Detailed Findings

Literacy Skills
Job-Specific Skills
New Attitudes
Working with Others
Ability to Work Smarter and Better
Enhanced Job Opportunities
Broader Benefits

Literacy Skills

• Improved Ability to Cope with Change in the Workplace

• Improved Reading, Writing and Numeracy Skills

• Improved Communication Skills

• Improved Ability to Use New Technology in the Workplace

• Improved Problem Solving

Unions have channeled considerable resources and energy into helping their members cope with change in the workplace. And it is largely with the awareness of the need to manage workplace change that unions have financially supported and actively encouraged workplace education programs. Unions recognize that the skills their members need today are broader than in the past. As job requirements change and increase, employees must have basic reading, writing and numeracy skills, as well as a host of other wide-ranging literacy skills—the ability to communicate effectively and to solve problems on their own. The introduction of new and advanced technologies to the workplace directly affects the work performed by labor and alters the skill sets needed to use and operate the new machinery. Unions can assist their members to change in order to meet the needs and interests of the membership. By supporting workplace education programs, unions focus on increasing the value of employees to the firm.

Improved Literacy Skills
Proportion of Union Representatives Citing Benefits
(n=16)

Three-quarters of union representatives interviewed stated that workplace education programs had improved the ability of their members to cope with change in the workplace. Nearly 70 per cent cited the improved ability to use new technology as a benefit and 56 per cent said that the programs had improved their members’ ability to solve problems on their own.

All stakeholders—employers, employees, and unions—realize that highly skilled people are a key competitive advantage in this period of high technology, communications and rapid change. For unions, the desire to preserve the jobs of their membership as well as offering new opportunities and improving working and living standards means that they must focus on increasing the value of employees to the firm. The union representatives interviewed noted that corporate restructuring and job reclassifications were threatening many of its members. In addition, quality standards, such as ISO 9002, pushes companies to improve their ability to cope with change. A major objective for union support of workplace education programs is to enhance the ability of employees to cope with these changes in individual job requirements and the workplace in general.

"At the time of the grant, re-engineering was at an all-time high. One of our union’s main objectives with the workplace education program was to foster a more positive attitude towards change. We wanted to present the workforce with other opportunities. We are very happy with how it has turned out."

- Union Representative,
Hospital Service Workers

For many hospital employees, state requirements changed both the way that forms are to filled out for reimbursements as well as broadening the responsibilities of workers. For the union, this meant that basic reading, writing and numeracy skills had to be upgraded to cope with these changes. In addition, the new role that many of these employees were assuming with patients required them to upgrade their communication skills. Most stated that the training helped to make it possible for their members to do this.

"There were so many dramatic changes in the business it would have been hard for them to maneuver through the changes without the training."

- Union Representative,
Services Employees Union

A major focus of unions over the past decade has been to manage the impact of technological change on jobs. Union representatives note that employees are increasingly being asked to work with new technologies and their job requirements are increasingly being changed to include new technological skills.

"The union should continue to be involved in workplace education programs because, while the employment requirement have been increased for new employees, the technology continues to change in the industry."

- Union Representative,
Primary Metals Manufacturing Union

Union officials confirm the link between involvement in workplace education programs and the increased ability to use new technology in the workplace. One union representative said that he believes that without the workplace education program it would have been more difficult, and in some cases impossible, to train people on some of the new computerized equipment that his company has introduced. Even when the program did not include specific computer skills, the training gave them skills that enabled them to handle the new equipment. These skills include an increased confidence in their ability to learn new skills, an increased openness to doing things in a new way, and a higher comfort level with their ability to read and comprehend manuals and equipment instructions.

"We have to use computers daily. Once you have some basic skills, the other skills seem to fall in line."

- Union Representative,
Primary Metals Manufacturing Union

In some cases, while the force driving union involvement in the programs was the threat to its membership of technological change, an overall improvement was noted in other literacy-related skills.

