2016 Conference Workshops

Here is the evolving list of workshops. While you do not need to pre-register, there are some workshops that require that you bring certain equipment. Please read the descriptions closely when deciding which workshops you would like to attend.

FRANÇAIS

La radio-poubelle : le populisme de droite en action avec Sébastien Bouchard

La radio-poubelle joue un rôle politique dans plusieurs régions. Les stations privées concernées et leurs animateurs-vedettes se distinguent par un discours populiste de droite, qui peut mobiliser certains secteurs de la population. Plusieurs fois condamnés pour ses propos dénigrants, discriminatoires et haineux, leur présence transforme la société et contribue à une montée de l’intolérance.

Cette conférence propose une analyse sociopolitique. Leur discours et leur pratique seront d’abord comparés au discours dominant au Québec et au Canada. On présentera par la suite les secteurs de la population qui sont mobilisés et les boucs émissaires qui sont dénigrés. Cette analyse permettra de mieux comprendre la logique qui anime la droite radicale au Québec.

Sébastien Bouchard est impliqué dans les mouvements sociaux de la région de la Capitale-nationale depuis vingt ans. Conseiller syndical, il effectue des recherches et mène des actions afin d’améliorer les services publics d’éducation. Il participe également à la construction de la gauche indépendantiste depuis plus de quinze ans et il a été candidat pour Québec solidaire. 

Communications et compagnes avec Marc Desnoyers

Les campagnes de communication syndicale peuvent avoir différents objectifs : régler un conflit de travail avec un employeur ? Faire reculer un gouvernement dans le cadre d’une négociation du secteur public ? Sensibiliser la population à un enjeu ou une cause ? Informer les membres du syndicat sur une situation précise ? Informer des travailleurs sur les lois du travail et/ou leur convention collective ? 

En s’appuyant sur des exemples de campagnes qu’il a menées en collaboration avec l’équipe d’Upperkut et des organisations syndicales du Québec et du Canada, le conférencier Marc Desnoyers explique de quelle manière les syndicats peuvent ajuster leurs stratégies de communication en fonction de leurs objectifs et de leur public cible. 

Après avoir complété un baccalauréat en relations internationales et droit international à l’UQAM, Marc Desnoyers a entamé en 2006 une maîtrise en science politique. Parallèlement, il s’est joint à l’Observatoire sur les États-Unis de la Chaire Raoul-Dandurand. 

Au sortir de l’université, il est devenu attaché politique à l’Assemblée nationale du Québec. 

Deux ans plus tard, sa passion pour les affaires publiques et les communications l’ont amené à joindre les rangs de la firme Upperkut à titre de gestionnaire de communautés et de chargé de projet. Il a alors contribué à mettre en place le service de gestion de communauté de l’agence et a amorcé une série de formations en réseaux sociaux et gestion de crises auprès d’organismes, d’associations et d’entreprises locales et nationales.

Des mots qui sonnent : Trucs et astuces pour faire passer le bon message dans des campagnes de recrutement avec Roxanne Dubois

Le succès d’une campagne de syndicalisation dépend de la force et de la portée d’un réseau de militants à l’intérieur d’un milieu de travail. Leur capacité à informer leurs collègues des avantages de la syndicalisation peut faire la différence entre une campagne réussie et une campagne qui se prolonge indéfiniment. Dans tous les cas, le développement de messages clairs et percutants peut aider les militants à faire leur travail de terrain. Cet atelier explorera des trucs et astuces pour identifier les messages et arguments qui résonnent bien et qui permettent de créer les conditions propices à une campagne favorable.

L’art du récit dans l’âge numérique avec Mathieu M.-Perron

Les moyens de communication ne cessent de se multiplier depuis l’arrivée du web en 1995. Comment profiter de ces outils pour mettre en valeur les luttes, les défis, et les victoires de nos membres ? Quelles leçons est-ce qu’on peut tirer des célèbres conteurs et créateurs théâtraux lorsque l’on conçoit notre contenu numérique ? 

Mathieu M.-Perron (@matness) est conseiller syndical au Service des communications de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) depuis 2014. Il travaille notamment sur les projets web de la Confédération ainsi que sur les grandes campagnes confédérales. Diplômé d’un bac en théâtre de l’Université Concordia, Mathieu milite au sein de mouvements populaires, notamment les mouvements étudiants et syndicaux, depuis 2002. Il prend parfois des photos, écrit parfois des mots sur le web, et est le Producteur artistique du Théâtre Tableau D’Hôte. Il aime beaucoup ses chats, et sûrement les vôtres aussi. 

JOURNALISM

Effectively working with reporters with Teuila Fuatai

Talking with a journalist can sometimes be daunting. For labour communicators, it’s critical that workers’ messages make the mainstream press. In this workshop, you’ll learn some tricks of the trade and how best to get your story told.

Journalist and workshop host Teuila Fuatai is rabble.ca‘s labour reporter. Previously, she was a general news reporter for New Zealand’s largest newspaper The New Zealand Herald and its website. She left her home country in search of a bigger setting last year, settling in Toronto in September.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Advanced Photography with Hugh Lynar

DSLR type camera required, and the manual if at all possible. In the practical side there will be some limited gear available to try out, filters, teleconverters, light meters and such

Change your settings and it will change your eye.  Going beyond the default settings on the DSLR camera, the student will see that there is far more creativity to be had once they’ve mastered a few simple adjustments such as the advantages and power of monochrome, of adjusting ISO settings, how the vivid/saturation setting can make their pictures ‘pop’ under the right circumstances, and how to capture a concept or a mood based on a camera setting. Moving over to full manual settings and taking complete mastery of the equipment. What filters to apply and when. How to ‘read’ body language of the subjects for better personal photos.  Subjects will also include what to consider as future upgrades, and what to avoid. 

