As the country grapples with the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, the UFCW is working hard to communicate with our locals and members with the goal of keeping the hard-working women and men we represent safe during a national crisis.
The Communications Department is holding weekly COVID-19 Response Communicators Calls so that locals in each region can share communication strategies and best practices, as well as what actions they are taking with state and local governments, to protect the health and safety of our members. Over 200 people participated in the first communications call, which was held on March 23.
The department has provided locals with materials to help them refine and amplify their communications with our members during the outbreak, including “Top 12 Things Locals are Doing and Communicating During COVID-19,” as well as digital media tips; tele-town hall media tips; and a sample communications calendar. The department also put together a folder that includes breakroom posters, social media graphics, and other resources for locals here.
“Our members are looking to us as a source of information and reassurance during these challenging times, and the communicator calls are an important resource for locals to hear everything that the UFCW is doing to meet that challenge,” said UFCW Local 152 Director of Communications Mike Thompson. “Our members need to know we are all in this together and they deserve that.”
The Digital Department is also working non-stop to communicate with our members and potential members online during the outbreak. Over the last two weeks, the department has reached more than 2.9 million people on Facebook and Instagram. Together, the team has monitored all UFCW-owned social media accounts, growing our audiences by more than 10,000 people and fielding over 35,000 comments from members alone.
The department also launched a new website for laid-off grocery and health care job seekers during this crisis and is working closely with the communications team on the updated www.ufcw.org/coronavirus home page to field health and safety incident reports from members.
If you’re interested in participating in the COVID-19 Response Communicators Calls or want a copy of the materials available to locals, please reach out to Jessica Raimundo at jraimundo@ufcw.org or Amy Ritter at aritter@ufcw.org.
If you have any questions regarding digital media, please reach out to Rachelle Netzer at rnetzer@ufcw.org.