Legislative Advocacy:
Building Effective Relationships With Policy Makers
2013 Affiliate Leadership Workshop & Forum
Denver, Colorado
June 2013
Presenter
Julie M. Strandlie, Esq.
Legislative & Public Policy Director
National Employment Lawyers Association
Building Effective Relationships With Policy Makers
Agenda
1.
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of Your Litigation
Toolkit
2.
Introduction To NELA’s New Grassroots Program
3.
Myths And Challenges To Interacting With Congress
4.
Building Effective Relationships With Policy Makers
5.
Your Next Steps
6.
Questions/Answers
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of
Your Litigation Toolkit
LAWYERS PROACTIVELY MUST
ENGAGE POLICY MAKERS
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of Your
Litigation Toolkit
 Big Business and anti-labor groups have targeted regulations and agency
decisions to dismantle worker protections:


Opposition to Nomination of Tom Perez, to serve as Secretary of Labor
Noel Canning litigation, DC Circuit Court decision and total upheaval with NLRB as Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is blocking confirmation of even his own nominees
 Orchestrated campaigns to dismantle antidiscrimination and worker protection
laws and rig the courts by certain members of Congress:



H.R. 1406, Working Families Flexibility Act (would gut FLSA)
H.R. 1773, Agricultural Guestworker Act (would impose forced arbitration on migrant
farmworkers)
S. 699, Court Efficiency Act of 2013 (would strip DC Circuit of the three vacant seats)
 Supreme Court continues to circumvent the 7th Amendment by sanctioning
forced, pre-dispute arbitration and disallowing class actions:


AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant (decision
pending)
Decisions make clear that legislation is necessary to take back our justice system
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of Your
Litigation Toolkit
 NELA is also engaged in pro-active legislative efforts to:
 Educate Congress and the public about the need for legislation to ban
pre-dispute forced arbitration;

Restore the tax laws to pre-1996 status when non-economic damages
(emotional distress) arising from non-physical injury cases were taxfree; and

Recruit highly qualified, professionally diverse candidates for the
federal bench, and work with the White House and Senate to ensure
they are promptly confirmed without political obstruction.
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of Your
Litigation Toolkit
Therefore, it is crucial for NELA members and Affiliate
members to work with NELA’s Washington Office to:

Develop trusting, working relationships with their own federal
legislators (and for Affiliates to lead efforts to develop relationships
with state and local legislators);

Provide background information to federal legislators regarding why
antidiscrimination laws and other workforce protections are so
important to their respective constituents, states, and districts; and

Be ready (with assistance from NELA) to explain the impact of
proposed legislation or regulations.
Relationships
Reliable Information
Impact
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of Your
Litigation Toolkit
Former House Speaker Tip O’Neil’s famous
observation
“All Politics Is Local”
is absolutely true.
Legislative
Advocacy: A Key
Part Of Your
Litigation
Toolkit
NELA Leaders On The Hill,
meeting with their own
Senators about judicial
nominations (professional
diversity), the need to fill
vacancies promptly, and
ending partisan obstruction
around the DC Circuit.
From l-r: Board Member Rebecca L.
Salawdeh, JNC 4th Cir. Rep. Geraldine
Sumter, Peggy Browning Fellow
Patrick Callahan, President Patricia A.
Barasch, JNC 7th Cir. Rep. M. Megan
O'Malley, JNC 11th Cir. Rep. Neil L.
Henrichsen, and Legislative & Public
Policy Director Julie M. Strandlie.
Legislative
Advocacy: A Key
Part Of Your
Litigation
Toolkit
MWELA and Maryland
Employment Lawyers
Association members were
successful in obtaining a
Maryland state version of the
federal Civil Rights Tax Relief
Act, using constituent contacts
and client testimony. Next stop:
the U.S. Capitol! Senator Ben
Cardin (D-MD) is now the lead
Senate sponsor of the bill.
Front Row, l-r: Tom Gagliardo, Theresa
Devine, Vikki Rouleau, and Bruce
Fredrickson. Back Row: l-r: Geoffrey
Simpson, Gwen D'Souza, Josh Bowers, and
Richard Renner.
Legislative Advocacy: A Key Part Of Your
Litigation Toolkit
Maryland Civil Rights Tax Relief Act Bill Signing, May 16, 2013
Photo Credit: Executive Office of the Governor, The Honorable Martin O'Malley (Maryland)
NELA’s New Grassroots
Advocacy Program
LET’S GET IT STARTED!
NELA’s New Grassroots Advocacy Program
 NELA has a long-standing, well-respected Legislative & Public
Policy Program:


