This manual provides guidance for local unions setting up worker education programs--from basic skills to job training. It is based on the experiences of many different Service Employees International Union (SEIU) locals with diverse programs. The introduction explores the nature of worker education programs, determines what benefits accrue to…

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labor (SFL) conducted a Workers' Education for Skills Training, or WEST Program, to upgrade its membership's basic literacy skills. The purpose of the WEST Program was to develop, ensure access to, and build support for a workplace literacy program designed to meet the diverse needs of affiliates' members. Six…

This guide examines organized labor's views on adult literacy. It also describes several union-sponsored workplace education programs and suggests how a union can plan and operate a worker-centered literacy program. The book is organized in three parts. The first part examines workplace literacy in four chapters that cover the following: the…

A class project undertaken in an English-as-a-Second-Language class is described and presented. Students participating in the project were union employees in a Manhattan electronics factory, and most were native Spanish speakers. The project's objective was to produce an illustrated book and tapes to document work and union experience in the…

A study investigated key aspects of New York City's Workplace Education Program of the Central Labor Council for Worker Education in 15 union workplace literacy programs. The program enrolled 3,775 students and offered 215 classes in English as a Second Language (ESL), basic education (BED), and union-specific or skills programs. Within each type,…

Labor unions have provided English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in the workplace since the early 1900s, to serve a growing immigrant workforce. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an increase in immigrant population, decline in manufacturing jobs, new technology, and work restructuring brought a new urgency to union-sponsored worker…

An evaluation of this Syracuse, New York workplace literacy skills improvement project had three purposes: to characterize changes in the baseline performance of adults' workplace literacy skills as a function of instructional treatment; to characterize changes in workers' and supervisors' perceptions of worker effectiveness as a function of…

This project is building on site-specific qualitative data to develop a profile of adult learning activity now largely unrecognized by education providers. It explores the various learning strategies used by adults in these three locations: unionized factory, community-based training program, and literacy program. At a half-way point in a two-year…

The writings included in this student-produced publication are those of students in the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union's (ILGWU's) Worker-Family Education Program technical and English-as-a-Second-Language classes at a Bronx (New York) local unit. The collection of writings consists of personal narratives, interviews, dialogues,…

The Columbia-Willamette Skill Builders Consortium was formed in early 1988 in response to a growing awareness of the need for improved workplace literacy training and coordinated service delivery in Northwest Oregon. In June 1990, the consortium received a National Workplace Literacy Program grant to develop and demonstrate such training. The…

The curriculum guide is designed for a workplace education program for assembly line workers, inspectors, machine operators, packers, materials handlers, blenders, grinders, and trainers in a factory. The curriculum consists of instruction in English as a Second Language for the job, workplace communication, efficient and safe work habits, and…

A workplace literacy demonstration project was implemented through a partnership among the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Institute for Adult Learning and Literacy, and the United Auto Workers/General Motors (UAW/GM) Human Resource Center. Competency-based, job-related foundation skills training was provided for 400 employees, and…

The report describes the design and outcomes of a workplace education program undertaken cooperatively by Northeastern Illinois University, the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union, and a number of local businesses to provide adult basic education, English-as-a-Second-Language, and job skills instruction in the workplace. The report…

A workplace literacy partnership program model was demonstrated at four Chrysler plants in Indiana. Objectives were to improve workers' individual skills, enhance personal productivity, and increase work force job security and plant competitiveness. During the 3-month start-up phase, project staff worked with management and labor representatives…

The Ohio State University, Inland Fisher Guide Division of General Motors, and United Auto Workers Local 969 formed a collaborative partnership in 1990 to train employees whose inadequate literacy skills made them unable to respond to the requirements of "synchronous manufacturing" (or "just in time" production). One of the…