Back-to-the Locals courses for USW members
Education is at the heart of the United Steelworkers’ work as a union. Our USW education enhances members’ skills, builds confidence in representing and engaging with their peers and strengthens local unions.
Each year, thousands of Steelworkers expand their horizons and learn new skills in USW classrooms nationwide. The pandemic forced us to shift learning onto virtual platforms and reduced the number of courses we could put on. But by the fall of 2021, in-person learning resumed. Course requests stand at record high numbers, reflecting Steelworkers’ enthusiasm to learn together.
Since the last USW International Convention, almost 1,250 courses have been held, involving nearly 18,000 participants. True to the intent of USW’s Back-to-the-Locals education program, most of these courses are facilitated by teams of trained USW member-facilitators.
Below is a selection of some USW education courses, illustrating the breadth and depth of union training available. (Not all courses are available in all districts or are offered every year.)
- Accident Investigation
- Arbitration: Prepare & Present
- Bargaining to Win
- Becoming a USW Women’s or Equity Advocate
- Duty to Accommodate
- Elevating Action on Gender-Based Violence
- Facilitator Training
- Facing Management
- Filing a Labour Board Claim
- Financial Officers Training
- From Awareness to Action in Group Insurance
- Globalization: Bargaining in a Borderless World
- Health & Safety Training – multiple courses in each district
- Human Rights are Workers’ Rights
- Introduction to Pension and Insurance Benefits
- Leadership for Action
- Leadership and Communication
- Preventing Bullying and Harassment
- Promoting Mental Health in Our Lives, Our Work, and Our Union
- Psychological Harassment: Prevention and Compensation
- Public Retirement System
- Recording Secretary: Role and Responsibilities
- Sounding the Alarm for Workplace Noise
- Stewards in Action Levels I to III
- Top Officer Training
- Training for Communicators
- Understanding Group Benefit Plans
- Understanding Pensions
- Unionism on Turtle Island
- USW Women’s Committees: Leading Together
- Women of Steel – Developing Leadership
- Worker’s Compensation
- You & Your Union
District 5’s education program is taking things a step further. Since 2021, it has offered free courses to any worker or community member on political issues, heat-stroke prevention, and the right to refuse unsafe work.
Our Member-Facilitators
Trained USW members facilitate most of our education courses because who better than workers to understand what it’s like to be a steward, women’s or health and safety committee member or local leader? We support our member-facilitators by offering an initial multi-day training course, holding periodic orientation sessions when courses are updated or created, and providing additional events where experienced facilitators can refresh and advance their skills.
Since the end of the COVID-19 lockdown, department staff have focused extra efforts on training new member-facilitators to replace the many who have retired or taken on new union roles.
Course Updates and New Additions
USW’s Education and Equality Department reviews our courses regularly, updating course designs, participant materials and other teaching tools as needed to keep up with changes in legislation, member needs and union priorities. When beginning a review, we consult with local leaders, members, course facilitators and staff to gather their reactions and ideas.
Since 2021, we have created new modules on Raising the Bar on Women’s Health and Safety to all health and safety courses, created workshops on USW’s anti-harassment/anti-violence policy, created a French-language version of Unionism on Turtle Island, and updated the English-language version of Unionism on Turtle Island, Women of Steel - Leading Together, and Promoting Mental Health in Our Lives, Our Work, and Our Union.
Scholarships for Learning and Leadership
Each year, the USW distributes over $45,000 in scholarships to members and their dependents who are entering full-time post-secondary education, including the new USW Indigenous Scholarships, added in 2021. There are also awards that support activists’ leadership development and recognize awareness of workplace rights.
Thank you to all local union leaders, stewards and staff who help spread the word about these valuable opportunities to our USW members. Full details about available awards can be found on the Education section of usw.ca or metallos.ca.