CUPE 917 is hosting a competition for creating a new logo. All submission have been posted to our facebook page. Vote for the your favourite in poll posted above. The poll will close on Wednesday September 13th.
Voting will end on Wednesday September 13th and the winner will be presented on September 20th’s General Meeting.
On behalf of CUPE Union Education and CUPE BC, thank you for registering to be a part of our Fall 2023 Weeklong School being held in Nanaimo, BC from November 5-10th.
Hotel check-in and School Registration will open / start at 3:00 pm on Sunday, November 5.
Workshops will run from Mon – Thu 9:00 am to 4:30 pm with breaks during the day and Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
BC Mental Health First Aid
November 6 (9:00am) – 7, 2023 (4:30pm)Mental Health First Aid is designed to give you skills to assist someone who is experiencing a Mental Health crisis. It’s a 9 hr workshop in which 2 hrs is a pre-requisite that needs to be completed prior to the course.Mental Health in the Workplace: A Union Perspective
November 8 (9:00am) – 9, 2023 (4:30pm)More than half the population will experience a mental health problem over their lifetime. At least 20% of us are dealing with mental illness on any given day. Mental health issues touch every one of us directly or indirectly. What does this mean for us as workers? What about in our role as union activists? What are our duties and responsibilities? How can we support members who may be dealing with mental illness? This workshop will help answer these questions and more. *Includes certification “Mental Health First Aid.”
LET – Recording Secretaries
November 6 (9:00am) – 7, 2023 (12:00pm)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.LET – Leading as a Team
Nov 7, 2023 (1:00pm-4:30pm (Pacific))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.
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?
Learn principles and processes to plan member engagement in your local.
Introduction to Stewarding
Nov 6, 2023 (9:00am-4:30pm (Pacific))What does a CUPE steward do? If you are a new steward and want to learn how to help CUPE members solve workplace problems, this introductory workshop is for you! In this workshop, you will learn: • investigating workplace problems; • filing a grievance; • meeting with management; • dealing with workplace complaints. NOTE: Please bring a copy of your collective agreement to the workshop.SLS – Disability and ableism in the workplace
Nov 7, 2023 (9:00am-12:00pm (Pacific))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.
Homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia play out in our workplaces, locals, and communities. Learn how to challenge these kinds of discrimination, and respectfully represent gender and sexually diverse members in your workplace.
What is a psychologically healthy and safe workplace? Learn to identify the psychosocial hazards in a workplace, and the role of the steward in eliminating them.
Learn about Canada’s history of colonialism, engage in some myth-busting, and explore ways you can build solidarity with Indigenous workers and support reconciliation in the workplace.
This module equips stewards to be proactive when meeting with management. Learn tips for effective meetings, and build confidence by practicing meeting situations.
Literacy affects all of us at work. Learning new computer programs, understanding collective agreements, completing forms, or writing reports can all pose barriers for our members. Learn about how stewards can increase literacy awareness, and help make the union inclusive and accessible to members.
Health and Safety – An Introduction
November 6 (9:00am) – 7, 2023 (12:00pm)This course serves as an introduction into the world of health and safety and explores different basic concepts such as: • Identification of hazards; • Hierarchy of controls; • The basic role of health and safety committees; • Basics on the right to refuse. NOTE: See more Health and Safety courses in the Health and Safety Learning Series.HS – Making Committees Work
November 7 (1:00pm) – 9, 2023 (4:30pm)This module explores the structure, role and function of health and safety committees, their strengths and limitations, and how they can best work within the legislative framework, and within our union. NOTE: Please bring your binder and Health and Safety Committee Resource Kit.
Learn how to takes notes at committee meetings and prepare recommendations. NOTE: Please bring your binder and Health and Safety Committee Resource Kit.
As employers pull back resources, they expect workers to do more with less. This module will examine workload, the cause and effects of overwork, and strategies to overcome the ever increasing workload that is damaging not just our health at work, but the relationship we have outside of work. NOTE: Please bring your binder and Health and Safety Committee Resource Kit.
This module examines the risk factors that lead to violence in the workplace, and the employer’s obligations to prevent workers from being exposed to and injured by violence while at work. We examine relevant health and safety law, and start to develop strategies to make our workplaces safer. NOTE: Please bring your binder and Health and Safety Committee Resource Kit.
LET – Parliamentary Procedure
November 6 (9:00am) – 7, 2023 (12:00pm)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.Public Speaking
November 8 (9:00am) – 9, 2023 (12:00pm)This workshop will help you gain the confidence you need to speak up at a meeting or public event. Take the opportunity, in a supportive environment to practice speaking on various issues and resolutions. Learn ways to deal with nervousness, and how to prepare and present.
Coast Bastion Inn
11 Bastion Street
Nanaimo, British Columbia (map)
There is a huge demand for our weeklong learning programs. Cancellation requests must be done prior to October 16; after October 16, 2023 the registration fee is 100% non-refundable. To request a cancellation, please email Katie Rife, krife@cupe.ca
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.
CUPE 917 and 951 have set up a joint committee to distribute the CUPE Supplemental Fund as set out in the Letter of Agreements (CUPE 917 / LOU #12 and CUPE 951 / LOA #13).
Locals 917 and 951 have mutually agreed to use this fund to supplement the (Plan C) Orthodontics or Hearing Aids Health Benefit supplied by Pacific BlueCross (claimed once every 5 years) to a maximum of two-hundred, fifty dollars ($250) per member allotted on a first come, first served basis annually. It is not meant to replace the Health Benefit, rather to supplement it. The Joint committee comprised of two (2) CUPE 917 and two (2) CUPE 951 representatives appointed by the Union will administer the fund.
Please complete this form and email contact@cupe917.ca or deliver to the CUPE 917 office in
the HWB Room 218.
CUPE 917 will be participating in Victoria’s 2023 Pride Parade.
The Parade will take place on July 9th 2023 starting at 11:00AM. With as many as 120 entries and 40,000+ spectators, the Victoria Pride Parade is the largest display of PRIDE on the island! With a new route down Douglas Street before turning right onto Humboldt Street, left on Government Street and right onto Belleville Street, this year’s parade will be led by the Songhees Nation and Indigenous and Two-Spirit Guests of Honour.
CUPE 917 will be part of the Parade and we are looking for participants.
If you are interested contact us at (Please include your Full Name and Department) events@cupe917.ca.