"The driving force behind the program initially was to improve the ability of employees to use computers and other new technologies. But a lot of things became goals that we hadn’t thought of at the start. And, in fact, they became primary benefits. Things like the ability to think critically to solve problems and less resistance to change."

- Union Representative,
Primary Metals Manufacturing Union

For unions, these skills mean that employees are better equipped to play an enhanced role at work. For example, one union representative noted that both employees and their supervisors now look for team solutions rather than making a fuss about small issues. Another commented that floor-level incidents have dropped by about 80 per cent because floor supervisors no longer bring small issues to upper management’s attention—they see the benefits of working with employees to find solutions themselves. The improved confidence and skills that result from participating in workplace education programs enables employees to solve problems on their own.

"Even in cases where employees are to follow rigid guidelines and charts, you often have to go beyond that. The training helps you to think through the problems and have the confidence to take action and be a problem solver."

- Union Representative,
Automobile Manufacturing Union

• More Employees Participating in Job-Specific Training

• Quicker Results in Job-Specific Training

• Improved Results in Job-Specific Training

Pressure is coming from many quarters as the pace and types of changes taking place in the workplace accelerate. Unions must anticipate and react to these changes in order to meet the needs of their members. A critical factor in ensuring that employees can cope with these changes is to ensure that they have access to job-specific training, and have the skills to cope with this training. For example, workplace education programs can provide access to training that helps unionized employees pass licensing or certification tests and, in turn, protect their employment security. Higher literacy skills gained through workplace education programs greatly increases the probability that employees will have access to this job-specific training.

Union representatives feel that participation in workplace education programs improves employees’ access to job-specific training. Nearly 70 per cent state that one result of the workplace education program was an increased participation of employees in on-the-job training. They also felt that the workplace education program helps employees to better understand and utilize job-specific training—about 70 per cent said that the program led to quicker results in job-specific training and 50 per cent said it led to improved results in job-specific training.

Union representatives care about the access that employees have to job-specific training because this training enhances job security and job opportunities. Improving basic literacy skills through workplace education programs increases the chances that employees will be offered job-specific training.

"In many cases, the educational level was, on average, at a grade 7 level. That needed to be brought up to a grade 9 level to get the GED. The GED then let them branch out into other training."

- Union Representative,
Hospital Service Workers

From a union perspective, workplace education programs increase employees’ willingness and capability of taking job-specific training. One union representative stated that trainers report that those employees who were involved in workplace education programs understand on-the-job training better and are more willing and able to learn new things. Because of technological and organizational changes, unions recognize that employees need to continue to upgrade their skills.

"Due to the fragility of job security, employees are more aware that their jobs will no longer exist if they don’t stay abreast of the competition by always learning better and more efficient ways to do their work."

- Union Representative,
Midwestern Health Center

• Improved Employee Morale/Self-Esteem

• Increased Retention of Employees

• Improved Ability to Cope with Change in the Workplace

• New Attitude to Lifelong Learning

In 1916, pioneering union leader Samuel Gompers made the connection between workplace learning and labor’s commitment to lifelong learning and skill development when he said: "Education must continue throughout life if the individual is to really live and make progress. . . unions realize that education is an attitude toward life—an ability to see and understand problems and to utilize information and forces for the best solution of life’s problems." The benefits that employees receive from workplace education programs go beyond the immediate need of the union to protect the size of its unionized workforce, or its desire to perpetuate its own existence. The bottom line is that workplace education programs that meet the changing needs of union members, while contributing to the competitiveness of the business, also ensure the relevance and value of the union to its members.

Union representatives very clearly feel that participating in workplace education programs helps to foster new attitudes among both employees and the unions representing them. Fourteen out of sixteen union representatives interviewed stated that participation in the workplace education program improved employee morale and self-esteem. Seventy-five per cent said that the program improved the ability of employees to cope with change in the workplace.

Improved morale and self-esteem of employees who participated in workplace education programs was a major benefit noted by union representatives. One union representative commented that it is in employers’ interest to increase their employees’ self-confidence because it will inevitably reflect in the quality of their work.

