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Education and Training Workshop Descriptions

 

Workshops Offered:

Advanced Grievance: Introduction To Contract Interpretation
Advanced Grievance: Power in Numbers
Advanced Steward: Building an Activist Network
All About Our Union
An Overview of the Family Medical Leave Act
Conducting Successful Meetings
Contract Negotiating Team Training
Contract Negotiation Strategies: Maximizing Our Leverage
Contract Negotiations: Constructing Proposals
Financial Empowerment for Union Members
Inside Time and Attendance Process
Labor Management Committee
Local Government: Representing Members in Discipline and Interrogation
Local Government: Representing Members in Discipline and Interrogation Recertification
Local Government/Private Sector Grievance
Private Sector Discipline (Weingarten)
Public Speaking
Sexual Harassment: What Union Officers and Activists Should Know
State Government: Representing Members in Discipline and Interrogation
State Government: Represent Members in Discipline and Interrogation Recertification
State Government Grievance
Steward
Working People’s History



Advanced Grievance: Introduction To Contract Interpretation

This advanced workshop is designed for Local/Unit Officers and Certified Grievance Representatives who have completed the State or Local Government/Private Sector Grievance workshop. The workshop is designed to provide participants with the knowledge and basic skills necessary to understand and interpret contract language.

Who should attend:
This advanced workshop is designed for Local/Unit Officers and Certified Grievance
Representatives, who have completed the State or Local Government/Private Sector Grievance Workshop

Participants will:
Gain a basic understanding of the role of the Arbitrator
Become familiar with the established meanings of certain commonly used
Contractual words and phrases
Familiarize yourself with eight basic standards of contract interpretation



Advanced Grievance: Power in Numbers

This workshop for Grievance Representatives will examine union-building strategies for increasing the union’s leverage strategies to build the union’s case before grievance presentation, will gain the opportunity to improve their first and second step grievance presentation skills, and will examine alternative solutions when the grievance process is not effective.

Participants will be able to:
Identify when an issue would be better addressed through a class action/group grievance.
Identify strategies for grievance investigation in order to build a strong case for the union.
Demonstrate effective grievance presentation skills to supervisors.
Identify union-building strategies that enhance the union’s power in the grievance process.
Develop a strategic plan for winning grievances.

Who should attend:
The advanced workshop is designed for CSEA Certified Grievance Representatives who have experience in handling grievances and other violations in the workplace. This workshop is open to Local Government/Private Sector members only.

Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.

 



Advanced Steward: Building an Activist Network

This interactive workshop is designed for officers and activists who have completed the basic Steward Workshop.

Participants will refresh and sharpen their skills by practicing communication skills, understanding the importance of recruiting and encouraging member involvement, and review how to choose and organize around workplace issues to build the union. Participants must complete this workshop and be appointed by their Local/Unit President to be certified stewards in CSEA.



All About Our Union
This workshop is designed to give new members and activists knowledge and information about CSEA.

Participants will be provided with an overview of:
CSEA’s history and structure
The benefits of membership
Member/Activist involvement opportunities
CSEA departments and other resources available to members


An Overview of the Family Medical Leave Act

This workshop is designed for Local/Unit Officers, Stewards, Grievance Representatives, and activists. Its purpose is to provide participants with basic knowledge and skills necessary to understand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The workshop will focus on eligibility requirements, qualifying conditions, and certification requirements to enable CSEA activists to be better prepared to represent CSEA members who wish to use the FMLA.

Participants will be able to:
Identify who is covered by the FMLA.
Identify the types of leave that are covered by the FMLA.
Understand the notice and certification requirements attached to the FMLA.
Recognize employer violations of the FMLA.
Understand the appeal process provided for by the FMLA.



Conducting Successful Meetings

Much of the business of the union is done during meetings – general membership meetings, executive board meetings, committee meetings, steward meetings and many other types of meetings. In order for these meetings to be productive and useful, the leaders and participants of the meetings must be aware of some basic information. In this workshop, we will identify the characteristics of successful meetings, examine the different types of meetings held within the union context, learn the basics of parliamentary procedure, and practice meeting preparation and participation techniques.

Participants will learn to:

Understand the CSEA Constitutional requirements regarding meetings.
Identify preparation and participation techniques that lead to successful meetings.
Understand the basic principles of parliamentary procedure.
Identify the responsibilities of the meeting facilitator.
Constructively participate in membership, executive board and committee meetings.



Contract Negotiations: Team Training

This interactive workshop is one of  three six-hour sessions on contract negotiations for local government units and private sector locals. It is designed for union officers and activists who wish to develop a strategy for the Contract Negotiating Team that accompanies the Labor Relations Specialist to the bargaining table to negotiate the unit?s collective bargaining agreement.

The participants learn:
The process and recommended criteria for selecting a negotiating team.
The duties and decision-making dynamics of the negotiating team.
The purpose of ground rules for conducting negotiations.
Three basic techniques of bargaining and how they apply in a mock negotiation session.

Who should attend:
This workshop is open to any local government/private sector CSEA member interested in becoming part of or learning more about the work of contract negotiating teams.



