Email and member outreach guide

Write the official meeting or vote note here, then send it from your inbox.

On this page

Email is the official record: date, time, place, and the vote link. Social posts are for speed and photos; this page is how you write mail members will actually read. Always use BCC for member lists — never paste addresses in the To field.

Not legal advice

This is a learning aid, not legal advice. Examples use Ontario law. Confirm every rule against your own collective agreement and the law where you work.

When email fits

Email is the anchor of digital communications. Put the final, official details here so they still hold if a social post disappears.

Meeting notices. Send the date, time, and place in mail members already trust, not only in a Facebook post.
RSVPs and reminders. Ask people to reply or open a link. A reminder in the inbox is easier to find than a story that vanished overnight.
Votes and ratification. Put the voting link and the deadline in the first line. Members should not hunt through a thread for the mandate.
Bargaining updates. Use email for the update members must be able to find later. Use social for a photo from the table or the picket. Walk the full survey-to-signing path in the Bargaining Lifecycle guide.

Takeaway

A social post can carry a photo from the meeting. Email carries the minutes, the vote link, and the time. Do both, and keep the facts the same.

Write an email members will read

Officers skim. Members skim faster. Put the facts first and ask for one action.

Subject line. Keep it short and specific. "ACTION REQUIRED: Ratification vote Thursday" gets opened. "Local newsletter Q3" does not.
Lead with the facts. Date, time, location, or the vote link belongs in the first sentence. Do not bury it under three paragraphs of history.
One ask. Tell members exactly what to do: reply to RSVP, open the mandate, or bring a steward. One email, one action.
Name the local. Put the local number in the body so the message is recognizable if it is forwarded.

Protect member addresses

Before sending, check that the list is current, limited to members who should receive this message, and held outside employer systems. The Membership Signup guide covers the records themselves.

Use BCC from a personal inbox

When you email a list from Outlook or Gmail, put every member in BCC (blind carbon copy). To and CC show every address to every recipient. BCC keeps those addresses private.

Do not use employer email

Never send union business to an address the employer provides. The employer can read that inbox. Collect and use personal email addresses.

Keep grievance files, medical details, and other case notes out of any open broadcast. Those belong in a private channel with the member, not in a local-wide mail.

Write here, send from your inbox

UnionOps is a toolkit, not an email server. You write the content here. You keep the list. You hit send from an inbox you already trust.

Document Generator, Board Notice, Graphic Maker, and Flyer Maker include a copy-only invite step. Paste that text into Outlook, Gmail, or the mass-email tool your union already approved.

Privacy by design

UnionOps Comms does not store your union's member mailing list or send union-wide emails. Write here, then send with the email provider your union has approved.

Officer Hub is a separate draft

Officer Hub can draft a membership-meeting reminder for officers. That is not mass mail from this site, and it is separate from the public invite builders.

Before you hit send

Before each send, check the recipient list, subject line, links, and date. Use Comms getting started to plan how these communications fit together.

The subject line names the action and the day, not a generic newsletter.
The first sentence has the date, time, place, or vote link.
There is one clear ask.
The local number is in the body.
Members are in BCC, or you are using the union's approved mass-email tool.
You are sending to personal addresses, not employer inboxes.
A link or QR code is in the mail if people need to RSVP or vote.
Sensitive case details are not in this broadcast.

Document & Slide Generator Board Notice Maker Flyer Maker

Also see

Sources & references

External resources cited in this guide. National and government URLs often move; if a link 404s, search from that organization’s home page. OPSEU / SEFPO pages on opseu.org may block automated checks — open those links in a browser before you share them in a workshop.

WCAG 2.2 (W3C)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - contrast checker and alt-text guidance in this toolbox target Level AA.
Facebook Groups (local comms channel)
Many locals use a closed Facebook group as their primary member channel.