Lobbying 101

Who you are lobbying and the goal

Members of Congress are dependent upon your vote to get elected or re-elected. For the House of Representatives, elections happen every two years. Senators are elected to office for six-year terms, but one-third of the Senate is up for re-election every two years.

Your taking the time to go to a member of Congress’ office (either in Washington or at their district office) to talk about an issue that is important to your union, (this could also be about an issue that’s important to the community/others, such as the social justice fight) sends a message that you are a concerned voter. As such, the views of your union delegation will have to be considered. You want to be able to show your electoral power by knowing things such as how many people your union represents statewide and how many people in your union live or work in the legislator’s district.

It is imperative that you make the most of your visit because your delegation represents the members of your local. The goal of your visit is to get your voice heard, raise the issues and concerns that affect you, your union and your community, and get some sort of a firm commitment from the legislator.

Organizing and preparing to present your views

Representatives return to their congressional districts 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 a diversified group (no more than eight), for your union delegation.
• Get your delegation together BEFORE the meeting for a briefing/strategy session. You want to make sure you spend enough time organizing your arguments and thoroughly preparing your delegation. (Some sort of a one page fact sheet with short, or position paper with concise points; can ensure delegation and/or member stays on point).
• Understand the legislator’s current position (argument) so you can use it to develop a reasonable opposing (supporting) argument. 
• Assign the responsibility for different points that should be made to different members of your delegation. Get several people to speak on different supporting arguments. Make sure to personalize the issue.
• Be clear on what you want your representative to do. Ask!

Planning your agenda (who says what)

As a delegation, it is important to make assignments. In planning your issue-based conversation agenda, you also need to consider the roles of the members of your lobbying delegation and their preparation for the meeting. There are some roles that need to be assigned to ensure a successful lobbying meeting. While not everyone on a lobby visit needs to speak or have a role, everyone in the group should be able to discuss the issue by using a personal story (if possible) and should be ready to speak on the issue if asked. It is also critical that the following roles are planned for the visit:

Facilitator

This person leads the meeting and controls the agenda. The facilitator makes sure the meeting runs smoothly and that the group hits all of its agenda points in the time allotted.

Organizer

This person helps the facilitator stay focused and on schedule. The organizer serves as a timekeeper and is the only person who should communicate with the facilitator during the meeting.

The Note Taker

This person is in charge of taking notes during the meeting. You need an accurate account of what was said so that others working in the union will know the outcome of the meeting. It is also important to keep track of commitments made by you or by the elected official.

Witness

This person is directly affected by the issue you are lobbing on and has a compelling story to tell. Witnesses are the heart of your meeting because they bring a face and a name to the issue and your cause. Try to have at least one person who can talk personally about the issue.

Follow-up Letter Writer

This individual would have responsibility for writing a thank-you letter to the legislator for their time and hospitality and to reaffirm the commitment. The letter writer also does any follow up and sends copies to relevant people.

The “Ask”

At the conclusion of your lobby visit, it is imperative that you have required the representative to commit to a specific ask. You do not want to leave the visit without specifics. For example, what did the representative commit to? Did you ask them to sign on to a set of principles? Did you ask them to sign on to co-sponsor a specific piece of legislation? Did you ask them to vote against a particular piece of legislation? Don’t be shy or beat around the bush. Ask them pointedly. You don’t want to leave your meeting having to interpret what they said. You want to leave with a clear yes or no answer to your stated question. Even if the representative is unable to commit, you should get them to commit to a time frame when you can get an answer or specifics about what it would take for the representative to come to a conclusion. Politicians are deft at giving vague, noncommittal answers. But as their constituent, you have the right and obligation to ask follow-up questions and get a specific response. If you need to follow up, then be specific about the time frame within which you will do that.

Incorporating Issue-Based Conversations in Talking With Your Representative

This is an opportunity to make your lobby visit personal. You want to share story about you, a family member, a neighbor, co-worker or friend who is being directly affected by a particular piece of legislation. For example, if the issue is relative to health care reform, you can share that you and your family benefited by a provision in the new health care law that allowed you to keep your son/daughter who has a chronic condition on your health care coverage after they graduated college and are yet to find full time employment. Since the new law allows them to stay on your plan until the age of 26, you can explain how this kept your family from having to face potential bankruptcy due to expensive medical bills that are associated with treating their child’s ongoing medical condition.

Dos & Don’ts

There are several things to keep in mind when lobbying that will make your meeting more productive.

Do: Be on time for the meeting. In fact, ask your delegation to assemble outside the representative’s office a few minutes before the scheduled meeting.

Do: Have the entire delegation introduce themselves and each person should indicate how many people his or her local represents. Let the representative know how many members and retirees live in the district or how many labor households are in the district.

Do: At the outset of the meeting, be sure to thank the representative for a right vote, co- sponsoring a bill and/or taking time to meet with you.

Do: Tell the representative why you are there and clearly state what it is you want them to do. Briefly give your reasons for asking for support of or opposition to Bill #0000.

Do: Make short points and let the representative respond. Remember, lobbying is a process of giving and gathering information.
 
Do: Try to personalize the issue by relating it to a personal experience or that of a co- worker, relative, neighbor, etc.

Do: 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.

Do: Allow other members of the lobbying team to engage in follow-up questions during the dialogue between individual members of the group and the representative.

Do: Practice, practice, practice before the actual meeting.
 
Do: Leave behind additional information that gives more details on your issue, reminds the legislator of your meeting and provides your contact information.

Do: Follow up by writing thank-you letters to the elected officials for their time and reminding them of commitments made to you during the meetings.

Do: Debrief by talking about how your meeting went and come to agreement on the minutes and what happened in the meeting and discuss how you can refine your message in the future.
 
Don’t: Make rambling statements.

Don’t: Interrupt. Always respect the facilitator and each other.
 
Don’t: Read from a lengthy fact sheet.

Don’t: Use acronyms like UAW; instead spell it out: United Automobile,Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.

Don’t: Threaten a legislator with political retaliation. Persuasion is a much more effective tool. Lobbying

Lobbying Preparation Form (pdf)