Founded by NELA past president Bruce Fredrickson
DC Office launched by Donna Lenhoff
 NELA is expanding its efforts to increase its influence and
effectiveness through the creation of a new Grassroots Advocacy
Program.
 This presentation will explain how and why NELA and Affiliate
members’ involvement, as constituents and community leaders,
will be the key to our future success in protecting workers’ rights.
NELA’s
Legislative & Public Policy Priorities
 Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2013 (CJTFA, S. 1224/H.R. 2509)
 Senate: Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME)
 House: Representatives John Lewis (D-GA), Aaron Schock (R-IL),
James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Bobby Scott (D-VA)
 Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 (AFA, S. 878/H.R. 1844)
 Senate: Senator Al Franken (18 cosponsors)
 House: Representative Hank Johnson (42 cosponsors)
 Judicial Nominations and Vacancies
 Prompt submission of names by Senators to the White House
 Prompt consideration of nominees by Senate Judiciary Committee and
full Senate
Myths/Challenges
To Interacting With Congress
“IF NELA AND ITS COALITION PARTNERS
HAVE LOTS OF LOBBYISTS, WHY DO YOU
NEED ME?”
Letter:
Investigate Elvis
sightings
Is it $1 Bud night at the
Hawk & Dove Pub?
2,523 unread emails
Letter: Local
mayor asking
for earmark
project
Report: “National Intelligence Estimate
of Osama bin Laden Location”
Slide by Brad Fitch, Congressional Management Foundation
Faxes from group
promising mass protest
at next town hall meeting
Myths/Challenges To Interacting With Congress
If your member of Congress has not arrived at a firm position
on an issue, what advocacy strategies most effectively impact
his/her decision-making process?
•
•
•
•
constituent visits?
lobbyist visits/communication?
form letters (e-mails) or postcards?
robo-calls?
Myths/Challenges To Interacting With Congress
Source: Congressional Management Foundation, 2011.
Myths/Challenges To Interacting With Congress
If your member of Congress has not arrived at a firm position
on an issue, what advocacy means and messages most
effectively impact his/her decision-making process?
Means:
• Mail, E-Mail, or Fax?
• Personalized or Form Communication?
Message:
• Impact on District/State?
• Reasons for Support/Opposition?
• Personal Story re bill or issue?
Myths/Challenges To Interacting With Congress
Source: Congressional Management Foundation
Constituent Visits
99%
Rep. for Constituents
96%
Individualized Letters
96%
Individualized E-mail
94%
93%
Lobbyist Visit
91%
Individualized Faxes
88%
Phone Calls
A lot of
Influence
Some
Influence
Form Letters
65%
Form E-mail
63%
57%
Form Faxes
Source: Congressional Management Foundation
20
30
40
50
60 70
80
90
Advocacy Myths Debunked
 Myth
 Reality

Citizens can’t make a
difference.

Constituents can make all
the difference.

Congress listens only to
lobbyists.

Congress prefers to/needs
to hear from constituents.

Tons of form e-mails will
change Congress’s mind.

One personal, persuasive
connected constituent
letter is more effective
than 1000’s of form
letters, postcards, calls.
Building Effective Relationships
With Policy Makers
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
AND RELIABLE INFORMATION
ARE THE KEYS TO SUCCESS
Building Effective Relationships
With Policy Makers
“The best groups find influential citizens to singularly
focus on one issue. The heavy lifting is not done by paid
lobbyists—it’s done by citizens.”
- U.S. Senator
Source: Congressional Management Foundation
research
Building Effective Relationships
With Policy Makers
Through Relationships
Through Information
 Established
 Personal Stories
Relationships:



Neighbor
Church
PTA/School
 New Relationships:
 Campaign contributor
 Campaign volunteer
 Client Stories
 Issue One-Pagers
 Op-Eds
 Media Events
Building Effective Relationships
With Policy Makers
High-Value
Communication
Low-Value
Communication
 Site visits
 Petitions
 In-person meetings
 Form Letters
 Personalized “letters”
 Form E-mails
 Town Hall
 Post Cards
participation
 Robo-type calls
Building Effective Relationships
With Policy Makers
Easy Ways to Get Started:

“LIKE” your Legislators on
Keeps you up to date with their work
 Allows you to post a comment—staff members are watching


“FOLLOW” your Legislators on
Follow your Legislators’ every move
 Learn legislative procedure


“CONNECT” with Legislative Staff on


Share your organization’s message in a professional forum
SIGN-UP up for E-Mail Updates

Some legislators send polls/surveys asking for your input
Your Next Steps
STAY INFORMED/GET INVOLVED
NELA’s Grassroots Advocacy Program
 Information Gathering

Grassroots Recruitment



Invitation from NELA
President Patricia A.
Barasch
“Grasstops” Identification
Issues Interest/Expertise
 Empowerment


Grassroots Advocacy Center
Timely Issue Updates


Issue-Specific Webinars
Additional How-To
Webinars
District/Town Hall Visits
 Lobby Days
 Best Practices for
Communicating with
Congress

Conclusion
“We in America do not have
government by the
majority. We have
government by the
majority who participate.”
- Thomas Jefferson
Discussion
Legislative Advocacy:
Building Effective Relationships with Policy Makers
2013 Affiliate Leadership Workshop & Forum
Denver, Colorado
June 2013