Pre-Convention Workshops

Registration to Pre-Convention workshops: There is a separate registration process on the Event Management System.  Applicants must be Convention delegates and must register for Convention and for the workshops separately on the events page.  Registration for Pre-Convention workshops will open February 6, 2023.  Once an applicant for Pre-Convention education has been confirmed as a delegate to Convention, their application to attend a Pre-Convention workshop will be considered.

Space is limited and not all applicants will be accepted to attend Pre-Convention workshops.  Please rank all five workshops in order of preference.  Preferences will be considered but HSA cannot guarantee acceptance into a specific workshop.

HSA is offering the following workshops at the 2023 Annual Convention:

Social Justice Intervention Training

Facilitator: Adrienne Smith

This workshop trains participants to do basic social justice interventions in the workplace to combat bullying and harassment, outside the grievance process.

It begins with an overview of social justice principles like diversity, inclusion, equity, and intersectionality; and works towards practical skills to combat oppression, by centering marginalized voices, and leveraging privilege for good. Participants will practice interrupting micro and macro aggressions. Direct collective action and individual works of Solidarity can resuscitate toxic workplace cultures and make the world safer for everyone.

Communication and Conflict Resolution

Facilitator: Kerry Palmer

HSA is pleased to have Kerry Palmer facilitate this one-day workshop to assist members in their day-to-day interactions with their HSA colleagues and their patients/clients. Communication is the cornerstone of a healthy, productive, and engaging workforce, and as such, this course is an opportunity to build and enhance workplace/public engagement. It is recognized that all members bring their personal communication skill sets which are effective in most interactions. This course is intended to be a refresher for some and for others it will offer new communication considerations.

Labour Council Delegate Training

Be part of solidarity in your community. As the link between your HSA Chapter and the local Labour Council, you let other unions know about the issues we face, and your Chapter know about the work being done by unions in your area to address larger issues of inequity and injustice.

Join this one-day workshop to learn about ongoing campaigns and political organizing at the local level. Whether you are a new delegate or have a wealth of experience, join to learn about labour councils, network with other delegates, and get a big-picture perspective on how labour councils fit in to overall labour campaigns to make life more affordable and our society more equitable.

Open to all Labour Council delegates attending convention.

Psychological Health & Safety

Facilitator: Brenda Moores, BC Federation of Labour

The objective of this workshop is to provide participants with the tools to create strategies that will support workers with mental health issues, individually and collectively. A Psychological Health and Safety Management System can help an organization identify hazards that can contribute to psychological harm to the worker. It is a preventive approach that assesses your workplace practices and identifies areas for improvement. A voluntary CSA Standard, Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, has been developed to help organizations work towards this vision as part of a process of continual improvement.

Sex Work and Human Trafficking

Facilitator: Alison Clancey & Kerry Porth, Living in Community

Curriculum for Change: Effectively Responding to the Needs of Sex Workers will equip members with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to confidently support sex workers. The afternoon session will focus on human trafficking and will provide the knowledge to provide ethical and informed responses.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn about sex work and human trafficking, and the difference between the two.
• Gain tools and resources to be allies to sex workers.
• Explore the prevalence of human trafficking both locally and globally.