The 2015 USW Health Care Workers Council Conference will be held July 13 and 14, 2015 at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. To share experiences and knowledge, we will have joint plenary sessions and social gatherings with USW Public Employees locals while individual Leadership Tracks will remain separate and geared toward each distinct sector.
This conference is an opportunity for health care workers in the United States and Canada to reflect on the challenges we face and learn how to use our collective strength to overcome them. At the last HCWC conference, you requested longer breakout sessions and more time with facilitators, so we have revamped our curriculum. For the first time ever, you will have the opportunity to register ahead of time for one of three Leadership Track sessions. Each Leadership Track session will focus on issues specific to our sector and will culminate in a mock scenario for members to apply their new skills. The majority of your time at the conference will be spent attending classes within a specific Leadership Track session, so I urge you to be thoughtful about your choice.
Leadership Track Options:
- Membership Engagement: Want to engage your rank and file membership around issues in your workplace? Interested in building power around health and safety issues, contract negotiations, labor management relations, and even grievances? Then sign up for Membership Engagement where we’ll explore best practices to use our collective power to hold employers accountable. This track culminates in a mock solidarity action where participants put their organizing skills to the test and garner 100% participation from the membership.
- Collective Bargaining: Love the strategy and quick thinking of negotiating? Want to learn how to increase your union’s ability to win better staffing language? Then this option is for you. In this course we’ll tackle how to convince your boss that our proposals are actually in their best interest, the legal requirements and responsibilities of bargaining, and more. At the end of this two-day course, we’ll put you to the test with mock negotiations.
- Politics & Policy: Passionate about politics? Want to make sure our elected leaders understand the challenges we face in the workplace every day? Want to make sure those officials know they work for us? Join us for the Politics & Policy Track where we’ll learn how to frame safe staffing as a health and safety issue, devise effective one-on-one conversations with elected representatives, and plan a Lobby Day. By the end of this two-day course, you’ll be ready to test your skills in a mock Lobby Day.
Registration for the Leadership Tracks will be on a first come, first served basis. To ensure your first choice, REGISTER EARLY!
If you’re sending more than one leader from your local, we recommend that each person register for a different leadership track so that you will have the most information to take back.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE CONFERENCE CALL LETTER.
Registration
The registration fee is $125 per member. Please register for the conference by Friday, June 16 in one of the following ways:
After registering online, please print and send a paper copy of your local’s registration form along with a check made payable to USW Secretary-Treasurer for the total amount due for each registrant and send it to:United Steelworkers
United Steelworkers Health Care Workers Council
Attn: Laura Donovan
60 Boulevard of the Allies
10th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Complete and mail the Conference Registration Form with a check made payable to USW Secretary-Treasurer for the total amount due and mail to the address listed above.
Conference Schedule
Arrive: Evening of Sunday, July 12
Scheduled Conference Events: Monday July 13 and Tuesday, July 14
Check out: Wednesday, July 15
Hotel Information
The Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square
300 W. Station Square Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Call 412-261-2000 or Click Here to go to the Public Employees/Healthcare Workers Conference hotel web link directly. Rates: $99 for a single or double room; $119 for a triple room; $139 for a Quad, plus applicable fees and taxes. When reserving hotel rooms by telephone, please let the reservationist know you are attending the USW Public Employee/Health Care Workers Council Conference. The cut-off date to receive this USW room rate is Friday, June 19, 2015.
Airline Transportation
To book air travel, call USW’s travel agency Professional Travel at 877-499-1149. Choose option 4 for group meetings. Identify yourself as a Steelworker attending the USW Health Care Workers Council/Public Employee Conference and give the code: 71 015 PIT US.
Local Unions are responsible for expenses of conference attendees.
Transportation From Airport to Hotel
From Pittsburgh International Airport and to the Sheraton Station Square
Discount Valid Between: July 9-16, 2015
If You Book Online Using Your Exclusive Discount Code: MZSWQ
Save $5.00 off roundtrip SuperShuttle
or
$6.00 off roundtrip ExecuCar Private Sedan
To book either service, go to: Click Here and enter your discount code or Click Here
Discount valid online only. GRATUITY NOT INCLUDED
Regular rate to above listed hotel is $24.00 per person per one way trip for SuperShuttle or $63.00 per sedan per one way for ExecuCar sedan.
NOTE: A $2.00 BOOKING FEE will apply to phone reservations that are booked by a reservation agent.