Your union works hard to represent its members, protect their rights, and keep them informed. But how easy is it for members to find the information, benefits, and resources they need?
If your union’s website is outdated, rarely updated, or doesn’t exist at all, you could be missing an important opportunity to connect with members and show them the value of their union membership.
A website is more than an online brochure. It can be a central resource for members, a voice for union leadership, and can enhance the way you already communicate through emails, SMS, and meetings.
Many unions have a national website that provides essential information about the organization, its leadership, and its work across the country. But national information doesn't always tell the whole story for local members.
Think of it like the weather.
A national weather report might tell you that temperatures are dropping across the country. But what you really want to know is the local forecast: how cold or warm it’s going to be where you live.
The same is true for union communications.
National websites can share important updates about contracts, legislation, organizing efforts, and union-wide initiatives. But local members may want to know about local meetings, contract updates, upcoming events, available benefits, leadership contacts, or issues affecting their workplace.
A local union website helps bridge the gap between what's happening across the organization and what matters most to members in their own community.
Don’t Have A Website? Here’s Where You’re Losing Out
When a union has no website—or one that hasn't been updated in months or years—members may have trouble finding basic information. They might not know where to look for meeting details, how to contact a representative, or what benefits are available to them.
That creates unnecessary barriers between members and their union.
A well-maintained website can help your union:
Keep members informed. Share timely news, announcements, contract updates, meeting schedules, and other local information.
Make benefits easier to use. Give members a convenient place to find information about available programs, eligibility, and how to access services.
Answer common questions. Post frequently asked questions, forms, documents, and helpful resources that members can find when they need them.
Make leadership more accessible. Provide contact information and clear ways for members to ask questions or request assistance.
Build engagement. Help members understand what their union is doing, how decisions affect them, and how they can participate.
Support new and existing members. Make it easier for people to understand their membership and take advantage of the resources available to them.
Most importantly, a website that is easy to use and updated regularly is another way to show members the value of union membership.
Email is a familiar and effective way to communicate with members. It can deliver announcements, reminders, benefit information, and important updates directly to their inboxes.
But emails can get buried, deleted, or forgotten. Members may want to revisit information weeks after an email was sent. And not every member will see every message.
That's where your website comes in.
Think of email as the way you bring information to members and your website as the place where they can find and revisit that information.
For example, your local could send an email announcing an upcoming membership meeting. The email would include a link to a website page with the meeting date, time, location, agenda, and any documents members should review beforehand.
Or your union could send an email introducing a new member benefit and direct members to a website page explaining what's covered, who qualifies, and how to get started.
Instead of trying to fit every detail into one email, you can use the message to capture attention and the website to provide the full information.
This approach also makes it easier to keep information current. If a meeting location changes or a benefit's instructions are updated, you can revise the website page rather than relying on members to find a new email.
Union meetings have always been the main way to communicate updates, recognize members, and make important decisions on how the union is run. They are an important opportunity to share updates, hear members' concerns, and encourage participation. But time is limited, members may not always remember every announcement or detail, and sometimes, member turnout isn’t what it should be.
Your website can help extend the value of each meeting.
Before a meeting, you can post the agenda, share background information, and remind members where and when to attend.
Afterward, you can post approved updates, upcoming dates, useful documents, and answers to questions that members may have raised.
Members who couldn't attend can still access appropriate information and stay informed.
A website can also help leadership promote events, share resources, collect questions, and direct members to the right contacts.
The result is a communication process that doesn't begin and end in the meeting room. Members have a place to turn before, during, and after important union activities.
A useful union website doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't need hundreds of pages or constant redesigns. It needs to make the right information easy to find and keep that information up to date.
Start with the basics:
Clear contact information for union leadership and representatives.
Meeting dates, event announcements, and important updates.
Information about member benefits and available resources.
Frequently asked questions, links to forms, and downloadable documents.
Links to national union resources and other relevant services.
A simple way for members to ask questions or get help.
It should also be easy to view on a mobile phone, since many members may access it between shifts, during breaks, or while traveling.
One of the biggest reasons unions put off creating a website—or let an existing one become outdated—is the challenge of managing it. Building a website is one thing. Keeping it updated with current information, meeting schedules, benefit details, and important announcements takes ongoing time and attention.
Union leadership already has plenty of responsibilities. Assigning someone to manage a website can become another task on an already full schedule. Without a clear plan for maintaining it, even a well-designed website can quickly lose its value.
The solution is to work with a partner who can handle the website and help keep it current.
Member Resources works with unions to build union-branded websites and help maintain them with important member information. From sharing updates and resources to making benefits easier to find, Member Resources helps unions maintain a useful online presence without placing the entire responsibility on union leadership.
This approach allows your union to benefit from a website without having to manage every detail on its own. Leadership can focus on representing members while Member Resources helps keep the website current, useful, and connected to your broader communications efforts.
You don't have to choose between having a website and having the time to manage one. With the right support, you can have both.
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