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 31, 2027 to Friday, February 5, 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:
Benefits Bargaining
This course will help you understand how health and welfare benefits are structured and how to prepare for benefits bargaining. The course will include information on new and renewed benefit plans and how to handle a change in benefits carriers. Topics for discussion will include: costing of benefits, employers’ response to increasing costs and changes in coverages, funding methods including trusts, laws pertaining to benefits coverage, privacy issues, collective agreement language ideas, types of benefit plans to avoid and why.
It is recommended that students bring with them a copy of the benefits booklet for a benefit plan they work on, and a copy of the Collective Agreement associated with that booklet, if possible.
Debunking Myths and Shifting Power: A Worker’s Guide to the Economy
This is an introductory course focused on debunking some of the most common myths we hear about the economy. In this course, participants will learn the basics of how the economy works, how to push back on economic myths, and how to apply this knowledge to core union work like bargaining, member engagement, and policy advocacy. Many activists know these myths to be untrue but lack the language and confidence to push back against the false narratives that are often taken as fact. We must be able to confront the ideas behind bad economic policies and decades of economic mismanagement so that we can promote our vision of a just economy – one that puts people first. We cannot continue to cede economic expertise to the traditional economists whose ideas have undermined the labour movement, empowered the corporations, and enriched the billionaires. Turning the tide begins with building knowledge and confidence to push back on the dominant narratives and propose an economy that benefits everyone.
Who this course is for: Union members and activists looking to understand the economy and improve their communication skills around this issue.
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.
Organizing Safer Workplaces
This workshop explores what organizing can look like in the context of health and safety using proven strategies and workers’ stories that have improved and advanced health and safety in workplaces. Participants in this workshop will:
• Develop strategies to build solidarity and engagement around health and safety issues within the union, including the local executive, stewards, joint committee(s), equity-deserving members, and precarious workers.
• Gain confidence in utilizing OH&S legislation, resources, and tools as health and safety activists to affect change in the workplace through direct action, campaigns, and collective bargaining.
Parliamentary Procedure & Public Speaking
This is a two-part course. Parliamentary Procedure covers how to run a meeting effectively, the duties of a chairperson and secretary, and how the rules of order can provide a democratic and fair process to get the business of the union accomplished. Public Speaking covers how to speak persuasively to various groups and how different formats are used to speak at convention, debates, and impromptu gatherings.
There is a scholarship available for this course through the CLC Pacific Region office. Please see the Frank Wall Leadership Development Scholarship information on page 20 of the Winter School brochure for details or visit our website at: www.winterschool.ca/registration.
Return to Work (Duty to Accommodate)
This course is designed to equip participants with tools and strategies for successful work reintegration outcomes. Participants will explore leading research and learn the principles of good work reintegration practices and the duty to accommodate. The course has a strong focus on the analysis and interpretation of human rights obligations and particularly the duty to accommodate. Barriers to successful work reintegration are addressed with a focus on attitudinal barriers and their elimination using the social model of disability and therapeutic return to work principles. An in-depth comparison between older methods of disability management and the newer, progressive disability prevention model is presented and participants learn about the paradigm shift from management to prevention.
Young Workers in Action
This course is designed to give young union activists (aged 30 and under) the skills they need to be effective in their workplace. The course will cover public speaking, how meetings are run, how to read your contract, grievance handling, and the basic collective bargaining process.
Participants are requested to bring a copy of their collective agreement.
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 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.
There is a scholarship available for this course through the B.C. Federation of Labour, in partnership with the Victoria Labour Council. Interested applicants should contact the BCFED or download the scholarship information package and application form from our website: www.winterschool.ca/registration.