"Employee morale has improved even though our company underwent a major downsizing shortly after the workplace education program. People feel valued by their employer since they are getting training—it is not only increasing the quality of their job performance but also to the quality of their lives."

- Union Representative,
Midwestern Skilled Craft Union

Employees who feel valued by their company are also more likely to stay with the company. One union representative noted that people who were directly involved in the program were more prone to stay in the company. Another representative stated that the training "helped to make people happier with the workplace and keep them there."

With all of the changes facing companies, improved skills and confidence help employees to adjust to these changes—thereby helping them retain their jobs. Some also noted that the program encouraged management to spend more time explaining the changes and why they were taking place.

Unions also recognize that the workplace education programs helped to foster a new attitude towards lifelong learning, opening up new opportunities and avenues for employees to follow. One union representative noted that his union is no longer able to guaranteed job security to its members and that their workers must take responsibility for enhancing their own job security through skill enhancement.

• Improved Labor-Management Relations

• Better Team Performance

• Improved Effectiveness of Supervisory Staff

There is evidence that workplace education programs improve the relationship between labor and management. These programs are often successful because they reveal common ground where the two parties can work together while still pursuing their separate objectives. The success of the programs in meeting the objectives of both parties also means that labor and management can point to these programs as examples of how the two sides can work together. Another development occurring in most organizations centers on how employees work together and the new role employees are assuming in the workplace. One author describes the high performance workplace as one where teamwork, problem-solving and the full involvement of the workforce are employed to improve the quality of work. This type of redesign and redefinition of the employees’ role represents a massive change from what has traditionally been expected. Unlike many of the other changes gripping the workplace which demand higher technical skills, many skills needed to perform a job in a high performance workplace are fundamental ‘employability skills’ such as teamwork, group problem solving and working with others. The need to maintain and build upon these skills is as legitimate as maintaining and building upon technical skills. Increasingly, employers are requiring both types of skills from their employees, and unions must help employees to foster these skills.

Unions recognize that workplace education programs enhance the ability of employees, unions and management to work together. Eighty-eight per cent of union representatives interviewed stated that a key outcome of workplace education programs was an improvement in labor-management relations. The improved effectiveness of supervisory staff was also noted by 75 per cent of unions and 63 per cent cited improved team performance.

In many of the workplace education programs that were examined in this study, union involvement was significant. In some cases the union was the driving force in all aspects of the training—from need identification to the delivery of training. For example, one union recognized that the technology was changing and that the general educational level of its membership was not high enough to allow them to keep up with the technology. In response to this gap, the union ran its own survey to identify needs and examined how a remedial training program could address those needs. The union then partnered with the company and the local Board of Education to apply for grant funding. Even in other cases where the union was not as involved in the initial development of the program, union buy-in was critical to its eventual success. This working together creates a common ground for labor and management and can set a precedent for working together. One union representative stated that the workplace training program was the one piece in overall workplace issues that both union and management set everything else aside and focused on the betterment of employees.

"At our workplace, there was a contract dispute about wages going on at the beginning of the training. But both sides were able to put aside contract disputes and still put the training on and try to get the benefits of the training. Neither side said ‘Forget it, I’m not going to back the training if the contract dispute isn’t settled first.’"

- Union Representative,
Skilled Craft Union

At one company, the grievance load has become so small over the years that the union plant chairman is now back to working a normal work load. The union representative interviewed felt that the improvement in labor-relations from cooperating on workplace learning initiatives was a key factor behind the drop in grievances. The improved communication skills and confidence that result from the programs help employees and supervisors resolve conflicts.

"The program decreased friction between labor and management, because, for the first time, employees were able to see themselves as equal to employers. They were more inclined to work with management towards solutions."

- Union Representative,
Nursing Home

Better team performance resulting from the workplace education program is a significant benefit noted by unions. Because many of their organizations are increasingly moving towards a teamwork concept, unions felt that their members are better equipped to work in this new environment when they participate in the programs.

