Advocacy, Human Rights, and Workplace Rights for Stewards

Date: Thursday, May 23, 2024
Time: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm PST
Location: Virtual via Zoom

This full-day workshop for HSA Stewards will give an overview of how legislation is developed at the provincial and federal levels, and we will discuss the major laws that govern employment. This workshop also provides an overview of the legal protections workers are entitled to under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, human rights legislation, collective agreements, and employer policies.

Participants will learn about:

• How to identify important issues.
• Collective Agreement solutions to human rights problems.
• Prohibited grounds and protected areas.
• Gaps in existing legal protection.
• Human rights obligations of the union, and in the workplace.
• What activists can do to make our workplaces and our unions more inclusive.

This workshop is open to HSA stewards. Basic Steward Training is a prerequisite.

Facilitator’s Biography:

Adrienne Smith (they/them) is a transgender human rights activist and social justice lawyer. They recently argued a BC human rights case which clarified employers’ obligations to recognize correct pronouns for transgender and non-binary workers. Adrienne appeared at the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada where they argued about the deleterious effects of mandatory minimum sentences for women, Indigenous people, and drug users. As a trade union activist, they advocate for transgender inclusion in our unions and workplaces. Adrienne is the litigation director at the Catherine White Holman Wellness Clinic where they give free legal advice, take on human rights cases, and notarize name and gender change documents for trans people.

Participants will receive wage replacement, and pre-approved dependent care costs for virtual workshops in accordance with HSA Policy. No meal per diems will be provided.

To register for this workshop log into My Events Registration using the prompts provided. Workshops are listed under Steward Education events. Please select ‘create a login’ through the Event Registration and click on the ‘here’ to receive your member ID by email or call the HSA office at 604.517.0994 or 1.800.663.2017 if you do not know your HSA member ID number.