You can have more impact on how your legislator votes in Lansing than a whole team of corporate lobbyists. That’s because you live and vote in your legislator’s district and it’s his or her job to represent you.

Lawmakers need to be told first-hand by union activists back home in their districts what issues working families are concerned about.

Whether it be by face-to-face meeting, or by letter or telephone call, your personal contact with your elected representatives is the key to labor being able to advance a pro-worker agenda at the State Capitol.

With the legislature considering proposals to repeal prevailing and living wages, and laws to enact "paycheck deception" to limit the voice of working families in the political process, your participation is needed now more than ever before. Everything that labor has gained both legislatively and at the bargaining table is now at stake.

The following guidelines were developed to help you succeed at influencing public policy through grass-roots lobbying. Some of these helpful hints will seem obvious to you. Others are the more subtle techniques practiced by the professional lobbyists. These tips are grouped under five general categories - Preparation, Precision, Professionalism, Politeness and Perseverence.

Preparation

Plan Ahead. If possible make an appointment to speak with your legislator a week or two in advance. If that is not possible, you still may be able to see your legislator. The best way is to go to the House or Senate Chamber while they are in session and send in a note asking your legislator to come out and speak with you for a moment. They usually will if they are not busy voting.

Ask your legislator to meet with you or your group at the union hall. On your home turf you can have his or her undivided attention and exercise better control over both the agenda and the flow of discussion.

Know the legislator. Familiarize yourself with his or her background and voting record by contacting the Legislative Department of the Michigan State AFL-CIO prior to your meeting.

Do your homework. You don’t have to be an expert on the issue, but you do have to know it well enough to explain it intelligently. Be aware of the status of the bill in the legislative process - the bill number , to what committee it has been referred, which groups are supporting it, etc.

Familiarize yourself with your opponents’ arguments against your position and develop reasonable responses to them.

Try to personalize the issue. Give examples of how the issue has or will affect you or your co-workers.

Precision

Never keep a legislator waiting. Their time is as important as yours. Plan on arriving at your scheduled appointment at least five minutes early.

Begin your meeting, if possible, in an area of mutual agreement. Start off by thanking the legislator for a recent vote, Sponsorship of another bill or for his/her voting record in the last legislative session.

Try to get right to the point. Be cordial but remember your time is limited. Don’t let a legislator sidetrack you from the issues you want to discuss.

Ask the legislator for and make sure you get a specific commitment to a specific course of action- to vote for or against a bill, to introduce legislation, to cosponsor a bill, to lobby another legislator, etc. Make sure you hear what was actually said not what you want to hear. Failure to do this may get you nothing more than meaningless political platitudes or proclamations that will not translate into the desired legislative action by the lawmaker.

Try to address no more than one or two issues when meeting one on one; otherwise you may set yourself up for a trade-off with each person addressing a separate issue.

Maintain your credibility. Never speculate, generalize or guess. If you are unsure of the answer to a legislator’s question, offer to follow-up with a written response.

Never take anything for granted. Don’t count on a legislator’s support based on last year’s performance. Make sure that the lawmaker is with you this year.

Professionalism

Greet the legislator with a firm handshake. Clearly introduce yourself and/or your delegation, identify your union. Exchange only the briefest of pleasantries and get down to business.

Project an image of self-confidence. Be assertive in your delivery, remembering you are representing the collective interests of the members of your union.

Discuss issues without lecturing. Keep in mind that your position on an issue isn’t the only one being lobbied. Therefore, allow time for genuine give and take between you and the legislator.

Don’t take rejection personally. There will be times when a legislator can’t support your position. But remember there are other legislative battles ahead.

Don’t hold a grudge. If a legislator turns you down or fails to stand by a commitment, don’t hesitate to express your disappointment. Let the legislator know in a non-belligerent way that your membership will be informed.

Politeness

Be cordial – never scold or preach. Lobbying is an information giving and gathering process, so don’t act as a judge or grand jury.

Know when to back off. If the legislator is hostile, nothing will be gained by becoming argumentative. In this situation, it is best to move on to the next issue or simply thank him or her for their time and excuse yourself.

Be tolerant of the legislator’s viewpoint. That doesn’t mean you have to roll over and play dead. Rather, understand that there are many forces at work in the legislative process and there will be legitimate differences of opinion on every bill.

Never threaten a legislator with retaliation, because you may not be able to make good on a political threat. Worse, it may terminate your access and that of other labor lobbyists to a legislator who might have been an ally on another issues. So don’t – under any circumstances – burn your political bridges.

Perseverance

Follow-up is crucial in the lobbying process. Sometimes you won’t get an immediate commitment from a legislator at your lobbying encounter. How thoroughly you follow up that meeting with additional correspondence, facts or figures may help determine the final position of that legislator.

Keep the pressure on. One of the most effective ways of convincing a reluctant legislator is to organize constituent letter-writing, "lobby day" rallies, call-in or postcard campaigns asking the legislator to support your point of view.

Remember that compromise is part of the legislative process. Know when it’s necessary to compromise and how much to sacrifice, while still achieving some measure of legislative progress.

To Help You Lobby

The Michigan AFL-CIO has several resources that can provide useful information to help with your lobbying efforts. We can provide you with Legislative Directories, Legislative Fact Sheets, Goals for State Government and the Michigan State AFL-CIO News. All of these publications are available on our website, www.miaflcio.org. Printed copies can be obtained by contacting the Michigan State AFL-CIO’s Legislative Department.

The Legislative Department is also available to give legislative briefings or to help plan your lobbying efforts in Lansing. Just give Tim Hughes or Ken Fletcher a call at (517) 487-5966.

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