Brave New World : Literacy: Workers learn how to read and write in a unique program. Their Oxnard employer provides the instruction.

Mario Tapia-Baez sent his daughter a Christmas card last month.

He put down on paper the things that he never could before, crafting a letter that he had waited a lifetime to write.

“Thank you for helping me with my homework,” the 45-year-old Oxnard machinist wrote to his 14-year-old girl. “I appreciate what you do for me.”

Until a few months ago, when his company, EG&G; Rocky Flats, established an adult literacy program, the written word was virtually off limits to the Dominican-born assembly line worker.

The company-sponsored program, the only one of its kind in Ventura County, has matched eight employees who can read and write with eight employees who desperately want to learn.

For workers such as Tapia-Baez, the program has opened a world full of new possibilities.

He wrote a letter to Barbara Bush and got one back in response. He cast a ballot in November’s presidential election and later was summoned for jury duty. He’s now working toward a high school diploma.

“There were times when managers would talk to me and I didn’t know what they were saying,” said Tapia-Baez, a 12-year employee with the Oxnard defense and energy contractor. “I feel comfortable with the language now. I’m understanding a little more.”

The program is designed both for limited-English-speaking employees who want to learn how to read and write, and for employees who speak English fluently but who want to improve reading and writing skills.

For EG&G; Rocky Flats in Oxnard, the literacy program serves two purposes.

First, managers needed to ensure that workers could understand company safety training after it became apparent that some employees weren’t keeping pace with the mandatory instruction.

Moreover, because of the nationwide loss of defense industry jobs, the company decided to help boost the skill level of employees who one day may find themselves standing in an unemployment line.

“We are no different than any other company. We don’t feel extremely stable,” said Pam Ford, EG&G;’s human resources administrator. “Realizing that anything can happen, we are trying to improve skills for people of all levels.”

Last year, Ford enlisted the help of the county library’s Reading Program for Adults. The company paid $600 for evaluations, training and materials, and agreed to give employees who participate in the program half an hour off twice a week.

Ford recruited tutors and students willing to give up half an hour of their own time. There is a growing waiting list of students.

“It’s common knowledge in the business world that there is a literacy problem,” Ford said. “Anyone who says there’s not is sticking his head in the sand.”

It is estimated that one out of five adults has a literacy problem, said Patricia Flanigan, who manages the adult literacy program for the county library.

About 5,000 students have gone through the county program since 1984, Flanigan said, with about 400 now participating.

The county’s adult literacy program operates in adult schools, jails and juvenile hall.

“Literacy problems are rampant. Once you start looking you find them everywhere,” said Flanigan, who runs the program on a budget of $124,000 a year. “All companies are beginning to realize that they have to do more.”

On Monday, Ford was walking Tapia-Baez through the fickle and often confusing world of the English language.

He read out loud and practiced taking dictation. She corrected his spelling, punctuation and pronunciation. For Tapia-Baez, knowing the language could one day be the deciding factor in whether he gets a promotion, or it could mean the difference between landing a job or being unemployed.

“Mario is a hammer operator and he is a very skilled hammer operator,” Ford said as Tapia-Baez practiced writing sentences. “But the reality is that there are only so many of those jobs to go around.”

FYI

The Ventura County Library has operated its Reading Program For Adults since 1984, and is always looking for volunteers to help students improve their reading and writing skills. The program also wants to encourage private companies to become involved in the literacy problems facing their work forces. For information on the adult literacy program, call 652-6294.