Loading…
Orientation, practice, and sources for union locals building solidarity communications
What UnionOps Comms is for
Every local needs clear communications on four channels: social media, print, workplace boards, and a simple website.
Pick a comms path based on what you need today — channels, crisis, and workshop practice.
Ongoing practice: platforms, tone, frequency, trolls, alt-text.
After Brand Kit: boards, print, socials, and website in order.
Reusable lunch-and-learn and hands-on workshop outline with live demo path.
Bare-minimum workplace boards and what to print.
Flyers and print habits for meetings and actions.
What to put on a local site, build the ZIP, and publish on GitHub Pages.
Copy-only invites and officer reminders. No marketing lists.
Phone filming, member privacy, and pointing Reels or Shorts at a real ask.
High-stakes bargaining and strike communications.
Member photo checklist for stewards and workshops.
Steward-facing Ontario playbooks — not legal advice. Same depth as a training handout: gate, steps, worked example, and sources. Start with Steward 101 in the Guides menu under Steward playbooks, or follow the ordered list below while you wait for local or national steward school.
Six self-paced modules with quizzes, floor checklists, and printable take-to-meeting sheets — progress saves on this device.
Start here: Steward 101, Officer Learning modules with self-tests, and every floor playbook in one list.
Orientation, three hats, representation script, DFR basics, and a worked discipline example — start here.
Forum gate, 6 W's notes, CA clocks, and a printable intake sheet. Confirm steps in your agreement.
LRA s.74, OLRB bulletins, and a worked intake file for stewards.
Two cascade examples and a printable seniority worksheet.
OHSA s.43 stage 1 and 2 with ministry Part V guide.
Campus → caucus → table → member note after signed minutes.
From member survey and demand setting through No Board and ratification — for Local Bargaining Committees.
Chart every coworker, find organic leaders, and score union support 1 to 5. Keep the file off employer systems.
Executive structure, quorum, signing authority, elections, and how to amend bylaws with notice and a GMM vote.
Scale formality to the room, run a standard agenda, and use the cheat sheet during live debate.
Solo path or facilitator workshop, one-page ruled PDF worksheet, federation sources, and annotated example — write your own words, not a script.
Work through these once, on your own or in a workshop, and your local will have real materials to post.
Sample local brand settings so you can try tools before finishing your own Brand Kit. Import on the Brand Kit page.
Download demo Brand Kit JSONBeginner slides for volunteer executives with live tool demos.
Remote tip: bring your own lunch and UnionOps brings the tools. After the session, work through the practice checklist at your own pace (Logo Builder, Board Notice, Graphic Maker).
Dated session run sheets live in the project docs for facilitators. This page stays the lasting public guide.
Sixty-minute workshop: logo, notice, graphic, and ZIP export.
Adapt the timings to your room. Facilitators who want a minute-by-minute run sheet will find dated ones in the project docs.
Ontario locals often sit under a provincial federation (Ontario Federation of Labour) and may also belong to a national affiliate and the Canadian Labour Congress. NUPGE is one national affiliate. Use those sites for movement education; this toolbox stays on local Comms and steward practice. Official links are in the bibliography below.
National and government links cited across Comms guides.
National About hub. Graphics downloads move when the national site reorganizes — Brand Assets on this site mirrors logos and colour specs.
Live example local site built by Local 243 volunteers (local243.org redirects here). The Website Template tool is a simplified, parameterised version of this GitHub Pages site.
National union homepage — exported local website footer.
National Contact Us page (Head Office and regional offices). The /contact/ slug is not the live page.
National member resources linked from local websites and crisis comms.
Find Your Collective Agreement — province-wide contracts. Individual employer CAs may need the Member Portal. Do not use the retired /information/general/… or bargaining/… pretty URLs.
Members tools hub lists current forms, constitution PDFs, and local submission paths. Download the Constitution PDF there and confirm local bylaws and amendments against the articles governing locals before a GMM vote. Deep Forms and Documents pages move when the national site reorganizes — confirm downloads in a browser.
Official union posting for CAAT Support Employee/Employer Relations Committee minutes. Numbered CMS paths move; the page may sit behind a bot check. Confirm in a browser before you share.
Employer-council archive of part-time Support Staff EERC minutes. This is the employer posting, not a UnionOps record.
Employer-council archive of full-time Support Staff EERC minutes. Pair with the union-side OPSEU / SEFPO EERC minutes source.
Provincial labour federation — solidarity and movement education; cite, do not mirror.
National affiliate federation — solidarity links on local sites; cite, do not mirror.
National labour congress — solidarity links on local sites; cite, do not mirror.
Ministry hub for ESA and other workplace posters locals can print when a board needs content.
Official ESA poster distribution rules; printable PDF mirrored under public/assets/ontario-board-posters/.
Live OHSA statute - prefer QR to e-Laws over outdated paper copies on union boards.
