Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
For decades, the share of workers represented by unions has steadily declined in the United States. This trend is often framed as a story about workers’ collective bargaining power slipping away. But scholars like Ruth Milkman and Kim Voss remind us that revitalizing the labor movement is not just about winning at the negotiating table. It also depends on how unions present themselves, build relationships, and speak to the public. For many workers, unions are not only vehicles for securing better wages or working conditions–they are communities, sources of support, and voices for fairness. Understanding how unions tell their stories is, therefore, central to understanding how they rebuild power.
Many workers first discover unions online, and it is often through digital channels that they stay informed and involved. Social media can be a place to learn about labor rights, see campaigns in action, or feel part of a movement, even from a distance. A single post can spark conversations, amplify a campaign beyond a single workplace, or invite participation. We have seen the power of online mobilization in other contexts, with grassroots uprisings during the Arab Spring or single actors sparking global movements, like Greta Thunberg inspiring worldwide climate strikes through her online posts. While union organizing is different in important ways, these examples show that clear, compelling digital messages can energize people and translate virtual attention into real-world action. Understanding how unions communicate online helps us see not only what they say, but also the patterns and strategies that appear around representation elections.
In a recent study, my co-authors and I analyzed more than 150,000 Facebook posts from 40 U.S. unions between 2015 and 2024 to understand how unions use these powerful tools. We linked those posts to National Labor Relations Board election outcomes to compare the communication styles used around wins versus losses in union representation elections. This post summarizes and explains our findings.
Identifying communication strategies
When unions communicate online, their posts often use a few recurring patterns, often called “frames” in communication research. These frames shape how unions tell their stories and connect with audiences. Some common categories of frames include:
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Problem: pointing out what is wrong and who is responsible.
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Solution: explaining how to fix an issue.
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Motivation: encouraging people to take action.
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Community: celebrating shared identity and solidarity.
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Engagement: inviting followers to comment, share, or join the conversation.
Using machine learning and natural language processing, we analyzed each post to see which frames it included.
Across all unions, we found that the most common frames were identifying problems (41% of posts) and celebrating community (39%), while fewer posts highlighted solutions (28%), engagement (23%), or motivation (15%). While many posts combined multiple messages, unions tended to emphasize what was wrong and building solidarity, while spending less time directly encouraging action. These averages provided a kind of “baseline” communication profile that unions typically adopt online.
We then compared communication patterns among a variety of unions representing workers from diverse sectors to understand how their framing strategies differed. We found that industrial unions such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) or UNITE HERE, which organize workers across occupations, tended to focus on problems and solutions more frequently than the baseline and on engaging the audience less than the baseline. By contrast, craft unions such as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) or the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, that focus on specific trades or skills, tended to use these frames less. This may reflect different organizing realities: industrial unions often engage in broader campaigns that demand identifying systemic problems and proposing solutions, while craft unions might focus on more specialized issues within a particular trade.
This figure shows how often different labor unions (listed in the rows) use various types of messages or “frames” (shown in the columns). The baseline represents the communication style that unions tend to use overall. Each cell is colored to show whether a union uses a specific frame more often than the baseline (red) or less often (blue). Union names are also color-coded depending on whether the union is organized as a craft union or an industrial union.
Communication around union representation elections
Having established how unions typically communicate online, we examined whether their messaging changes during union representation elections–a critical moment when workers decide whether to authorize the union as their bargaining representative. We compared unions' communication strategies in the days leading up to and following representation elections against their messaging during normal periods. Bringing in election outcomes data from the NLRB also allowed us to examine whether unions communicated differently before elections they won versus those they lost.
To visualize these patterns, the plots below show how unions use different message frames in the period leading up to an election–either one they eventually win or one they lose–relative to their usual communication. There are five plots in total, one for each frame. In each plot, the y-axis indicates how much more or less frequently that frame is used compared with a normal (non-election) period, which is marked by a dotted line. Red dots show how often unions used that message type before elections they eventually lost, and blue dots show how often they used it before elections they won.
In both winning and losing campaigns, online messaging changed during election periods compared to normal periods, but in different ways. Before victories, unions talked more frequently about problems and solutions, highlighted shared identity, and used more motivational language to rally supporters. Before losses, posts focusing on problems and solutions became less common, and engagement-oriented messages, such as invitations to comment or share, also dipped slightly. Meanwhile, content aimed at encouraging participation or fostering a sense of community looked much more similar to what unions typically post during non-election periods.
Here are examples of the types of messages unions shared in the pre-election period:
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Problem: “84% of Americans oppose Social Security office closures. So why aren't lawmakers listening?” (American Federation of Government Employees – AFGE)
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Solution: “Unions are the solution to fixing a rigged economy. America needs unions.” (Service Employees International Union – SEIU)
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Motivation: “Now is the time to make sure you stand up and are heard on the jobsite and in the voting booth. #countmein.” (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – SMART)
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Community: “🚨It's go time! Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama are beginning to cast their votes today to unionize. Let's rally behind them and show our support! 📢 #fightforaunion” (Service Employees International Union – SEIU)
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Engagement: “🗓️ #SagAftraMembers, check out this week’s events! 🎭 For more information and other upcoming events all over the country, check out sagaftra.org/events.” (Screen Actors Guild – SAG-AFTRA)
After the votes were counted, the tone shifted. After elections that were won, unions often reduced their problem-solving and motivational messages, as a natural cooldown after victory. After elections that were lost, by contrast, they stepped up their outreach, using social media to stay visible and re-energize supporters.
These patterns do not imply that online communication determines election outcomes. However, they suggest that being clear about problems, offering solutions, and emphasizing solidarity may help build the energy that precedes successful campaigns.
These findings match the literature on innovative strategies and union revitalization, suggesting that successful unions may engage in more versatile and intensive communication strategies. It also aligns with research linking injustice frames and solidarity appeals to mobilization outcomes.
What this means for union strategy
These findings point to something many organizers already sense: communication matters. How unions describe problems, share solutions, and celebrate community online can both reflect and give direction to their organizing strength. Social media is not just a megaphone–it is also a mirror, revealing how unions define who they are and what they stand for.
By recognizing these patterns, union leaders can use digital tools more strategically–not to replace organizing, but to build a strategy for amplifying it. Strong online communication can build trust, express identity, and turn visibility into real-world power.
