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Literacy = Freedom: CUPW takes up the literacy challenge

Colourful balloons sporting the phrase Clear Language greeted delegates arriving at the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' (CUPW) triennial convention held April 7th to 11th in Ottawa.

For the first time, a literacy table staffed by two members of the new CUPW Literacy Reference Group offered information and resources. Most delegates stopped by to ask questions or offer encouragement. They snapped up the literacy materials offered, including thousands of Literacy = Freedom stickers.

"Literacy is a working class issue," said Denis Lemelin, 2nd national vice president and the officer responsible for the CUPW literacy program. "It's not just about skills building. We are building a family of working people who are teaching and learning from one another. It strengthens our collective interests."

"We are building a family of working people who are teaching and learning from one another. "

Brother Lemelin explained that the postal workers' program would focus not only on traditional concepts of literacy, but also on clear language for the union's communications. "Clear language is a key part of our literacy work. Together, we will be looking at new ways to communicate with our members effectively without sacrificing important technical information. We will start by setting up focus groups in several of our locals to look at how well our communications are reaching our members."

The CUPW literacy program has taken off over the last few months with financial assistance from the National Literacy Secretariat. The national Literacy Reference Group, representing each of CUPW's eight regions as well as the national office, had their first training and planning session in January. Participants have already begun valuable research in their communities, generating information that will help identify new projects.

Karen Kennedy and Diane Lanneville, members of CUPW's
Literacy Reference Group, pass by "clear language"
balloon display at CUPW convention.

In the coming months, CUPW will be looking at developing pilot projects and bringing clear language issues to the union's leadership and membership. Our challenge will be to make this a collective rather than a "top down" process. We know that unions develop and analyze technical and legal information all the time, and that watering down essential information can have devastating consequences. Everyone needs to be involved in the process so that they feel valued, not threatened. Everyone should have the opportunity to become part of the solution.