FORWARD

This guide has been developed by the Workplace Literacy Project of the Canadian Labour Congress as part of its Learning in Solidarity series. Created to share our collective wealth of experience, our hope is that the series will help unions play a more active role and have a stronger voice in worker-centred literacy.

Seeds for Change is an important addition to the series, as it brings a union approach to both the content and the process of worker-centred learning. To that end, we have drawn heavily on the expertise developed within and beyond the labour movement over the years, and want to thank the many advocates, instructors and participants who continue to help shape labour's vision.

I would like, in particular, to thank Jean Connon-Unda for her excellent work in researching and writing the handbook and Tamara Levine, Coordinator, CLC Workplace Literacy Project, for coordinating and providing direction to the project.

In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to the members of the project reference group for their insightful feedback and advice: Ed Brown, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour; Jorge Garcia-Orgales, USWA; Cathy Remus, CUPE; Linda Wentzel, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour; Monique Joly, CUPE; Anna Larsen, Metro Labour Education Centre, Toronto; Judy Bernstein, Algonquin College, Ottawa; Robert Wedel, Capilano College, Vancouver and Margerit Roger, UFCW, Winnipeg.

Much appreciation goes to the Canadian Union of Public Employees for sharing its excellent "Water Watch" campaign with us. Special thanks to former BEST instructor Judith Vin all of UFCW local 459 who took the Day of Mourning materials and, with her participants at the Heinz plant in Leamington, Ontario, created some of the dynamic real life learning and growing experiences contained in Seeds for Change.