Tips on Personal Visits
to Representative’s Office

Organize a Union Delegation and Present Your Views

Representatives return to their congressional district frequently. One of the most effective ways of getting your views clearly on the record is to meet with your representative when he or she is back in the district office. How do you prepare for this meeting?

• Call the representative’s district office for an appointment.

• Call to confirm the appointment shortly before the date set for the meeting.

• Select eight or 10 people for your union delegation.

• Get your delegation together before the meeting for a briefing/strategy session. (Be sure to spend enough time organizing your arguments and thoroughly preparing your delega-tion.)

• Assign the responsibility for different points that should be made to different members of the delegation. Get several people to speak on different supporting arguments.

• Be clear on what it is you want your representative to do.

Your Representative Should Represent Your Views

Your representative depends on your vote to get re-elected: The fact that you take the time to go to the district office and talk about an issue that is important to your union means you are a concerned voter. The views of your union delegation will have to be considered. Make the most of your visit because your delegation represents the members of your local.

Lobbying Skills

1. When you enter the representative’s office, have the delegation introduce themselves. Each person should indicate how many people his or her local represents. (Don’t use acronyms like UAW; instead spell it out: United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.)

2. At the outset make sure to thank the representative - for a right vote, co-sponsoring a bill, taking time out of their busy schedule to have the meeting, etc.

3. Tell the representative why you are there and clearly state what it is you want him or her to do. Briefly give your reasons for asking for support of or opposition to Bill #000. Support your position with facts. Never threaten a legislator with political retaliation. Persuasion will be a much more effective tool.

4. Avoid making long, rambling statements or reading at length from a fact sheet. Make short points and let the representative respond. Remember, lobbying is a process of giving and gathering information. Try to personalize the issue by relating it to a personal experience or that of a co-worker, relative, neighbor, etc.

5. Other members of the lobbying team should not be shy about engaging in follow-up questions during the dialogue between individual members of the group and the representative.

6. Keep the representative on the subject. Politely, but firmly, pull the representative back to the main issue if the conversation wanders off to other issues.

7. Try to get a firm commitment from the representative to take action. Repeat your position and ask the representative whether he or she will support your position. If necessary, the committee, or one of its members, may have to make an appointment to do some followup lobbying on the issue.

8. Leave a short, one-page fact sheet with the representative. (They may use it to formulate their position on the bill. If supportive, the legislator might use it for constituent mail responses, floor speeches, etc.) Also, leave a list of the names and addresses of your delegation.

9. Keep the “antenna up” for clues being dropped by the legislator. “I’m not getting much mail about this issue...” means local unions have some work to do back in that legislator’s home district.

Lobbying is an Ongoing Process

Write a letter the week following the meeting thanking the representative for the time spent with the delegation and briefly restate your position on the issue, with the hope that the union can count on his or her support.

Report on your meeting with the lawmaker to the membership. Put a story in your local union newspaper or newsletter.

Keep track of the representative’s voting record on this and other issues and report back to the membership. When the legislator votes on a key issue–right or wrong–write a short letter to express your gratitude or dismay. That’s another way to let politicians know you’re looking over their shoulder and holding them accountable.