Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We've all been at events where we've felt confused or left out when we don't understand what's going on. Sometimes, this happens because of the way people talk or how information is presented. Over the last few years, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), unions, federations of labour and labour councils have taken steps to integrate a literacy and clear language approach into our communications, our courses and our conferences. Together with our commitment to diversity, it is part of the effort to make our labour principles of social justice, equality and inclusion a reality across the work of the union.

We worked hard to make the 2006 CLC National Education Conference and Literacy Forum models for accessible and inclusive language. We learned a lot along the way, and still have much to learn. But we thought our experience organizing these events might be useful to others who want to try this approach when planning workshops and conferences. To that end, we have developed You're Welcome: A Guide for Planning Union Conferences in Clear Language.

We would like to thank the people who helped create this handbook. The guide was written and designed by labour education consultants Bev Burke and Lynette Plett with illustrations by Debbie Thompson Wilson and graphic design by Irene Boucher. Thanks to CLC Education staff Cindy Wiggins, Lynn Carlile and Elaine Dumais and to CLC translator Louise Vaillancourt and CLC Anti-racism Director Karl Flecker. Thanks also to Manon Parrot, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Marina Schmitt, Public Service Alliance of Canada, Bob Hatfield and Gisele Pageau, Communications, Energy and Paper workers Union, and Jean Connon Unda for their contributions. We thank the National Office of Literacy and Learning, Human Resources and Social Development Canada for their financial support.

Producing a guide like this requires a skilled and effective coordinator. Special thanks to Tamara Levine, CLC Literacy Coordinator, for her commitment and tenacity in coordinating this project. She is our 'heart and soul' for clear language and literacy issues and is militant about encouraging our movement to strive to be more inclusive by expanding our work in this area.

We look forward to working with you as we strive to build a more just and inclusive labour movement and society.

In Solidarity,

Barbara Byers
Executive Vice-President
Canadian Labour Congress