Labour education builds solidarity and knowledge. It teaches the skills unions need to represent their members and defend their rights using proven methods that allow adults of all backgrounds to learn. If your union wants to train the next generation of local activists or expand the skills that today’s leaders and activists already have, the CLC Winter School 2027 is here to help your union succeed.
The CLC Pacific Region Winter School is the largest labour school in Canada and we take pride in offering the very best in labour education.
Date
Sunday, January 10, 2027 to Friday, January 15, 2027
Location
Harrison Hot Springs, 100 Esplanade Ave., B.C. V0M 1K0
Fees
Single Accommodation: $2,385.00
We will not be offering Shared Accommodation for the 2027 Winter School.
To change or cancel a registration after December 16, 2026, you must contact the Pacific Region office at pacific@clcctc.ca
Cancellations received after January 1, 2027 will be subject to a $350.00 cancellation fee.
Registrants must have the approval of their union before registering.
Community Savings Credit Union Scholarship
Kim Manton Memorial Scholarship
One Movement Threads “Movement Builder” Scholarship
CUPE BC 2027 Young Workers Scholarship
Child Care:
Free child care is provided at Winter School for eligible delegates with children ages 12 months to 12 years. An eligible delegate is a single parent, a parent not accompanied by a spouse/companion, or where both parents are delegates. While the CLC will pay the actual childcare costs at the school, students will be responsible for any additional hotel charges for their child. Delegates having additional childcare costs as a result of leaving their children at home should apply for reimbursement from their own union.
There is a limited number of spots available in the childcare program. Spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Delegates requiring child care must pre-register and indicate child care on their registration form. Requests for child care do not constitute guaranteed spots in the childcare program. The deadline for childcare registrations is December 4, 2026. Requests received after this deadline will only be accommodated if there is room in the childcare program. Cancellations are required and must be received 14 days in advance of your attendance at Winter School. Failure to cancel booked childcare space(s) will result in a “no-show fee” of $300.00.
*Childcare arrangements may not be able to accommodate special needs, but please contact the Pacific Region office for more information.
Please be aware that should unforeseen circumstances arise due to staffing issues, there is the possibility that childcare coverage may be cancelled without advance notice. Participants wishing to utilize the childcare program should keep alternate arrangements in mind, just in case.
COVID Policies & Requirements:
We will be following all provincial health requirements at the 2027 Winter School. As provincial requirements do change on short notice, we encourage all affiliates to remain up-to-date. We will provide updates on our website regarding any changes to health requirements for the school. All participants should be prepared to comply in the event a mask and/or vaccine mandate is reintroduced in B.C. If changes to the COVID requirements make a participant unable to attend, the standard cancellation policy will apply. At this time, we are strongly encouraging all participants to be fully vaccinated, to help protect themselves and others.
Courses Offered:
BCFED – Organizing and Campaign Fundamentals
This BCFED Organizing Institute training will equip participants with the essential skills of union organizing to build power within unions and organize new workers into the labour movement. Participants will learn the theory and practice of powerful communication and storytelling, building authentic trust and relationships, overcoming workplace fear and apathy, and strategic mapping work.
This is an opportunity for participants to learn and practise effective organizing conversations alongside peers and experienced organizers from across our movement. Participants will explore the key elements of successful organizing campaigns, and understand how provincial and federal labour codes work in real organizing situations.
This is an intensive, hands-on course that simulates actual union organizing campaign conditions and is designed for emerging labour activists and those new to organizing who are ready to expand their skills and build worker power. Participants should come prepared for an engaging mix of interactive coursework, collaborative small groups, and real-time practice sessions.
This course is presented by the BC Federation of Labour.
Collective Bargaining Level 1
Participants will leave with a solid understanding of the bargaining process and the factors that affect collective bargaining. This course also introduces some of the laws and rules that structure the bargaining process and provides opportunities for hands-on practice and skills development in preparing for and negotiating parts of a collective agreement. Level 1 is aimed at new bargaining committee members and local union officers. You may want to bring a calculator for this course.
Facing Management Effectively
This course will look at economic, political, and social forces at play between union and management. It will examine the roles and rights of each group and the different types of union/management relationships and styles. We will look at the power, bias, and privilege dynamics between union and management and how we can communicate effectively. We will focus on problem solving – understanding issues, developing strategies, finding and presenting facts and argument, finding areas of agreement, building solutions, implementing and maintaining solutions. Participants can expect lots of participation, interaction, and role-plays along with practical skills and tools for communication, analysis, strategy, and critical thinking.