People Photography with Caelie Frampton

Get the most out of your camera by learning the ins and outs of photographing people. As union communicators, taking interesting photographs of our members, of workers or of people in our communities is a critical part of our work. Finding the right way to capture someone can be difficult, but Caelie will help you through.

You will need a DSLR camera for this workshop.

Caelie Frampton is a communications officer with the Hospital Employees’ Union in B.C. and professionally trained as a photographer. Caelie’s photos have appeared in a variety of publications including Forbes, the Guardian, the Vancouver Sun, and the Georgia Straight.

ONLINE

Intermediate web hosting: how to choose a host and a self-publishing platform with Chris Lawson

In this workshop, Chris Lawson will explore the options that exist for self-publishing: which platforms do what, and what could work best for your union. The workshop will feature a fairly high-level discussion about different ways of putting up a website. Delegates have been asked to come highly caffeinated.

Chris Lawson is an Ottawa-based freelance web producer and strategist. Since leaving kindergarten he’s worked for several national unions producing websites, social media, print content and doing media relations. He’s a former president of CALM. 

WRITING

News Basics – Writing punchy headlines and traditional hard news leads with David Climenhaga

A brief precis for print and web communicators of the nearly lost arts of writing good headlines and engaging leads on hard news stories, news releases and member-relations copy wherever it appears. Participants will explore the traditional conventions and requirements of these specialized forms of writing and why they’re still important, even though the news industry itself seems to have forgotten all about them. The seminar is designed with unpaid volunteers for trade union locals in mind. 

David J. Climenhaga is an award-winning journalist, blogger, author, post-secondary teacher, poet, and trade union communicator who has held senior writing and editing positions at the Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald. He has published the AlbertaPolitics.ca blog, also found on Rabble.ca, since 2007. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Carleton University. His 1995 book, A Poke in the Public Eye, explored relationships among Canadian journalists, public relations people and politicians. He was vice-president of Local 115A of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada during the 1999-2000 Calgary Herald strike. He was communications director of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees from 2000 to 2011 and is now communications advisor to the United Nurses of Alberta. He was asked by Jack Layton in 2008 to be the late NDP leader’s personal poet laureate, and he can prove it.

Can the comma and embrace your inner writer with Karen Tankard

Discover the art (and fun) of conversational writing. Here’s your chance to unlearn! Remember the stuff they taught you in high school writing class? Could be the reason you think writing is mostly drudgery. We’ll explore the nirvana of conversational writing in this workshop – an awesome writing style you can use for work, activism, social media and blogging.

  *   Beginner or intermediate writer.

  *   Would be great if people could bring a tablet or laptop computer.

Karen is a communications officer with the BCGEU who spent two decades working as a reporter for CBC Radio and TV News in B.C. She teaches media interviewing and news writing at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Karen holds an MA from Simon Fraser University and a Graduate Certificate in Professional Communications Management from Royal Roads University.

CAMPAIGNS

Stuck in a Rut? Bring-Your-Own-Case Study to Sam Bradd

Share a key challenge you’re facing, and get focussed, expert advice from peers. But instead of expert-at-the-front, this workshop flips it to experts-in-the-room. This is an interactive, fast paced workshop in two parts: Working in small teams, each person will have an opportunity to share a current communications challenge, and receive confidential, professional coaching from peers to expand, refine, and build new skills. Then, we will go deeper into one case study together. Sam’s workshop at CALM last year was standing room only, so don’t miss out. 

To bring: 1-2 sentence description of a current communications challenge that you want feedback on.

Sam Bradd is a unionized graphic facilitator. His work is Drawing Change, specializing in communications for progressive movements. He’s collaborated with unions across Canada, the World Health Organization, Google, CALM, and researchers on three continents. Sam brings 15 years of facilitation experience and a Masters in Education to his work. He’s the co-editor of Drawn to Change: Graphic Histories of Working-Class Struggle (Between the Lines, 2016) with the Graphic History Collective because how we tell histories can change the world. 

Communications and campaigns with Marc Desnoyers

Union communication campaigns can have many different objectives: resolving a job dispute with an employer? Getting the government to back down during public sector negotiations? Making the public aware of an issue or cause? Informing union members about a specific  situation? Informing workers about workplace law and/or collective bargaining?

After having obtained his degree in international relations and international law from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Marc started on a Master’s in political science. At the same time, he was part of the Raoul Dandurand Chair team.

Upon leaving university, he became a political attaché at Quebec’s National Assembly.

Two years later, his passion for public affairs and communications led him to join the Upperkut advertising agency as community manager and project manager. There he contributed to setting up the community management service for the agency, and began giving a series of training sessions about social networks and crisis management for organizations, associations and local and national enterprises.

In December 2013, he was named Upperkut’s Director of Account Management.

By using examples of campaigns he has led in collaboration with the Upperkut team and unions in Quebec and Canada, Marc explains how unions can adjust their communication strategies in light of their objectives and target group.

Solidarity and coalition-building with Tria Donaldson

Description to come!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Navigating social media comment culture with Jarrah Hodge

Best Practices in social media with Denise Hammond

Staying ahead of the social media curve with Jarrah Hodge

Jarrah is the National Representative, Social Media for the Canadian Labour Congress.