Federal
Employees
Organizing Program
Employee Contacts :
Making the Case
for Membership
Tab #11
Jim Davis
Making the Case for Membership
Overview
• Types of Contacts
• Membership Advantages
• Answering “Why should I join NFFE/IAMAW?”
• Communicating with Nonmembers – Making
the Pitch
• Listening
• Methods of Persuasion
• Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
• Responding to Nonmembers’ Objections
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Objectives
• Focus: Internal organizing – growing the
membership in an existing bargaining unit.
• Develop a working familiarity with and
understanding of the techniques of persuasive
face-to-face communications.
• Ultimately - - the goal of the class is to foster the
development of effective advocates for
NFFE/IAMAW membership.
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Types of Face-to-Face Contacts
• Casual contact – away from the employee’s workplace
• Intentional contact • New employee orientation
• During non-work times (such as lunch time, break time, and
before and after work).
• Arranged contact – through a union supporter/activist’s
• House call –
• Unannounced
• Referred
• Invited
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Membership Advantages
(Answering the question: “Why should I join NFFE/IAMAW?”)
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The $64,000 question
No fairy dust – no simple, easy answers!
Union advantage (general) vs membership (specific)
Lessons from bargaining units in RTW states
Identifying reasons for joining
• Strong (effective)
• Weak (lame/ineffective)
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
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Membership Advantages
(Answering the question: “Why should I join NFFE/IAMAW?”)
ASSIGNMENT: Using the forms provided, identify and describe
at least five reasons why a nonmember should join
NFFE/IAMAW. Please be as detailed and specific as possible.
Once you have identified and described the reasons for joining,
rank them in order of persuasiveness (best reason 1, the second
best reason 2, and so on through 5).
Once you have completed the assignment as an individual,
discuss your list with the other members of the group, and then
create a top 10 list as a group. Summarize each item on the flip
chart. Have a member of your group prepared to brief the rest of
the class.
Time:
Individually identify & describe barriers – 10 to 15 minutes
Develop & record on the flipchart the top ten list of barriers – 15 minutes
Group Reports – 20 minutes
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Types of Listening
Five Levels of Listening
• Ignoring
• Making no effort to listen.
• Pretend Listening
• Making believe or giving the appearance you are listening.
• Selective Listening
• Hearing only the parts of the conversation that interest you.
• Attentive Listening
• Paying attention and focusing on what the speaker says, and
comparing that to your own experiences.
• Empathetic Listening
• Listening and responding with both the heart and mind to
understand the speaker’s words, intent (motivation), and
feelings (emotion).
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Advantages of Empathetic Listening
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Builds trust and respect
Enables individuals to release their emotions
Reduces tension
Encourages the surfacing of accurate information
Creates an environment that is conducive to problem
solving
EMPATHETIC LISTENING IS THE
FOUNDATION FOR PERSUASION!
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Guidelines for Empathetic Listening
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Be attentive. Be genuinely interested. Be alert and not
distracted. Create a positive atmosphere through nonverbal
behavior.
Be a sounding board -- allow the nonmember to bounce ideas
and feelings off you while assuming a nonjudgmental, noncritical manner.
Don't ask a lot of questions. They can give the impression you
are "grilling" the nonmember.
Act like a mirror -- reflect back what you think the
nonmember is saying and feeling.
Don't discount the speaker's feelings by using stock phrases
like "It's not that bad," or "You'll feel better tomorrow."
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Guidelines for Empathetic Listening
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Don't let the nonmember "hook" you. This can happen if you
get angry or upset, allow yourself to get involved in an
argument, or pass judgment on the nonmember. Stay calm.
Indicate you are listening by
• Providing brief, noncommittal acknowledging responses,
e.g., "Uh-huh," "I see."
• Giving nonverbal acknowledgements, e.g., head nodding,
facial expressions matching the speaker, open and relaxed
body expression, eye contact.
• Invitations to say more, e.g., "Tell me about it," "I'd like to
hear about that," “Help me understand”
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Non-verbal Communication
Classic statistic for the effectiveness
of spoken communications - 93% of
the meaning comes from style,
expression, tone, facial expression,
and body language!
