Worker-trainers as evaluators: a case study of a union-based health and safety education program

The United Automobile Workers uses worker-trainers to deliver health and safety education training to its members. The union has experimented with worker-trainers participating in program evaluation. Worker-trainers participated in the design and conduct of a telephone survey of training impact, and of an on-site survey of trainee perceptions of a large-scale program. Worker evaluators were able to analyze data and give a highly successful presentation of results to trainees at the large-scale program. The incorporation of workers as evaluators is a key step toward the goal of worker empowerment. The involvement of program participants in their program's evaluation can enhance the quality and usefulness of work-site health and safety programs in general.