The second section, Worker-Centred Learning, looks at the essence of a union program on basic skills. A worker-centred approach is contrasted with an employer-centred approach and details why union programs are and can be different.

The third section, Planning for Bargaining, is the heart of the handbook. In a step by step manner, it outlines the five stages in the bargaining process:

• Learning About Your Employer and Your Union (this stage includes three different surveys you can use to help analyze your needs)
• Drafting a Proposal
• Different Views of Literacy and Basic Skills From Employers and Unions
• Inside the Negotiations
• Keeping the Membership Informed and Continuous Bargaining

At each stage, the handbook provides concrete tips and workbook exercises that can help you prepare a bargaining agenda.

The fourth section, Basic Skills and Public Education, examines how unions can partner with public education institutions and unions to deliver their programs. This follows on the 1998 CLC Protocol on the Delivery of Training, Education and Employment Services, which highlights the essential role for public education in union training.

The fifth section of the handbook contains a series of examples, Stories from the Front lines, which describe some of the success stories out there as far as unions are concerned. It also includes model clauses drawn from existing collective agreements. You can use these clauses to help you write your own language. This section can also help you if you are bargaining outside of the regular negotiation process.

There are short pieces on:

• Quebec and BC: Laws on Training
• How Many Unions Have Contract Language?

We hope this handbook proves to be a useful tool and welcome any suggestions for future changes or additions. Hopefully, we can soon rewrite the model clause section with a whole new group of basic skills clauses!