanced Steward Training
- Advanced Health and Safety
- Union Counseling (two classes)
- Educational Techniques and Processes for Union Activists
- Leadership (two classes)
Photo: AUPE President Doug Knight meets with participants in AUPE’s annual Labour Education School in Jasper after his welcoming remarks Sunday evening.