Digital media have become central to how labor unions communicate, organize, and sustain collective action. Yet little is known about how unions' online discourse relates to concrete outcomes such as representation elections. This study addresses the gap by combining National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election data with 158k Facebook posts published by U.S. labor unions between 2015 and 2024. We focused on five discourse frames widely recognized in labor and social movement communication research: diagnostic (identifying problems), prognostic (proposing solutions), motivational (mobilizing action), community (emphasizing solidarity), and engagement (promoting social media interaction). Using a fine-tuned RoBERTa classifier, we systematically annotated unions' posts and analyzed patterns of frame usage around election events. Our findings showed that diagnostic and community frames dominated union communication overall, but that frame usage varied substantially across organizations. Greater use of diagnostic, prognostic, and community frames prior to an election was associated with higher odds of a successful outcome. After elections, framing patterns diverged depending on results: after wins, the use of prognostic and motivational frames decreased, whereas after losses, the use of prognostic and engagement frames increased. By examining variation in message-level framing, the study highlights how communication strategies correlate with organizational success, contributing open tools and data, and complementing prior research in understanding digital communication of unions and social movements.

翻译：数字媒体已成为工会沟通、组织和维持集体行动的核心平台。然而，关于工会线上话语如何与代表权选举等具体结果相关联，目前知之甚少。本研究通过整合美国国家劳工关系委员会（NLRB）的选举数据与2015年至2024年间美国工会发布的15.8万条Facebook帖子，填补了这一研究空白。我们聚焦于劳工与社会运动传播研究中广泛认可的五个话语框架：诊断性（识别问题）、预测性（提出解决方案）、激励性（动员行动）、社群性（强调团结）和参与性（促进社交媒体互动）。利用微调的RoBERTa分类器，我们系统标注了工会的帖子，并分析了选举事件前后框架使用的模式。研究发现，诊断性和社群性框架在工会整体沟通中占主导地位，但不同组织间的框架使用存在显著差异。在选举前更多地使用诊断性、预测性和社群性框架与更高的选举成功几率相关。选举后，话语框架模式根据结果呈现分化：获胜后，预测性和激励性框架的使用减少；而失败后，预测性和参与性框架的使用增加。通过分析信息层面的话语框架差异，本研究揭示了沟通策略如何与组织成功相关联，贡献了开源工具与数据，并补充了先前关于工会与社会运动数字传播的研究。