DELTA—CUPE 1091, representing Delta School District support workers, won the award for Best Website Redesign Produced by Volunteers at the annual Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM) conference held this year in Toronto.
CUPE 1091 member Alexis MacPherson is Delta’s media technology coordinator for the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders. In addition to educational materials, e-learning videos and online courses at work, she also developed and manages the award-winning website for her local (cupelocal1091.com).
“A lot of members can’t always get to meetings but they can always look at the website and find out what’s new,” says MacPherson, noting that about 80 per cent of local members access the website with their phones. They also get news from both CUPE BC and CUPE National through RSS feeds that automatically upload news on the new CUPE 1091 site.
Her advice to other CUPE locals who don’t yet have their own website: just take it one step at a time. “The hardest part is thinking about what members need every day that they can’t come to the office and get and then work up from there,” suggests MacPherson. “Once you figure out what content your members need, take a look at the website templates available on cupe.ca and take advantage of their free hosting, support and training opportunities.”
CALM is a communications cooperative representing nearly 200 labour unions across Canada. The annual CALM awards recognize excellence in union publications and productions in a variety of categories and classes in print, broadcast, online and graphic arts. Entries are judged by independent experts and awarded at the annual CALM conference.
