COMMUNICATION PLAN:
MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of the Communication Committee is to provide information about meetings and other items of interest to the Union members at the Dept of Commerce.
TARGET AUDIENCE
- 160 Union members at the Dept of Commerce
- Local 443
GUIDING PRINCIPLES / OBJECTIVES
1. Bulletin Boards and Newsstands: Committee members will make sure the Union bulletin boards are up-to-date. The bulletin boards will contain at least the following: (1) Union Banner, (2) General Membership Meeting Notice, (3) Monthly Commerce Union Membership Meeting, (4) Employee Resource List, (5) Info on how to the access the blog, (5) announcements from Local 443 and (6) other items of interests.
2. Commerce Blog: To the greatest extent possible, the Committee will use web-based technology to share information and broaden outreach. The primary function of the Commerce blog is to share information about items of interest and upcoming events.
3. Monthly or Bi-Monthly News Blast: Electronically distribute at least a monthly and preferably a bi-monthly news blast. This is an email sent to all the members that essentially encourages them to read the blog for more information. News blast should not be more than half to one page long
4. Provide networking and social opportunities for members: Blog will focus on upcoming events and networking opportunities. Committee will look at ways to facilitate social and professional networking by exploring opportunities to create Chapter Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking pages.
5. Ensure that topics are balanced: Blog will strive to include a broad range of articles, resources, and upcoming events related to the Union and Commerce. The Committee will always strive to be objective, factual and present all sides of an issue.
6. Provide tools to help our members: Blog and news blast will emphasize helpful websites and/or other available resources to help members balance their work requirements and personal lives.
7. Make the case for services provided to the membership: Blog and news blast will emphasize the availability of services available through our Union (e.g., scholarships).
COMMUNICATION COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Committee membership will consist of the following:
(a) Committee Chairperson: Organize, schedule and proceed over monthly meetings.
(b) Blog Master: Oversee the blog and prepares the news blasts.
(c) Blog Writers: Members who commit to write articles for the blog.
(d) News Carriers: Members assigned to maintain the bulletin boards and distribute notices about upcoming events and meetings to the membership. Should try to have at least one News Carrier per floor.
RISK ASSESSMENT:
· RISK: Nothing to write about: We need people who can “mine” the WFSE and Local 443 websites and news bulletins to find items of interest and upcoming events.
· RISK: Lack of time and volunteer burn-out: The Committee should try to have as many members as possible. In this way, work assignments can be delegated and less work dumped on any one person. For instance, the Blog should strive to have two articles per month – about 24 per year. If six en people volunteered to write an article, it would mean they would only draft four articles per year or one per quarter.
· RISK: Keeping track of who’s who and who’s doing what: There is a need to keep abreast of who’s who and who’s doing what. Therefore, we need a who-watcher or editor. This role could be performed by the Committee Chair or Union Stewart.
STRATEGIES / WORK PLAN
The following strategies require assigning member(s) of the Communication Committee with specific tasks, which could be monthly, bi-monthly, etc, based on need.
- Organize a Communication Committee with about a dozen members.
- Prepare monthly updates to the blog along with a monthly email, news blast.
- Find and designate a news carrier for each floor.
- Identify services and benefits available to members through the Union.
- Prepare a larger Union banner for the bulletin boards.
- Prepare and post on the bulletin board instructions on how to log onto the blog.
- Recruit and delegate writing assignments.
MONITORING / ASSESSMENT
· The overall measure of success is an increase in the number of people who open the link to the blog, attend our monthly meetings and volunteer for various Union assignments (e.g., Union Stewarts and Communication Committee members).
· Another measure of success will be examples of instances where Union members had an opportunity to affect workplace policies and practices that affect them.
· Another measure of success is an increase in the number of Union members who are taking advantage of various Union services and opportunities.
· Simply keeping the blog going over an extended period of time.
