For example, at a New York City electronics factory where workers were primarily Spanish-speaking women represented by the UAW, learners participated in an oral history project and practiced reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Learners taped interviews with coworkers, listened to the tapes in class, and discussed issues from the interviews. Then they wrote introductions to the interviews and responded in writing to what coworkers had said in their interviews. Although most workplace ESL programs teach job-related English so workers can perform their jobs competently and increase productivity, unions also teach what learners want to know and what unions want their members to know. Finally, as a quality of life issue and as part of their instruction about workplace rights, health and safety instruction is stressed in union-sponsored programs.
Immigrant workers are more likely to hold low-paying and hazardous jobs.
Today, through partnerships with one another, with educators, and with employers, many unions are offering ESL instruction to assure that immigrant workers are prepared to face the challenges of today's workplace and can secure and maintain employment at a living wage. Assistant Education Director, for historical perspective on labor unions' involvement in education. Problem-posing at the workplace. The life of the I.E.H. people in Local 259. Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.