Unifor-McMaster Labour Studies Certificate
Registration for Winter 2025 Will open soon!
Please Check back in January to register! Starting this term, the courses are open for enrollment one at a time.
Unifor-McMaster Labour Studies Certificate courses are designed specifically for Unifor members. Created by labour experts, certificate courses combine theoretical knowledge with practical information to help members develop critical thinking skills through a learning process built on a commitment to participants that focuses on a respect for prior experience, skill and activism. This certificate is only offered on a part time basis and individuals can enrol at any point in the year.
Education plays an important role in building a knowledgeable membership and in strengthening workplace leadership. Whether your goal is career advancement, you’re working towards a degree or are interested in self-development, the Unifor-McMaster Labour Studies certificate will help you succeed in today’s complex world of work.
The certificate is designed to be completed at your own pace. Courses are now all being offered online so that you can participate from the comfort of your home.
Program Information
Students are required to complete 36 units in order to be eligible to graduate. Unit values range from 1 to 4 units depending on the class. Courses are delivered through online learning and video conferencing. Students are required to take 24 units of courses from the following list:
- History of the Canadian Auto Workers Union (4 units).
- Current Challenges to the Labour Movement (4 units).
- Introduction to Workplace Issues (4 units).
- Globalization and Democracy (4 units).
- Making Work: Factors Shaping Today’s Workplace (4 units).
- Wal-Mart: Driving a New Brand of Capitalism (4 units).
- Government, Labour Regulation and the Workplace (4 units).
- Solutions to Global Warming (4 units).
- Labour and Media (4 units).
- Labour in Film (4 units).
- Labour in Documentary Film (4 units).
- Film and Ideology (4 units).
- Photo Essay Project: Social Justice through Photographs (4 units).
- Labour History as Told Through Music (4 units).
- Art, Labour Activism and Change (4 units).
- Working Class Life (4 units).
- Who are the 1% (4 units).
- Food, the Environment and Workers Power (4 units).
- Understanding Mexico: The Struggle for Social Change (4 units).
- Unions and Society (4 units).
- US Foreign Policy in Latin America (4 units).
- Living Wage and Universal Basic Income (4 units).
- The Co-op Movement (4 units).
Unifor members employed at Ford, GM, and Chrysler can continue to enroll in courses at no direct cost. Inform your area Unifor-McMaster Coordinator that you are interested in enrolling in a course, and complete the registration form.
If you have completed your Paid Education Leave (PEL) – 4 Week Basic Training Program you’re eligible to receive extra credit towards the completion of the Unifor-McMaster Certificate. Please send us a copy of your Basic Training PEL Certificate along with your name and student number. Upon receipt of your documentation, 8 additional units will be added to your student record.
For more information, contact us at:
Mehrdokht O’Brien
Email: lbstcert@mcmaster.ca
Contact your UNIFOR local for funding information.
Courses (Winter 2025)
How the Working-Class is portrayed in Films and TV: Myths and Reality
The working-class is often ignored, mocked, and stereotyped in films and TV. This course looks at examples, discusses how this happens, and what the negative effects of this are. We will also look at alternative, more realistic and positive portrayals of workers. 4 Units/sessions
Thursdays, Jan 30, Feb 6, 27, March 6 , 5:30-8:30 PM
Wal-Mart Warehouse Workers Unionize!
Ontario, 2024: Wal-Mart warehouse workers organize their first union and join UNIFOR. What does this victory mean for the labour movement and working-class? Is this the first step in unionizing all Wal-Mart workers?
Thursdays, Feb 20, 5:30-8:30 pm
Movie and Discussion Night: Working in Auto
We will watch a historic documentary describing work in an auto plant years ago. Workers traded-off high wages for a rigid, de-humanizing system of quality control, and boredom, dissatisfaction, anger, and turnover. We will compare our experience today to back then. Great way for newer hires and seasoned workers to discuss our workplaces today!
Thursday, March 20, 5:30-8:30 pm
The 80th anniversary of the Historic 1945 Ford Strike in Windsor
1945: Ford Workers in Windsor launch a massive, historic and successful strike. Herb Coller, author of the book: ‘99 Days: The Ford Strike in Windsor,1945’ will join us, with 200 photos, to discuss the issues that led to the strike, what life was like for striking workers, how they shut Windsor down, and what victories the strike won for all working people in Canada.
Thursday, April 10, 17 5:30-8:30 pm
Resources
Contact Us
Labour Studies Certificate Program Administrators
Email: lbstcert@mcmaster.ca
Office Location
School of Labour Studies
Kenneth Taylor Hall, 171
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
L8S 4M4
Office Hours
Our office follows a hybrid model, with staff available either in person or remotely during regular office hours.
Monday to Friday 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM