Beat the Bosses Bootcamp

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Have you had enough? Are you sick of lousy wages and working conditions? Are you ready to take on the bosses at work and in the streets? Then the upcoming Beat the Bosses Bootcamp is for you! From February 24 to 26, decent work fighters from across Ontario–and elsewhere–will be coming together to share skills, experiences, and strategies to build a multi-racial, working-class movement that's unstoppable. 

Beat the Bosses Bootcamp is taking place at the Toronto Metropolitan University Student Centre. Over the course of the weekend, participants will be able to choose 5 workshops from 20 different sessions. And of course, we'll have lots of opportunities where everyone comes together.

Please  RSVP right now to let us know you're coming, then fill out the registration form to indicate what support you may need to participate.  

More Information

We will provide light refreshments on Friday evening, as well as lunch on Saturday and Sunday. We'll also provide continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

All participants are encouraged to wear masks during the meetings and masks will be on hand at the Bootcamp. However, if you experience symptoms on any day of the conference, we encourage you to stay home.

There are no registration fees for community members.

For union members or others who can manage it, we encourage a sliding-scale, solidarity contribution of $100 to $200 (or contribute what you can) to help offset the costs of hosting the conference and helping others attend. We want every decent work fighter to attend the Bootcamp and we will never let money be a barrier to participation.

However, due to our extremely limited resources we ask those who require financial assistance or who have other particular needs, to please fill out the registration form no later than Monday, February 6. 

For those who want hotel accommodation, the Workers' Action Centre has kindly arranged availability for 20 rooms at a discounted price of $209 per night at the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Toronto. These rooms will be on hold until February 6. However, these rooms will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early if you know you'll need a hotel.

When you register, please let us know if you need any support organizing travel or making arrangements to stay overnight on Friday and/or Saturday. Otherwise, participants will be responsible for making their own hotel reservations by calling Marriott Reservations directly at 1-(800) 847-5075 no later than Monday, February 6, 2023. Credit cards are required to book hotel rooms.

February 6 is also the registration deadline for all those who need other special accommodations such as American Sign Language interpretation, financial support for child care, enlarged text, mobility support, interpretation, or any particular food requirements. If you need our support in making travel or accommodation arrangements, you must send in your registration form no later than February 6.

Thank you so much for being part of the Justice for Workers movement! We can't wait to receive your Beat the Bosses Bootcamp registration form.

Program

Click here to see a PDF version of the program

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

6:30 pm Registration & snacks

7:00 pm 2022: What we won, how we won it, and why we keep fighting

9:00 pm Recess for the evening

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25

8:30 am Breakfast & registration

9:00 am Welcome & overview of the day

9:30 am Opening plenary: Our fight for decent work is a fight for racial & migrant justice

11:00 am BREAK

11:30 am Workshops

Choose one:

● Building unity: Strategies for multi-racial organizing

● Wealth: Who makes it? Who takes it?

● Building capacity: Effective outreach & follow-up

● Digital organizing: From algorithm to activism

● Whose streets? Our streets! Effective marshaling: crowds, cops & communications

1:00 pm LUNCH

2:00 pm Plenary: We believe that we will win Status for All!

2:45 pm BREAK

3:00 pm Workshops

Choose one:

● Defending our rights: Taking on bad bosses at work

● Busting Big Business BS

● Decent work & health care: What does privatization really mean?

● MP & MPP visits as organizing strategies

● Lessons from the pandemic: How to make Employment Insurance (EI) work for workers

4:30 pm BREAK

5:00 pm Action planning caucuses

● Somali Council

● Organizing for Status for all

● Health workers (Decent Work & Health Network)

● Education workers: Child care, elementary & secondary

● Post-secondary education: Campus organizing

● Solidarity with gig workers

6:30 pm Recess for the evening

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26

9:00 am Breakfast & registration

9:30 am Plenary: Welcome back & recap

10:00 am Workshops

Choose one:

● Enough is enough! What is inflation? How can we fight it?

● Misclassification: Fighting for full employment rights

● Defending our rights: Taking on bad bosses at work

● MP & MPP visits as organizing strategies

11:30 am BREAK

11:45 am Workshops

Choose one:

● Starting from scratch in our community or workplace

● Building solidarity: What we learned from “Paint the province purple”

● Whose streets? Our streets! Effective marshaling: crowds, cops & communications

● Effective organizing: Keeping it creative

1:15 pm LUNCH & Closing rally: Looking ahead, bringing it home

2:00 pm Finish

RSVP Form