Member engagement
Engaging our members is an ongoing journey that is a priority for all of us. Building a strong union means building from within and every member has a role to play. We know that a bigger union gives us a stronger voice to raise wages, improve working conditions, and advocate for the services our members provide in our communities. Whether it’s your nature to speak up loudly or work behind the scenes quietly, we must stay involved and encourage others to join us!
Here are some great ways to get involved
- Connect with our union.
- Volunteer; reach out to leadership to have a conversation about how you can help
- Ask other members to get involved
- Be active in your community and workplace from day one
- Join a Blitz (member outreach event)
- Actively participate in CSEA events and activities
- Participate in online, in-person or other opportunities to share ideas and learn about resources
- Be visible, available, and open to new relationships and experiences
Not a leader but want to get involved?
Goals for member engagement
Getting to know each other better at our CSEA workplaces helps us build our teams, share the workload, give each other ideas and make union activity more enjoyable.
Engaged members are more likely to contribute to CSEA’s success and advocate for what we deserve.
For assistance, please contact CSEA’s Member Engagement Division by calling 1-800-342-4146.
Contact the member engagement team
Get organized
We’re under attack by billionaires and anti-union extremists who want to destroy the public services we provide and roll back laws that protect our health and safety at work, our job security – even the freedom to join a union. We’re not going to let that happen. It’s our hard work – not corporate greed – that makes our communities stronger.
Understanding your strength and purpose as a leader
A local or unit is only strong with an engaged membership.
Here are some great ways to engage your members
A blitz is when you gather your officers and anyone who wants to help and go knock on members’ doors to have one-on-one conversations at their homes. This allows members to feel free to ask questions or just talk without being judged or influenced. It allows us the opportunity to LISTEN to what they want from our union.
Have union meetings with substance. Bring in elected officials or other department heads to speak on a subject. Bring in other union officials to speak about issues going on in your community or throughout the state. Make your meetings fun but informative.
Gather ideas from your members, survey your members to gain insight on what is on their minds, and develop communication tools like emails, Facebook, or Twitter feeds to keep people informed.
New Employee Orientation Welcome Video
Now that you’ve learned how to conduct your New Employee Orientation, the following is a very brief “welcome to CSEA” video you can show to new employees that highlights our new ability to allow new members to easily join our union by texting. This is available for union leaders to utilize in conjunction with the New Employee Orientation packets available from your Region Office.
At your workplace, have our union sponsor a button day, lollipop day, coffee hour, lunch and learn, solidarity shirt day, or some other simple activity, to keep our union visible in your workplace.
Every community has a little league, youth soccer, softball, or other youth program. Have your union local sponsor a team, a bbq, or other event. Be present at their ceremonies or other events. People notice when our union is engaged in our communities.
For assistance with any of these ideas, please contact CSEA’s Member Engagement Division by calling 1-800-342-4146.
Call 1-800-342-4146
CSEA Officers: Contact Member Engagement
New Employee Orientation Resources for Officers
New officers: learn about the CSEA New Employee Orientation (NEO) program, designed to introduce new employees to our union on day one. It is our responsibility to grow our union, increase membership and engagement. Resources like this video are available on our NEO page.