"Team decisions are what drive the company. The training helps foster a teamwork concept."

- Union Representative,
Primary Metals Manufacturing Union

Some union representatives noted that supervisors also had to learn new ways of working with others and that employees’ new skills and confidence are sometimes threatening to some supervisors.

"It is sometimes interesting what happens between employees and their supervisors. When the employees understand why things are done in a certain way, they would often insist that they be done that way. They would force the supervisor to take action and follow up. This can be threatening to some supervisors."

- Union Representative,
Automobile Manufacturing Union

Yet while workplace education programs often force adjustments to be made by all stakeholders, unions feel that the organization ends up stronger and with a more cohesive working atmosphere. Union representatives speak of more open communication, increased cooperation and reduced friction resulting from the programs. Overall, workplace education programs are described by one union representative as a win-win situation for everyone.

"With the workplace education program, people have a better understanding of their role in the fabrication of the product. It created better working conditions, and better rapport with the floor supervisors, management and colleagues. The program was a true example of real win-win situation. The employees are more efficient and produce less wastage; the union was able to include some of its curriculum in the courses, helping ease the tensions; the management has more adaptable workforce better able to cope with changes."

- Union Representative,
Midwestern Skilled Craft Union

• Increased Output of Products and Services

• Reduced Time per Task

• Reduced Wastage in Production of Products and Services

• Increased Quality of Work

• Reduced Error Rate

• Better Health and Safety Record

Workplace literacy is an economic issue for unions. The elimination of trade barriers and a shift to a global economy has increasingly caused unskilled jobs to migrate from industrialized economies to developing, low-wage economies. At the same time, high-skilled positions are concentrating in regions where there is an available pool of skilled labor. For unions, a key focus in securing the jobs of its membership is to ensure that their members’ productivity and quality of work is high. In the absence of a workforce able to adapt to the changes required of them, the needed gains in productivity and quality are lost. Meeting the needs of its members in the midst of these pressures is one of the motivating forces behind the involvement of unions in workplace learning.

The vast majority of union representatives noticed that the workplace education program helped employees in their organizations to increase the quality of their work.  Almost 70 per cent also noted that the program resulted in reduced error rates and 56 per cent said that it led to reduced wastage. A smaller, but still significant proportion of union representatives said that the program helped to reduce employee time per task and increase the overall output of products and services produced by their company. Forty-four per cent believe that the program led to a better health and safety record.

While increased output of goods and services, reduced time per task and reduced wastage are rarely stated as union objectives in supporting workplace education programs, union representatives do note that such benefits occur. Unions are, however, more explicit about their desire to make employees more valuable to the organization, thereby strengthening the union’s bargaining position. In this way, workplace literacy skills are an economic issue for unions.

"From a union’s point of view, the better educated your workers are, the more valuable they are—it is easier in contracts to argue for their benefits."

- Union Representative,
Union for Food Processors

Union representatives state that workplace education programs improve the ability of people to do a good job and increase the quality of their work. One representative noted that while his company has been running at 100 per cent capacity for a long time, they are now doing it more efficiently with less effort and less mistakes. Another representative said that employees are able to better understand the whole process and can therefore pay closer attention to how what they do will affect others further down the line. For one company, the impact has been significant—it is now meeting its customer quality requirements 99 per cent of the time.

Unions are also very interested in reducing employee error rates, particularly as it impacts on employee health and safety. The programs helped employees to understand safety signs and labels, thereby improving the safety record.

"One of the key objectives and an integral part of the program is improving the health and safety record. It has done that."

- Union Representative,
Foundry and Casting Workers

• Higher Success Rate in Promoting Employees Within the Organization

• Higher Success Rate in Transferring Employees Within the Organization

Unionized workers want challenging jobs with opportunities for growth and advancement. Unions must satisfy this demand if they hope to hold on to their current members and attract new ones. Unions must be active in co-operating with companies to offer workplace education programs that are tied to a broader strategy of promoting job security and advancement.