Contract Negotiation Strategies: Maximizing Our Leverage

This interactive workshop is one of three six-hour workshops on contract negotiations for local government units and private sector locals. It is designed for officers and activists who want to maximize the union’s leverage in contract negotiations by organizing a contract committee, sometimes referred to as a Contract Action Team or CAT. A CAT is a representative group of unit / local activists who help to plan and implement both the contract negotiations and the contract campaign that accompanies the negotiations.

That participants come away with a basic understanding of:
What distinguishes collective bargaining from other forms of contract negotiations.
Why it’s important for union negotiators to stay mindful of their leverage throughout the negotiations.
How the union’s leverage is impacted by the impasse procedures under the Taylor Law or the effect of contract expiration under the NLRB for private sector negotiations.
Why planning and implementing a contract campaign is vital to maximizing the union’s leverage.

Who should attend:
This workshop is open to any local government / private sector CSEA member interested in becoming part of a Contract Action Team or Contract Committee.



Contract Negotiations: Constructing Proposals

This interactive workshop is one of three six-hour workshops on contract negotiations for Local Government units and Private Sector locals. It is designed for officers and activists who want to understand the basics of constructing contract proposals by learning how to cost out and evaluate economic items; research, design and develop contract surveys and create contract language.

Requirements: Please bring your contract and a calculator to this workshop.



Financial Empowerment for Union Members

In this new interactive 3-hour workshop union members will learn basic investing and saving principles in order to increase their financial literacy and help them secure their retirement and other financial goals. Participants will review five components to better understand achieving financial empowerment. In this workshop, participants will learn
The origins of the foreclosure crisis
Why it is important to fight for pensions and Social Security
The relationship between earning, spending and saving, how damaging debt can be and how to eliminate debt
What mutual funds are; how compounding interest helps returns, and
What asset allocation is and how it relates to age and how 401(k) plans work.

Who should attend:
This workshop is open to all CSEA members.



Inside Time and Attendance Process

This workshop is designed to provide State Government bargaining unit Officers, and Grievance Representatives with basic knowledge and skills necessary to represent members under the Article 33 Time and Attendance procedure.

Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.



Labor Management Committee
This advanced workshop is designed for Local/Unit Officers, Executive Board members, Stewards, Grievance Representatives, and members of existing Labor/Management Committees. Labor/Management Committees are one vehicle for resolving problems and taking a proactive approach with the employer to workplace issues. This workshop offers a variety of ideas for how to start and maintain effective Labor/Management Committees.

Participants will be able to:
Define Labor/Management Committees.
Recognize the roles and responsibilities for Committee members.
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing Labor/Management Committees.
Conduct effective Committee meetings, including preparation, and identification of activities and tactics that build and strengthen a Committee.



Local Government: Representing Members in Discipline and Interrogation

This advanced workshop is designed for local government bargaining unit officers and activists who are interested in representing members in disciplinary matters. Participants will review the elements of their contract disciplinary procedure and/or Civil Service Law Section 75, the categories of discipline and the basic steps and rights of union representatives and employees in disciplinary interrogations. Participants must complete this workshop and be designated by their Local/Unit President to represent members in the disciplinary process.

Participants will learn to:
Understand elements of their contract disciplinary and/or Civil Service Law Section 75.
Identify the categories of discipline and how to investigate disciplinary grievances.
Distinguish between an interview and interrogation.
Recognize employee and union rights and limitations within the discipline and interrogation process.
Analyze how to represent employees throughout the disciplinary process.

This Local Government Discipline and Interrogation Workshop is designed for Local/Unit Officers and Activists who will be responsible for handling disciplinary issues in the workplace.

Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.



Grievance Representation

(Formerly Local Government/Private Sector Grievance Representation)

This basic workshop teaches activists how to work with their contract, examine the grievance procedure and understand their role and responsibility as a Grievance Representative in protecting the rights of bargaining unit members in the workplace. Completion of this workshop certifies activists to process grievances, provided they are officially appointed by their Local or Unit President.

Participants will be able to:
Define, investigate and write grievances.
Distinguish the difference between a contract grievance and a non-contract grievance.
Use the grievance procedure to process violations of the collective bargaining agreement.
Identify the actions to be taken to ensure that the Duty of Fair Representation is upheld.
Prepare and present a grievance at the first step.

Who should attend:
This workshop is designed for Local/Unit officers, stewards, and newly appointed grievance representatives who have little or no experience in handling grievances. It is also a valuable refresher for grievance representatives who do not regularly process grievances. This workshop is required for certification to process grievances in CSEA.

Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.



Private Sector Discipline (Weingarten)
In this advanced one-day workshop activists will learn about the origin and substance of Weingarten Rights, a collection of rights that apply to private sector union members in disciplinary interrogations/investigatory interviews. They will also review the elements of their contractual disciplinary procedures and the basic steps to follow when representing a member in an interrogation/investigatory interview. Participants must complete this workshop to be designated by their local president to represent members in the disciplinary process.

