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The Union Leader

News & Notes for Our Valued Clients

Unions-America.com April 2018

SOMETHING TO PONDER - Have you seen the Apple commercial where a little girl is doing this, that and the other on her iPad, and her mom asks her, “Honey, what’re doing on your computer?” And she replies, “What’s a computer?” That’s not some Orwellian futuristic scenario, that’s today. The average American looks at their smartphone 80 times a day - and that’s across all age groups. For millennials - those who constitute the up-and-comers in our unions - the number almost doubles to 150 times per day.

Statistically, virtually every union leader reading this e-newsletter has a UnionActive website through Unions-America. However, statistically speaking, very few of you also have a companion UnionActive mobile app. While websites still play an important role for unions - we’ll talk about that more next month - the fact is, relatively few members are looking at your website every day. And typically, those who do are officers and stewards - people who are otherwise already engaged in the union. The ongoing union communications goal is always to get that next layer of members engaged.

A UnionActive mobile app is the perfect bridge. We understand that your webmaster is likely overworked and/or a volunteer. He/she does not want more responsibility. That’s the beauty of the integrated UnionActive mobile app. Your webmaster just needs to keep doing what they’re doing already, and then as they’re posting updates in the familiar UnionActive admin area, just one extra click will seamlessly update the mobile app immediately. It’s truly that easy. Please check out our Product of the Month feature below for more information. Don’t let 2018 get any further along without adding this important communication feature.

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FRAUD ALERT! - It’s unfortunate that there will always be people out there ready to bilk the public in the name of charity. The most popular ongoing scams involve asking for donations to individuals who allegedly have cancer (which of course hurts people who really do have cancer and need financial help) and con games asking for money for military veterans. Scammers are smart; they try to pull at heartstrings.

Our two biggest client bases here at Unions-America are firefighter and police associations. And after cancer and veteran’s rip-offs, the next most popular form of fundraising scam typically happens after a big tragedy involving police and/or firefighters. For example, after the Mandalay Bay shooting in Las Vegas, numerous websites went up claiming to raise money for slain or injured police officers, firefighters, victims and families. Some were legit, many weren’t. In the more recent incident involving police in Ohio, within 24 hours there was a fraudulent GoFundMe-style account that was entirely bogus.

Even many quasi-legitimate professional fundraising firms tend to cut legal corners when raising money for police or fire associations. Many don’t bother to register in the state where they are soliciting funds. It doesn’t matter if they are a “national fundraising company,” they still must register in each state. Many such fundraisers also keep as much as 75 percent of the money raised for themselves.

We will soon have some exciting news in this arena, watch for an announcement soon. In the meantime, be cautious and wary. Ask questions. Ask for references. Due diligence can cut down greatly on fraudulent fundraising scams.

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TECH TIP - Do you have a video you want to share with your members or the public but aren't sure how to add it to your website? We can help! Videos can be a great tool to communicate with your membership, provide an archive of union meetings, and drive traffic to your website. If you have a video file that's saved to your computer or external storage device you can use our Video Gallery feature to stream it from our media servers. Videos found on YouTube, Vimeo and many other online providers offer embed code which can be easily added to a page, article or module on your website so that the video can be instantly viewed - without the user ever needing to leave the site. Click here to find out how to easily add videos to your site!

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CONTACT US - Our customer service center is always ready to assist you. We have professional support staff trained to get you answers and/or help you through an issue as quickly as possible. E-mail us at support@unions-america.com or call (888) 248-5557, Ext. 3.

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FEATURED PRODUCT OF THE MONTH - A UnionActive mobile app from Unions-America is the perfect tool for engaging more of your membership, in particular, your younger members. We’ve made it easy with our fully integrated system that ties your mobile app to your website - update one, and you’ve updated the other. It’s really that easy!

Here are some other valuable features mobile app features that can help engage your members:

• Push messaging notifications
• Group management and messaging
• Social media integration
• Shift trades
• Integrated member log-in.

Get started today with a mobile app for your organization!

  Mobile Apps  
Custom Union Made Mobile Apps. Learn more.
     
  Member Database Builder  

Powerful member database manager in the cloud. Learn more.
     
  GrievTrac  

Online Grievance Database
Tracking System. Learn more.
     
  Member SYNC  

Synchronize website database with your membership data. Learn more.
     
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Contact Info
P.O. Box 100
Battle Ground, WA 98604
(888) 248-5557 Toll Free
   
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