When applying for any of the courses at this year’s school, please note the prerequisites for each course. Applicants must have the met the prerequisites and/or required positions at time of registration.
Prerequisite: OH&S for Stewards (formerly OH&S Advocate Level 2) and must be a Union Steward
Not all Alberta workplaces have an onsite safety advocate, let alone an OHS Committee – and this is shown through the rates of injury and occupational disease.
Learning Outcomes: This course will help you learn how to resolve common health and safety issues, and hold employers accountable under Alberta’s legislation. You will gain the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to participate effectively in a worksite committee – and take up the torch of union activists who fought hard to get us where we are today.
This course is for: Stewards who wants to start a worksite OHS Committee, or make an existing one more effective.
This courses utilizes: Working in groups, students will discuss current issues with AUPE’s specialist staff, explore case studies from our award-winning CSI video series, welcome a guest speaker, review checklists, and identify risks by examining photos of workplace hazards.
Comments from previous students: “I learned what should happen in an OHS Committee,” “how to respond constructively to my manager,” and “what to share with our members.”
Prerequisite: Introduction to Your Union course
Course Description: This course is designed to promote the expression of working people through arts based activities. This year’s course will focus on the lockout of members at the Points West Living facility in Cold Lake.
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Prerequisite: Must be a Union Steward
Workplace harassment, violence and the bullying that stems from them are ongoing issues in the workplace. But what does bullying look and feel like? When does a disagreement cross the boundary into bullying behaviour? In what situations do opinions expressed in the workplace lead to psychosocial, ethical, and/or legal issues? In this course, you will learn how to better discern the boundaries between “the personal and the professional,” and what options are available to both victims and witnesses of workplace bullying. Through experiential activities, scenarios, group work, and role-plays you will be challenged to examine your own biases, and to begin to develop strategies for navigating such situations as a way of creating a safe and mutually respectful workplace experience for everyone.
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Note: This course is not designed as a workshop to navigate a past or current personal workplace harassment, violence, or bullying situation. While it does provide opportunity for sharing and reflection on personal experiences that relate to applications of the course content, it is not intended to replace the professional services available to you. If you have a personal issue you need help navigating, we ask that you raise it with your Member Services Officer.
This course is for: Stewards who are looking for more information in order to support and help their members with issues in their local.
This course utilizes: Experiential activities, scenarios, games, individual reflection, lecturettes, group work, and role-plays.
Prerequisite: Must be a Union Steward
Continuing Education for Stewards will build on the skills of the Grievance Handler by exposing stewards to a number of case studies with multiple issues.
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Note: This is not an introductory course.
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Prerequisite: Basic Conflict Management course
Leadership in today’s rapidly changing world requires a dynamic set of both skills and personal attributes. Challenges to effective leadership include a capacity for communication skills, respect, ethics, empathy, mentoring and relationship building. This interactive course will focus on both skill development in these areas and practical application of demonstrating “leadership”
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Note: This is not a component officer training course, though the skills can assist with your leadership roles in component positions.
This course is for: Members interested in reflecting on their leadership style and enhancing their skills. Those willing to maybe step out of their comfort zone in order to learn more about themselves and what they can offer to leadership within AUPE .
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Prerequisite: Introduction to Politics course
Unions are under attack, because they are one of the only institutions powerful enough to stand up to runaway corporate greed and cuts to public services. Fighting back won’t be easy – Alberta has the lowest unionization rates in the country and the media amps up common misconceptions about organized labour.
Learning Outcomes: This course will teach AUPE members how to ‘talk union’ and advocate for worker solidarity by taking on anti-union myths. Participants will leave this course empowered with a plan on how to fight back with your own messaging.
This course is for: Stewards who are looking for more information in order to support and help their members with issues in their local.
This course utilizes: Through group work, examining current data and research, practice public speaking, and discussions with the union’s Executive, students will learn the facts on AUPE and the social impacts of unions.