Barbara Byers, a social worker by profession, is Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. She has served as the President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, representing more than 80,000 workers, and the National Union of Public and General Employees/Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (NUPGE-SGEU). Barbara has travelled the world extensively on behalf of the CLC and she is a champion of literacy and clear language.

Tamara Levine has coordinated the Workplace Literacy Project of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) since 1996. Previously, she was the Regional Coordinator of the Ontario Federation of Labour's BEST program in Eastern Ontario. She has also worked in the federal government, where she helped set up the National Literacy Secretariat and was active in issues of health and safety.