The Best Conference Yet!

On March 4 and 5, CLAC held its biannual multisector stewards conference at the Marriott Gateway Hotel overlooking breathtaking Niagara Falls. Close to 300 stewards attended. By all accounts, this was our best conference yet. Fifteen top-notch workshops and seminars were held on issues including grievance handling, organizing, drug and alcohol abuse, dealing with mental health issues in the workplace, and more.

The Honourable Kevin Flynn, Ontario’s minister of labour, delivered an address to stewards on the importance of healthy and safe workplaces and thanked CLAC for being a leader in making Ontario workplaces among the healthiest and safest in the world. We are proud of our safety record, which is among the best in Ontario.

A number of vendors and CLAC departments were also available to answer questions and give out information about retirement, pre-apprenticeship training, home and auto insurance, and health insurance benefits.

At the banquet, more than 100 stewards were recognized for their years of service. About 55 of them have served for 5 years, and others are still serving faithfully after 20 or 25 years. I had the privilege of addressing the crowd about the importance of the conference theme of “better together.” Working together is vital in managing labour relations in the workplace.

These conferences are a highlight for our stewards as they learn about solving challenges that they face in the workplace every day. Stewards are the essential glue to union representation. We’re happy to have the opportunity to host conferences in which the stewards learn a lot, connect with other stewards, have a great time, and will be better equipped to keep serving you.

Check out photos of the conference on our Facebook page.