The Busy Signal > Member Voices

One Union, One Message

By Gail Sawatzky | Summer/Fall 2026

Connecting Our Members and Our Communities

The Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM) conference held in June 2026 gave us the opportunity to hear presentations from several different resources. Topics ranged from AI data centres and social media messaging to campaigns that worked, and some that didn’t. It also gave attendees the opportunity to network with some very knowledgeable union-minded people, all working toward finding new and different ways of communicating within our unions.

One presentation that stood out for me was about something I think many unions struggle with: how do you find one message that connects members who are spread across different workplaces and communities?

Our members work in different jobs, workplaces and communities across Saskatchewan. Staying connected can be a challenge, but being spread out does not mean we have less in common.

Bud Williamson from Union Communications, a company focused on helping unions maximize the impact of their message, presented Finding a Unifying Message When You Have a Dispersed Membership. His presentation focused on finding the story that brings members together.

That story can be built around our shared values, the work we do and the contribution union members make in their communities.

But I think there is another part to this. A strong union message cannot stop with our members. We also need to tell our story in a way that matters to the people in the communities where we live and work.

Tell Our Story Before We Need To

People often hear the most about unions during bargaining, strikes or workplace disputes. By then, someone else may already be shaping the story.

Williamson talked about “priming the audience.” In simple terms, we need to communicate before an issue comes up, so people already have some understanding of who our members are, what we do and why our work matters.

That means regularly sharing the positive story of union members: the services we provide, our involvement in our communities, the good jobs we support and the contributions we make throughout Saskatchewan.

If the first-time people hear from us is when we are asking for their support, we may have waited too long.

Make It Relevant to the Community

One of the messages from the presentation that stuck with me was:

“Attention is earned through relevance.”

That applies just as much to our communities as it does to our members.

Most people are not going to connect with an issue simply because it is important to the union. We need to explain why it should matter to them too.

A workplace issue might also be about maintaining good local jobs. Privatization may be about affordability, service or where public dollars go. Changes to services can be talked about in terms of what they mean for families, businesses, rural communities or access to dependable services.

We do not have to change what we stand for. We just need to explain it in everyday language and make the connection to people's lives.

Take the Message Beyond Our Own Channels

Our newsletters, emails and social media are important, but for the most part they reach people who already know us.

If we want our message to reach the wider community, we need to think about where people get their information and, just as importantly, where our members already have connections.

That could be through local news and community publications, social media, community events, partnerships with community organizations, labour events or activities our members are already involved in.

And we should not overlook our members themselves. They can be some of the best people to tell our story.

A union message becomes much more personal when someone can connect it with a neighbour, friend, family member or someone they know who works and lives in their community.

This was one of the things I took away from CALM: union communication should be about more than simply putting information out there. We need to find ways to make people interested, get them involved and, when needed, move them to action.

One Message, Two Audiences

The message we give our members and the message we give the public do not have to be exactly the same, but they should come from the same place.

For our members:

This is who we are. This is what connects us. This is what we are standing up for.

For our communities:

This is who we are. This is what our members contribute. This is why what happens to our members also matters to you.

The Opportunity for Local 1-S

For Local 1-S, I think our dispersed membership could actually be one of our strengths.

Our members are part of communities throughout Saskatchewan. That gives us an opportunity to tell our story locally, not just provincially.

Instead of only asking:

“How do we get our message out?”

Maybe we should also be asking:

“Why should someone outside our union care about this issue, and how do we make that connection clear?”

That small change in how we think about communication could help us build a stronger union identity among our own members, while also building understanding and support in the communities where we live and work.

The Message I Took Away

If I had to bring the presentation down to one simple message, it would be this:

Different workplaces. Different communities. One union. One shared story.

And when we are talking to the public:

Our members don't just work in Saskatchewan communities. We're part of them.