How To Be An Effective Grassroots Advocate For Your Future

Ask any lobbyist on Capitol Hill to identify the key to successful lobbying and the list will begin with an engaged grassroots lobbying base: a membership that responds to calls to action by contacting their legislators.

Getting mem­bers engaged and responsive to calls to action is a challenge that all membership organizations face. Members expect or­ganizational leadership to protect their interests through leg­islative advocacy with little or no participation themselves in the process. However, an unengaged group does not lead to successful lobbying initiatives. There is strength in numbers at the grassroots level.

The famed engineer and management consultant Joseph M. Juran was the first to describe the 80/20 rule or Pareto Principle, naming it after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. The Pareto Prin­ciple states that for many events, roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. Unfortunately, even though the APMA’s legislative advocacy affects all podiatrists’ professional careers at many levels, APMA member participation in lobbying efforts falls well below 20 percent involvement.

Why do only a handful of the more than 12,500 APMA members respond to calls to action? Instead of com­plaining about this unfortunate fact, I want to offer solu­tions to engage my colleagues in their futures by providing a tested, successful strategy to become an engaged grass­roots membership.

Gerald Peterson, DPM, and Andrew Schink, DPM, and I devel­oped an efficient congressional phone calling method to re­spond to legislative calls to action. I have taken their plan and put it into a flowchart (see photo at right). The Oregon Congressional Call Method gives step-by-step instructions on how to contact and make a specific request of a member of Congress. They are as follows:

1. Be polite and professional, but firm

2. When calling congressional offices, do not leave a voice mail if possible

3. Ask if you can hold until the legislative aide can answer the phone or ask what time you may call back to speak with the aide

4. When informing an office that you will follow up, provide a specific timeframe (e.g., one or two weeks)

5. Reinforce to the congressperson that the legislation is critical

to his or her constituents

Calling the Washington, DC, office will get you the cor­rect legislative aide (healthcare, veterans affairs, etc.). Speak directly with the aide instead of leaving a message. If you have to leave a message but do not receive a call back within a reasonable period (two to three days), call the office again. Once the correct congressional aide is on the phone with you, it is important to be polite but firm. Remember, the member of Congress works for you. Make the request to the aide (typ­ically, the request will be to cosponsor a particular bill). There are then a few paths depending upon the aide’s answer.

The ‘Yes’ Answer

If the member of Congress agrees to the request, thank him or her and inform the APMA Legislative Advocacy department (legislative@apma.org ). The Legislative Advocacy department will verify the co-sponsorship and confirm it with you. It is im­portant then to send the member of Congress and congressional aide a thank-you e-mail or a handwritten thank-you note.

The ‘No’ Answer

If the member of Congress replies in the negative, it is critical to ask why. What are the common reasons for saying no?

1. The member of Congress is a chair or ranking member of a committee, and usually does not cosponsor bills. Ask the aide if, when the bill comes up for a vote, the mem­ber of Congress will vote for it. If the response is positive, then proceed with the above “Yes” answer method. If the answer is negative, then proceed with the “Definitive No” answer below.

2. The member of Congress has a procedure the office follows to evaluate requests. In this case, ask what the process is and write it down to refer to later. Suggest a time you could follow up by phone. Be specific about when you plan to call back (e.g., one or two weeks). Make the follow-up call in the agreed upon period and request an answer. Follow the “Yes” or “Definitive No” instructions, depending on what answer you get.

3. The member of Congress has an objection. Once you have identified the objection, ask if you can provide further informa­tion and whether this answer would allow the member of Congress to agree to the request. Then contact the APMA legislative department for the required informa­tion. Communicate with the office of the member of Congress again to provide the information and ask if the representative or senator will agree to the request. Follow the “Yes” or “Definitive No” instructions.

The ‘Definitive No’ Answer

When a member of Congress denies the request, respectfully inform the office you will be communicating his or her lack of support for his or her constituents’ lower extremity healthcare to your patients and colleagues. The member of Congress must know he or she will be held accountable for this lack of support.

Your participation in the APMA’s grassroots legislative advoca­cy is crucial to your future and the profession’s future. Expect­ing someone else to do it, not opening APMA calls to action, not responding to e-mails or phone calls from APMA leader­ship, or ignoring APMA social media calls to action makes suc­cessful legislative advocacy nearly impossible. An engaged, responsive grassroots movement is a powerful force that produces results. The grassroots lobbying potential of the podiatric community is substantial, enough to make the Pareto Princi­ple the baseline for involvement, not the goal. 

Editor’s note: This DPM Blog was originally published in the July/August 2016 edition of APMA News and has been adapted with permission from the APMA.