About half of the union representatives stated that participation in workplace education programs had improved the opportunities of employees for promotions or transfers within the organization.

Unions are interested in enhancing the opportunities of its membership. By supporting and promoting workplace education programs, unions can strengthen the possibilities employees have for promotions and transfers. In doing so, unions help protect the jobs of those employees. Even in organizations where jobs are relatively secure, unions note that the programs offer employees opportunities that they would not otherwise have.

"We operate in a low unemployment area, so people here are not really afraid of losing their job. But they do want to make themselves more valuable to better themselves and move on or up."

- Union Representative,
Food Processing Workers

In some cases, unions note that there are not many opportunities to be promoted within their organizations, perhaps due to a flat organizational structure or seniority policies. In these cases, unions feel that the opportunities for employees to transfer into other groups and learn new skills is critical. It is imperative for these employees to know that they are eligible for other jobs. The workplace education programs help to promote this inter-departmental flexibility.

"There are informal transfers within departments. Certain employees have developed self-confidence where that kind of transfer wouldn’t be as intimidating as it would have been before."

- Union Representative,
Foundry and Casting Workers

Unions notice that, after participating in workplace education programs, employees are more likely to bid for different jobs, because they are more confident that they can perform these jobs. One union representative stated that he noticed a significant increase in bidding activities and that a significant number of these transfer requests are successful.

One cautionary note was sounded by several union representatives. They point out that workplace education programs are often not sufficient, and will not turn bad or boring jobs into good ones. The jobs themselves have to change as well to allow the employees to use and keep their new skills.

• Improvements Outside the Workplace

• Improved Understanding of the Culture of the Organization

• Improved Understanding of the Role of the Union

Some of the benefits that accrue to employees from workplace education programs extend beyond the workplace itself. The ability of employees to participate more fully in their children's’ education was cited by some unions as a benefit. Unions recognize that individuals who are happy in all aspects of their lives are better and more valued employees. The extensive involvement of unions in workplace education programs also suggests that there are direct benefits for unions as well as employees. One of these benefits may be that, by supporting these programs, the union membership is more aware of the role of the union in workplace issues. This increased awareness often leads to an increased or solidified membership base. The more a union serves and benefits its membership, the more it serves its own interests. If a union fails to meet the immediate needs of its members, then the value the members attach to being part of their union will depreciate. Only by adding value does the union obtain the needed loyalty, buy-in and solidarity among members that makes it strong.

The reasons unions give for supporting workplace education programs often include benefits that are not strictly work-related. One union representative stated that his union’s goal in championing their program is to "increase the ability of people to function at work and outside work." While being better able to function at work may include factors such as reduced time and increased output, his union did not focus on those traditional measures of productivity. Rather, the union wanted to improve a broad range of skill sets and to improve the ability of employees to function in many diverse areas of their lives. By doing so, the union felt that employees would be happier in all aspects of their lives and be better overall workers. Another union representative explained that his union was even more explicit in incorporating non-job-related skills into the workplace education program.

"One of the union’s contributions was to broaden the focus of the program to encompass more than workplace procedures and job skills. It was broadened to include life skills. For example, we pioneered ‘brown bag’ discussions where we bring in folk from outside the workplace—financial training, Board of Education (parental involvement in child’s education) etc—to speak to whoever wants to come."

- Union Representative,
Foundry and Casting Workers

Unions are also interested in giving employees a broader perspective of their role within the organization. One union representative noted that the program helped the organization to have "more well-rounded employees who have a better sense of how they fit into the picture with their jobs."

Union involvement in workplace education programs is not seen by all union representatives as being strong enough. Some suggest that their involvement could be better: "It is a struggle to get the labor movement to see education as a critical component of union building." Because of this, one of the key goals of her union’s support of the program was to give employees a greater understanding of the role of the union in the workplace, and that this was achieved to a certain degree. Another union representative noted that the workplace education program helped to promote employee involvement in her union.

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Last updated: February 05, 2001 .