Plain-language worker rights: know, participate, and refuse unsafe work.
Full ESA guide for vacation, leaves, hours, and termination — distinct from the mandatory poster page.
OHRC plain-language overview for union board QR sheets and member rights zones.
Live statute text for website footers and rights references.
Injury reporting and workers compensation hub — pair with Form 82 on union boards.
Ontario LRA s.74 sets the duty of fair representation (arbitrary, discriminatory, bad faith). College CAAT units may use the CCBA instead — confirm which act applies.
Governs Ontario college-sector bargaining. DFR for CAAT support staff is in this Act, not the LRA.
Official Ontario guide to notice, conciliation, no-board notices, and the countdown before a lawful strike or lockout under the LRA. Confirm sector rules with your Staff Representative.
Plain-language OLRB explainer for members. Stewards use this to understand the test — not to coach filing against the union.
How members file a DFR application at the OLRB — know the process so you can run a clean representation file.
Federal-sector units — CIRB handles complaints; same arbitrary / discriminatory / bad faith language.
Ministry plain-language walkthrough of stage 1 employer investigation and stage 2 ministry inspector.
National CLC steward and leadership courses (Level 1/2 grievance handling). Cite for multi-union education; confirm live offerings with your labour council.
Public CUPE steward handbook — grievance basics, human rights, and accommodation. Useful comparative education for any local; confirm against your own CA and national.
CUPE duty-to-accommodate guide for stewards and locals. Pair with OHRC policy; your provincial human rights statute still governs.
Practical local anti-harassment checklist and contract language tips from CUPE. Adapt to your bargaining unit — do not treat as your CA.
Unifor three-day grievance and workplace leadership course outline. Members should register through their local/national education path.
Browse Unifor steward, human rights, and leadership courses. Delivery modes change — check the live directory.
Ontario Human Rights Commission policy on the duty to accommodate under the Code, including the Meiorin framework. Ontario-focused; other provinces have parallel commissions.
Foundational OHRC workplace guide. Supplement with newer OHRC disability and ableism policies for current practice.
Public CUPE bylaws drafting guide with required provisions, options, and Appendix B alignment. Strong comparative model for any local — still confirm against your own national constitution.
Article 12.3 and Appendix B govern CUPE local bylaws. Additional bylaws need National President approval in writing before they take effect. Useful comparative reading for any local.
Article 15 covers Local Unions. National Executive Board reviews and may withhold approval of local by-laws that conflict with the constitution. Useful comparative reading for any local.
Ontario Federation of Labour guide with a sample framework and site-specific lines for Ontario cities and regions. OPSEU / SEFPO event materials also point locals here when a city is not on the national list.
Invitation, care, tobacco or gift protocols, and honouraria when an Elder opens a union meeting or event. Confirm specific nation protocols with the Elder or your union Indigenous Circle.
Official anti-harassment Statement of Respect read at OPSEU / SEFPO functions, paired with land acknowledgement at meeting openings. Event coordinators must designate at least two qualified contacts, including one woman.
National equity resources including the Statement of Respect and event guidance. The Indigenous Circle leads reconciliation work — contact them before assuming what your local should say or do.
Practical CUPE local guide covering land acknowledgements, Elder and Chief invitations, Indigenous Council contacts, and sustained reconciliation action — not a one-line script.
Sample collective agreement language on land acknowledgements, Indigenous sovereignty, non-discrimination, leave, and Elder inclusion — for bargaining committees embedding reconciliation in the contract.
BCGEU guide from a 2017 convention mandate: territory and treaty acknowledgement, tiered statements, Elder protocols, and terminology. Useful comparative reading for any local outside BC.
Free static site hosting used by the exported website ZIP. No server or database required.
Optional step to point a domain like local243.org at a GitHub Pages repo.
Many locals use a closed Facebook group as their primary member channel.
Official Instagram help for recording and sharing Reels. Length limits change; read the live page, not a blog recap.
Official YouTube Help for Shorts. Vertical clips; do not treat ranking tips from third-party blogs as durable.
Interactive map to research traditional territories, languages, and treaties. A starting point — confirm details with Indigenous nations and local knowledge keepers.
Educational tool for understanding Indigenous lands, treaties, and communities. Pair with direct learning from the nations whose territory you occupy.
Archives, education, and context on residential schools, treaties, and ongoing reconciliation in Canada.
Official Government of Canada hub for Indigenous relations, treaty information, and territorial context. Confirm local details with Indigenous nations directly.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - contrast checker and alt-text guidance in this toolbox target Level AA.
Ontario accessibility hub (accessibility-laws redirects here). Referenced in the hub accessibility statement.
Privacy principles for capturing identifiable images in workplaces and public spaces — pair with member consent practice.
Federal privacy baseline when employers or vendors collect member images — consent must be meaningful.