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Moving in from the margins: A CUPE Case Study on Integrating Literacy

The CLC has completed a new case study on how Canada's largest union has taken steps to integrate literacy. It tells the story of how a literacy project grew to such depth that it has had a significant influence on many aspects of CUPE's work.

Tamara Levine, CLC Literacy Coordinator, explains. “Literacy is about trying to make everything we do more accessible to workers. The case study is about how CUPE has taken the tools of literacy and clear language and applied them to other parts of the organization. In sharing this case study, we hope it can serve as a practical example to other unions with similar goals.”

Bev Burke, co-author of the case study with Jean Connon Unda, says, “The goals of integrating literacy and clear language are two-fold: 1) to strengthen the union, and 2) to build commitment within the union to sustain this work. Integration means working towards a time when a literacy and clear language lens is applied to everything the union does.”

For example, most CUPE schools now include literacy and clear language workshops, and literacy has become part of the responsibilities of CUPE regional educational staff. CUPE has completed a clear language edit of its steward's course. Its women's leadership program includes clear language awareness. In addition, CUPE has integrated clear language into other national departments and its convention. It has provided support for bargaining clear language in collective agreements.

In order to move towards integration, literacy first had to “register” on CUPE's radar screen. Only after this groundwork was laid could the goal shift to include integrating literacy into the agenda and culture of the union.

“It's amazing,” says Burke. “There is awareness and support for literacy and clear language throughout CUPE. All 600 people within CUPE surveyed for the 2006 evaluation said that literacy and clear language were important union issues”.

“There is still work to be done to integrate literacy and clear language into other union priorities. We want to develop practical tools for integration that will support the work of CUPE staff and activists,” says Sylvia Sioufi, CUPE's National Literacy Coordinator.

By Sue Folinsbee