{"id":153970,"date":"2026-08-03T11:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/153970\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T11:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:46:10","slug":"education-department-holds-organizing-class-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/153970\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Department holds Organizing class in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

SMART members and union construction workers across Canada have their sights set on a bright future: Thanks to partnership with the federal government, huge investments<\/a> are being made in Canadian infrastructure and the building trades. From nuclear energy to ongoing work on hospitals, data centers and beyond, enormous workforce demands are coming down the pipe.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s more important than ever for SMART local unions to continue growing their signatory contractor base, providing more work opportunities for members in every province. And that\u2019s why the Education Department<\/a> held its Top-Down Organizing\u00a0class\u00a0the week of\u00a0July 20-24,\u00a02026, in\u00a0Ottawa, Ontario \u2014 the first class that SMART has held in Canada. (The department plans to\u00a0return\u00a0again\u00a0in October and\u00a0twice annually\u00a0moving forward.)<\/p>\n

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The July class focused\u00a0on the \u201ctop-down\u201d organizing strategy \u2014 where the local union approaches a contractor directly \u2014 with a specific focus on developing organizing campaigns targeting non-union contractors.\u00a0The\u00a0main focus\u00a0of the class was on how to understand the needs of\u00a0non-union\u00a0contractors\u00a0and\u00a0how to communicate with them to translate our principles into information they find valuable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipants roleplayed interactions with the gatekeeper, delivered\u00a0a custom-built elevator pitch, first meetings, and subsequent meetings with the contractors,\u201d said SMART International Instructor Richard Mangelsdorf. \u201cThere was an emphasis on making sure you are always asking for the next meeting and getting it\u00a0on\u00a0the books before finishing the current one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There were\u00a0around\u00a020 exercises throughout the week,\u00a0many of them involving peer evaluations\/ranking and group evaluations\/rankings. After mock exercises, participants debriefed with critical feedback to their peers, and\u00a0class participants voted\u00a0to determine the class winners.\u00a0\u201cLocal 9,\u201d\u00a0consisting of Brent\u00a0James\u00a0(Local 47), Constance Pagnello\u00a0(Local 269)\u00a0and Michael Beaudoin\u00a0(Local 285),\u00a0came in third place; \u201cLocal 4,\u201d consisting of\u00a0Jimmy\u00a0Jones\u00a0(Local 30), Donald Phillipo and Jake Jordan\u00a0(Local\u00a0276) came\u00a0in second place; \u201cLocal 2,\u201d consisting of\u00a0Shannon\u00a0Kilgar\u00a0(Local 30), Tim Last and David Harrison (Local 537) came in first place. The overall individual winner was Tim Last.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope participants took away valuable skills for approaching contractors using the top-down strategy,\u00a0and that they all enjoyed the class,\u201d said Mangelsdorf. \u201cWe look forward to returning to Canada in the fall!\u201d<\/p>\n

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