Solidarity Includes Everyone: Transgender people and your union

DATE: Thursday, June 24, 2021
TIME: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
LOCATION: Virtual via WebEx
 
This is an awareness-raising day-long workshop on the challenges facing trans workers in communities, workplaces, and unions. We will explore how unions can work to end discrimination and support our trans members.
 
This introductory talk includes an overview of appropriate words to use, existing legal protections, and what we as union activists can do to make sure our workplaces and our unions are as inclusive as possible to transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming folx.
 
The course covers:

• Vocabulary- who are trans people and how do we talk about them respectfully? What words to use, words not to use, and invasive questions.
• Barriers trans people face in the workplace and in the world.
• Existing legal protection for trans workers, patients, and clients.
• Videos illustrating some of these barriers in the workplace, and in healthcare and social services settings.
• Human Rights obligations of the union, and in the workplace.
• Equity vs Equality.
• What activists can do to make our workplaces and our unions more inclusive to LGBT folx.
• Pronoun activity (pairs)
• Scenarios (small groups)

Open to all HSA Members. Space is limited.
 
This workshop will be led by Adrienne Smith. Adrienne Smith is a transgender human rights activist and social justice lawyer. They recently settled a BC Supreme Court case which guaranteed access to opiate replacement therapy for prisoners in BC jails. 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 volunteers at the Catherine White Holman Wellness Clinic where they give free legal advice, take on human rights cases, and notarize name change documents for trans people
 
Members who are interested in this workshop are asked to complete a registration application by logging into My Events Registration using the prompts provided. Workshops are listed under Other events.  Please call the HSA office at 604.517.0994 or 1.800.663.6119 if you do not know your HSA member ID number.

We can't wait to see you there!