Translation - United Steelworkers of America

Case Study
Cogitco Delivers Under Pressure

Background

United Steelworkers of America is a union of 1.2 million working and retired members throughout North America. The union's mission is to improve jobs and promote fairness, justice and equality both on the job and in our societies. Its members work in just about every sector of the North American economy, from metals and mining and manufacturing, to health care and various services in both the public and private sectors.

In the spring of 2005, the union undertook a process of contract negotiation that was expected to be intense.

The Problem

Since a portion of the United Steelworkers of America membership includes workers from the French-speaking province of Quebec, a translation of its 60,000-word contract was needed. The union requested overnight turnaround in order to provide critical information in its second language.

The Solution

Given the severe time constraints based on the client's needs, Cogitco implemented a two-step framework to produce an impeccable translated document. The framework involved:

• Utilizing translation memory software - The application assisted in comparing the document to the translation of the previous version to determine which parts had changed.
• Assigning tasks to in-house and external experts - A team of four freelance translators were assigned to translate the portions of the documents that had been modified. All parts were revised in-house to ensure uniformity.

The Result

Cogitco's project framework led to the delivery of a quality product to United Steelworkers of America, despite the pressures of a tight deadline.