Communication in union benefits is usually polished, professional, and well-intentioned. However, it's frequently misaligned with the people it's meant to serve, as illustrated by overly complex brochures or generic marketing campaigns. The industry is beginning to realize that engagement is stagnating, even as the offerings become more impactful.
Behind the surface-level challenge of low benefit utilization is a systemic disconnect between how messages are crafted and how members actually live, work, and absorb information. Jose Jaime Gamez's voice resonates amid this landscape. He offers a clear vision of what meaningful communication should look like in the union benefits space.
Gamez is an operations and communications professional known for his commitment to making systems work better for individuals. Before finding his way into this role, his career path was in human resources, specifically in high-level background investigations.
Working with elite legal professionals, Gamez saw how even the most highly educated individuals struggled to navigate unfamiliar high-stakes systems. They still reached out for guidance despite having the cognitive tools to decode complex language. That experience left a lasting impression. "I realized that communication is about emotional context, relevance, and accessibility," Gamez shares. This perspective has informed his approach to union communications today.
Gamez's dedication to advancing the field was deepened by his background. Growing up in a working-class Mexican-American family, he saw the labor movement from the inside. His father worked in construction, and he spent time on job sites, absorbing the rhythm of a culture where hard work was expected.
These experiences gave Gamez an intuitive understanding of how union members, many of whom come from similar backgrounds, interpret value. He isn't speaking about labor work culture from a distance. He grew up within it. That upbringing, paired with his professional journey, allows him to understand the community and the communication infrastructure trying to reach it.
In his current role as the Operations & Communications Manager at a nonprofit providing services to laborers, Gamez manages messaging to numerous union members. His philosophy revolves around the belief that communication must be authentic, relevant, and human-centered. "The best messaging doesn't impress. It connects," he emphasizes.
Many marketing professionals aim for aspirational, high-gloss campaigns. These communications are built with a corporate lens, crafted by marketers sitting in boardrooms far removed from the lives of laborers. What's the outcome? Materials often miss the cultural nuance and practical tone needed to cut through.
Gamez strays away from that approach. "I usually tell my team, 'It's less important to try to impress people. It's more important that people understand that you're there to help them.' That makes all the difference," he says.
Many programs suffer from underutilization despite offering high-quality, often free healthcare benefits, from mental health support to virtual physical therapy. Vendors typically excel in product design and in pitching their services to administrators and fund trustees. "The problem is that when it comes to engaging the member, the person who actually needs the service, the messaging falters," Gamez says. "It's too polished, too full of jargon, and too impersonal." For union members, the result is fatigue. The offerings don't feel relevant, and the messaging doesn't make them care.
"This type of disconnect between well-meaning providers and the actual end users isn't rare," says Gamez. "It's actually one of the most persistent and costly inefficiencies in the union benefits ecosystem today."
Gamez shares an example where one of the union's benefit partners shared a four-page document to promote a new health program. This document was intended for local leaders as talking points to inform potential participants. It was too dense and inaccessible to be effective. Within an hour, Gamez translated the message into a single-page flyer that was clear, actionable, and relevant. That flyer became the version used in the field.
Gamez warns of a concerning trend he sees in the industry, which is the rush to modernize without truly humanizing. While AI and claims data are increasingly being used to track utilization patterns and predict needs, these technologies are being leveraged more for analytics than for connection. "There's a missed opportunity here," Gamez says. "How about we implement the style of messaging from platforms that thrive in brevity, clarity, and emotional resonance, instead of investing only in predictive models?"
The communications expert stresses that it's not about over-simplifying content but distilling the message to its core truth. "Union members don't need to be wowed by branding. They need to walk away with one clear action they can take and the confidence that someone will be there if they need help," he states.
In response to the communication gap he saw in the field, Gamez recently launched a podcast called Laborer's LifeCast. Sponsored by the organization he works for, but developed independently by his team, the podcast aims to bring real, relatable conversations to the union membership.
Laborer's LifeCast explores topics that matter to the lives of laborers, from the importance of sleep to workplace safety, all framed through a culturally sensitive, conversational lens. In a recent episode, Gamez spoke with a physician about sleep and its ties to workplace injury. He connected the dots for listeners, explaining how a lack of sleep could lead to injury, lost work time, and lost health coverage for a member's family. That specific, personal, and emotionally resonant messaging is exactly what he's advocating for on a larger scale.
Gamez's goal with Laborer's LifeCast is twofold: to meet members where they are with relevant content and to model a new way of thinking about engagement in the benefits space. His hope is that the podcast becomes a platform for empowerment.
Jose Jaime Gamez's work shows deep respect for the people behind the numbers. He isn't trying to overhaul the system overnight, but he's inviting vendors, administrators, and marketers to slow down, listen, and reconsider how they're showing up. After all, in the union benefits space, success isn't measured by how flashy the message is but by whether the right person hears it, understands it, and feels ready to act.