From Values to Action: Embedding Human Rights in Union Roles and Practice
Provides union leaders and members with a solid understanding of human rights principles and values, along with practical skills to apply them in every area of union work – such as leadership, union roles, organizing, bargaining and advocacy – across the entire labour movement. Participants will: build a foundational understanding of human rights principles, values and history; apply anti-oppression frameworks to union roles, leadership, labour organizing, and advocacy; learn to address human rights issues in practical and systemic ways; and foster personal and collective commitments to building human rights-centered unions.
Who this course is for: All workers, union members and leaders.
CUPE 402 has established a scholarship for this course through the B.C. Federation of Labour.
Interested applicants should contact the BCFED or download the scholarship information package and application form from our website: www.winterschool.ca/registration.
Labour Arbitration Level 1
This course is designed to introduce participants to the practical skills required to prepare and present a case at an arbitration hearing. Special emphasis is placed on evidence, examination and cross-examination, the opening statement, and final argument. You will also discuss current trends and cases dealing with the arbitration process. This course would be useful for grievance committee members or chairpersons, or union staff or officers who have not yet had extensive experience with the arbitration process.
Member Engagement – Member Action
This course is designed for experienced shop stewards, local union leaders, and union staff who want to transform how members engage with their union and how their union engages with members.
This course will train participants on the three-step approach to effective member engagement (Go, Listen, Build) and connect it to a three-step approach for building an active membership (one-on-one communication, taking action on worksite issues, and designing a strategy and plan to win).
This training is particularly helpful for unions with upcoming contract negotiations, a backlog of unresolved grievances, a particularly disengaged membership, or a diverse membership that is not reflected in local leadership.
Each participant will leave the training with a worksite specific plan for creating an engaged and active membership, as well as a series of measurable goals to evaluate outcomes.
There is a scholarship available from Community Savings Credit Union for this course. Interested applicants should contact Community Savings or download the scholarship information package and application form from our website: www.winterschool.ca/registration.
There is a scholarship available from One Movement Threads for this course. Interested applicants should contact One Movement Threads or download the scholarship information package and application form from our website: www.winterschool.ca/registration.
Show Up for Safer Workplaces (BCCWITT)
Show Up for Safer Workplaces is an innovative new program that will create safer, healthier, and more productive workplaces throughout the construction sector, by giving workers and employers the tools to address urgent psychological safety hazards that have impacted too many workers, employers, and communities, for too long.
Show Up is a four-day train-the-trainer program that can help people:
* Recognize and support mental health and substance use concerns,
* Prevent toxic workplace culture, and
* Become active partners in creating healthier and more stable work environments.
Designed for people working in construction, trades or in OHS roles that overlap with these sectors, Show Up uses interactive scenarios, discussions and skill-based learning to empower and prepare participants to transfer their skills back into the workplace. It provides the soon-to-be leaders and trainers with presentations, short “toolbox talks” content and other resources they can share or deliver in their workplaces, organizations, training institutes, unions and communities.
Completion of this course includes a 2-3 hour online prerequisite, and full attendance for all four days. Topics covered will include psychological safety, mental health first aid and suicide awareness, substance use and the toxic drug crisis, and bullying, harassment and discrimination—including strategies on how to build more respectful, stable and healthier workplaces. In addition to the more fulsome psychological safety training recognition and take-away tools, participants will also get a certificate of participation after they complete the one day Mental Health First Aid Essentials course, as developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Show Up for Safer Workplaces has been developed as a partnership between the BC Centre for Women in the Trades (BCCWITT) and the BCFED Health and Safety Centre, and has been designed using a trauma informed approach that applies a justice, equity, diversity and inclusion lens to the occupational health and safety issues the program addresses.
Steward Training Level 1
The steward is often the main point of contact between the union, its members, management, and the larger labour movement. This course builds the skills, confidence, and knowledge a steward needs to represent their members. Participants will learn the roles and responsibilities of their position as stewards, the handling of grievances and complaints, problem-solving skills, protecting contractual provisions in the collective agreement, and current issues for stewards.