(NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK) – Niagara Falls-headquartered International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 237 just might be the first Western New York Labor Organization to offer an app to its area Membership.

And Local 237 Business Manager Russ Quarantello tells WNYLaborToday.com his Labor Organization is beginning to take ‘full advantage’ of what Social Networking offers - including a stepped-up effort on Facebook - in an attempt to further connect to and educate its Members across Niagara County.

“We’re finding that our Members ‘aren’t even paying attention to their e-mails,’ so the reason we’ve done this is to ‘connect our Members to their Union via their phone,’” Quarantello told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper during a recent interview over a cup of coffee at a Niagara Falls restaurant. “Now ‘we know they get what we are putting out’ – it’s a ‘more effective way’ to communicate with them.  We ‘really think this is a better way’ (to connect with Members).”

While IBEW Local 237 might be the first Western New York Labor Organization to offer an app to its area Membership (WNYLaborToday.com is unaware of any other – but if your Labor Union or Organization does, let us know), it’s taking a little time for it to catch on, according to Quarantello, who says nearly 100 of his 237 Members have downloaded the Union app so far.

“I really don’t know of any other (Western New York) Labor Union that has one for their Members,” said Quarantello, who added that Local 237 has been getting the word out about its app to its Membership during its monthly Union Meetings

“We’re ‘not getting a lot of feedback on it’ – ‘so far,’ so we’re continuing to post a lot of information on it (to get them interested and talking amongst themselves about it),” he said.

Local 237 moved forward on creating an app for its Membership “because it’s ‘pretty clear’ Union Members ‘aren’t reading the newspaper’” to get information, Quarantello told WNYLaborToday.com.

“But, they’re ‘always on their phones – so the app is a great tool, a good outlet’” for them to get the information they need, he said.

“We see how much they’re on their phones and what you can do on them nowadays,” said Quarantello, who jokingly added: “We just don’t want them on their phones at the dinner table.”

IBEW Local 237 is also concentrating more on its Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/ibew.niagarafalls/), which has 275 followers. 

“Overall, it’s not a lot of followers, but it’s growing,” Quarantello said.