This is the second in a union organizing and communication series. Click here to read the first article and check out our webinar on how unions are using social media to communicate to your employees. 

Mobile phones are miniature computers that serve as all-purpose communication tools and fit in the palm of your hand. It’s great for connecting with and involving friends, family, and coworkers, but it’s also a great way for unions to connect with your own workers. Now, I realize that union membership is declining having fallen 11.8% from 2011 to 2012, but these organizations are not going down without a fight. They are using combined efforts of websites, blogs and other carefully curated content along with social media and most importantly with the mobile phone in mind.

How Unions Are Using Mobile Messaging to Reach Your Employees

When I tell managers, HR experts, and corporate business professionals how involved unions and other groups are in technology, they are generally astonished. Here’s an actual case study of how they interact with your staff. One of the recent mobile messaging initiatives I came across is run under the surface by a union advocacy group and invites mobile users to participate in a wage participation survey. Users are urged to respond to a series of questions, and then there is a call to action at the conclusion.

Although I didn’t use the whole survey. To verify, send the word “LABOR” to the number 235246. This is just one illustration of the numerous ways that unions are using mobile to connect with, converse with, and organize your employees. In order to better organize and classify their lists of interested parties, another mobile messaging organizing campaign asks mobile users to provide their industry and zip code but does not contain a survey. Similar to the Obama Presidential campaign’s unique use of mobile texting, unions may rapidly text big audiences in very specific areas while also providing them with updates, motivating them to support union operations, or even calling for a strike.

I’ve created a survey that is comparable to the union messaging platform that you may use to prepare for the PHR or SPHR certification exams if you don’t feel comfortable using the union messaging platform yourself. You can try the quick 6-question test that I’ve put in a mobile format. Text “HRCI” to 55678 to test it out. To demonstrate how simple it is to acquire email addresses and other information, I’ve included a little call to action at the conclusion. Rates for mobile messaging could apply.

This is the second in a union organizing and communication series. Click here to read the first article and check out our webinar on how unions are using social media to communicate to your employees.