CanROC Summit 2021

Friday, Aug. 13 (the schedule is all on eastern time)

3:00pm – 4:30pm    Introduction to NARA Communications Department Board

Presenters:  Members of the NARA Communications Department Board

Description: This workshop will explain what the organizing department is, what it does, how it does it, and how members of the union can use it to maximum effect.

5:30pm – 7:00pm    Unionizing Non-Unionized Teachers

Presenter:  FW Spencer (Hamilton GMB)       

Description:  FW Spencer will talk about his experience working in remote First Nation’s reserves and private schools as a contract teacher, and how it is in the best interests of the working class if non-unionised teachers in Canada organised and mobilised.

7:30pm – 9:00pm    CanROC Q & A, or What you’ve always wanted to know about CanROC but were too afraid to ask.

            Presenters:  CanROC Officers and Branch Representatives

Description:  This is an opportunity for members to ask CanROC Officers and Branch Representatives questions about their work in 2021, as well as make comments and suggestions about important issues that confront members on Turtle Island.

Saturday, Aug. 14  

11:00am – 12:30pm   Survivor-centred Complaints

                Presenter:  Windsor GMB Members

Description:  This workshop will cover the basics of survivor-centred and trauma-informed approaches to conflict and complaints, as well as the process involved in mediating them, including accontability, confidentiality, and accessing justice.  

1:00pm – 2:30pm   Health and Safety: 3 Rights of Workers

    Presenter:  FW Frank  (Windsor GMB)

Description:  This workshop will be an overview of the 3 health & safety rights of workers in Canada — the right to know, the right to participate and the right to refuse unsafe work.   

3:00pm – 4:30pm        The Organizing Department Explained

                Presenters:  Organizing Department Board Members

Description:  This workshop will explain what the organizing department is, what it does, how it does it, and how members of the union can use it to maximum effect.

5:30pm – 7:00pm        Special Laws and Essential Workers in Our Times

Presenter:  FW Martin (Montreal GMB, CanROC Org Dept Liaison)

Description: FW Martin will give a survey of the history of special laws in Canada with a focus on special laws concerning essential work, then will introduce several types of resistance to legal restrictions on the right to strike. 

7:30pm – 9:00pm        Movie screening:  The Salt of the Earth (1954)

Based on a 1951 strike in New Mexico, U.S.A., the film details a strike of male Mexican-American miners against their bosses, and highlights the strength of their wives who take a decisive role during the strike.

Sunday, Aug. 15

1:00pm – 2:30pm      Environmental Unionism & Urban Agriculture

              Presenters:  FWs Kristen and Frank 

Description:  FWs Kristen and Frank will describe their experiences of the worker-gardeners in their Environmental Unionism Caucus in creating various types of gardens to both support workers right to food and strengthen the environment.

3:00pm – 4:30pm      Gender Equity Committees 101

   Presenters:  Windsor GMB Members

Description:   This workshop will describe how to start a gender equity committee in your branch. We’ll talk about building a culture of community responsibility, setting standards for community care, and working toward gender equity in the IWW. 

5:30pm – 7:00pm      Reclaim Your Pay (Freelancer’s Edition)

              Presenter:  FW Andreas (S’ATTAQ, Montreal)

Description:  A step by step guide on how to reclaim lost wages as a freelancer, adapted from the SITT-IWW’s Reclaim-Your-Pay guidelines. It covers negotiation, direct action, legal and bureaucratic strategies.