Who should attend:
This Private Sector Discipline Workshop is designed for Private Sector local officers and activists who are interested in learning about their disciplinary procedure and how to effectively represent members in disciplinary interrogations and investigatory interviews.

Participants will learn:
The elements of their contractual disciplinary procedure.
Their rights as union representatives in interrogations/investigatory interviews.
How to defend the rights of members in interrogations/investigatory interviews.
How to distinguish between an interrogation/investigatory interview and other supervisory discussions that do not entitle workers to union representation.

Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.



Public Speaking

Are you worried that you will go blank before an audience? Or are you just looking for tips to improve your oral presentations? In this workshop participants will review the elements of creating and delivering a short presentation designed to move people to action. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Review the characteristics of effective/ineffective public speaking
Analyze the elements of creating a short presentation
Recognize techniques for coping with tension and anxiety
Define, investigate and write grievances.
Distinguish the difference between a contract grievance and a non-contract grievance.
Use the grievance procedure to process violations of the collective bargaining agreement.
Identify the actions to be taken to ensure that the Duty of Fair Representation is upheld.
Prepare and present a grievance at the first step.

Who should attend:
Officers and activists interested in polishing their ability to give presentations to small or large audiences.



Sexual Harassment: What Union Officers and Activists Should Know

In order to address sexual harassment when/if it occurs, our CSEA leaders, Activists and members should be aware of their rights, roles and responsibilities and are encouraged to assert their rights. This workshop is designed to provide CSEA leaders, Activists and members with basic information to identify various forms of sexual harassment and avenues to address it. Participants will review legal definitions of sexual harassment, policies, procedures, and laws that dictate their rights, and discuss steps Activists and employees should take. Please note that this workshop is not intended to provide specific legal advice regarding specific workplace situations or pending cases.

Participants will have a better understanding of:
Current legal definitions of sexual harassment.
Policies, procedures and laws that determine your rights, including CSEA union and workplace policies.
Situations which may constitute sexual harassment (using fact patterns).
Discuss and learn steps you need to/should take as an activist and an employee regarding sexual harassment.

Who should attend:
This workshop is designed for CSEA leaders, Activists and members who are interested in their rights, roles and responsibilities.



State Government: Representing Members in Discipline and Interrogation

This advanced workshop is designed to provide State bargaining unit Officers and Grievance Representatives with the skills needed to effectively represent members in the disciplinary process. Participants will review the elements of their contract disciplinary procedure; identify the categories of discipline and how to investigate disciplinary grievances; distinguish the difference between an interview and an interrogation; and recognize employee/union rights and limitations within the discipline and interrogation process.

Who should attend:
This workshop is designed for Officers and Grievance Representatives who are responsible for representing members in disciplinary issues in the workplace.

Participants will learn to:
Understand the elements of the disciplinary procedure.
Identify the categories of discipline and how to investigate disciplinary grievances.
Distinguish between an interview and an interrogation.
Recognize employee and union rights and limitations within the discipline and Interrogation process.
Analyze how to represent employees throughout the disciplinary process.
Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.



State Government Grievance

In this basic workshop, participants will learn how to work with their contract; examine the grievance procedure; and understand their role and responsibility as a grievance representative. Completion of this workshop complies with the grievance representation training requirement as outlined in the CSEA Local and Unit Constitutions Article V, Section 6. Participants must complete this workshop and be appointed by their Local/Unit President to be certified to process grievances in CSEA.

Participants will be able to:
Define, investigate and write grievances.
Identify the actions needed to be taken to ensure that the Duty of Fair Representation is upheld.
Use the grievance procedure to process violations of the collective bargaining agreement.
Identify the roles and responsibilities of local leaders and the Labor Relations Specialists
Learn how to make an effective presentation of a grievance.

Who should attend:
State Government bargaining unit (ASU, ISU, OSU) officers and activists who have little or no experience in handling grievances or no experience in handling grievances and other violations in the workplace.

Requirements: Please bring your contract to this workshop.



Steward

The strength of our union rests with the recruitment and education of new activists, often in the role of Steward. The Steward Course is designed to train Stewards in communicating, organizing and leading employees in the workplace. This six-hour course will teach the skills that are necessary to carry-out the responsibilities of the Steward.

Participants will be able to:
Create an effective communication network with the membership.
Organize the membership through workplace mapping.
Analyze a variety of workplace situations and develop an appropriate course of action.
Apply one-on-one organizing techniques to build and strengthen the Union.

Who should attend:
This workshop is designed for Local/Unit Officers, Stewards, Grievance Representatives and Activists who are interested in building and strengthening the Union through the Steward network.



Working People’s History

We have heard it said that if you don’t know your past, you don’t know your future. Yet, labor activists rarely have the opportunity to reflect on the history of the American labor movement. In this interactive workshop participants will learn about the workplace struggles that preceded us and discuss how we can use our knowledge of these struggles to help write the history of the current and future labor movement. We will also learn how CSEA’s history fits into the history of the American labor movement.

Who should attend:
This workshop is designed for CSEA Local/Unit Officers, Grievance Representatives, Stewards, and Activists who wish to learn about United States Labor History.