7%
54%
Body Language
39%
Words we say
How we say them
Source: Dr. Albert Mehrabian. Silent Messages: Implicit communication of emotions and attitudes (2nd ed.). Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth.
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Approaches to Persuasion
• Three basic approaches to persuasion:
• Credibility appeal - coming to believe something or act upon
something simply because a trusted individual told us it was
so. Perhaps the most powerful mode of persuasion.
• Emotional appeal - coming to believe something or to act
upon something simply because of a gut feeling or an appeal
to emotions (fear and greed or out of love and compassion –
also concern about what others will think of us!)
• Rational appeal - coming to believe something or to act upon
something simply because someone gave us what we
considered to be a "good reason" based on evidence
(examples, statistics, and testimony) and reasoning.
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
• In the mid-1930s, Alan H. Monroe developed a pattern
for persuasive communications that has become a
standard because of its effectiveness. It is both logically
and psychologically sound. It consists of 5 steps:
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Attention Step
Need Step
Satisfaction Step
Visualization Step
Action Step
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Step 1: Attention Step
• Purpose
• To gain attention
• To secure good will and respect
• To prepare the nonmember for discussion of your topic
• Approaches
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Reference to a subject, event, or occasion
Personal greeting
Startling statement/statistics
Humorous anecdote
Illustration
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Step 2: Need Step
• Purpose
• To describe the problem
• To make the nonmember uncomfortable with the status
quo
• Approaches
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Statements (backed by evidence)
Illustration
Show ramifications
Pointing
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Step 3: Satisfaction Step
• Purpose
• To present a solution to the need described above
• Approaches
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Statements (backed by evidence)
Explanation
Theoretical demonstration
Practical experience
Responding to objections and potential counterarguments
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Step 4: Visualization Step
• Purpose
• To intensify the nonmember’s desire to adopt the solution
(membership in NFFE/IAMAW) and action you propose
• To help the nonmember to “see” the results
• Approaches
• Positive method (“see” what will happen if you become a
member)
• Negative method (“see” what will happen if you do not
become a member)
• Contrast method (“see” membership vs. nonmembership)
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Step 5: Action Step
• Purpose
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To focus the thoughts of the nonmember
To leave the nonmember favorably predisposed/inclined
To motivate the nonmember to ACT (sign the 1187!)
To convey a sense of completion
• Approaches
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Challenge
Summary
Personal Intention
Inducement
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Persuading Nonmembers
• USE MONROE’S MOTIVATED SEQUENCE - motivated
sequence requires that you focus on specific action(s) you want
the nonmember to take. Be sure the action advocated is clear
and specific – signing the 1187.
• HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR CHANGE - be
realistic about what you can accomplish in a single face-to-face
interaction. Attempting to change fundamental beliefs is not a
realistic goal. Its more effective to appeal to the nonmember’s
existing beliefs and values.
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Persuading Nonmembers
• ADAPT TO THE NONMEMBER - carefully consider your
method of persuasion in relation to the attitude of the individual
nonmember you are addressing. The approach is different for
each – see handout.
Direction
For
Against
Weak
2
Uninformed Individual
3
Apathetic Individual
Strong
1
Favorable Individual
4
Opposed Individual
Intensity
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Persuading Nonmembers
• USE GOOD EVIDENCE - pay attention to the quality of your
evidence (examples, statistics, and testimony):
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use accurately
evaluate and identify the source
consider recency
consider strength
• ANTICIPATE AND REFUTE OBJECTIONS TO YOUR
ARGUMENT - in addition to utilizing Monroe’s Motivated
Sequence, you need to successfully counter any objections to
membership in NFFE/IAMAW the nonmember may raise.
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Responding to Specific Objections
• “I don’t believe in unions.”
• “The union is for employees with problems.”
• “Unions are socialistic/communistic.”
• “I don’t want to pay into a strike fund when I
can’t strike.”
• “I get everything the a member gets. The union
has to represent me whether I join of not.”
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Responding to Specific Objections
• “I had a bad experience with unions before.”
• “If I ever need the union, I’ll join.”
• “I can’t afford to join.”
• “I don’t know of anything the union has done for
me.”
• “The union can’t get me promoted.”
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Responding to Specific Objections
• “Government unions are weak because they can’t
strike.”
• “The union can’t negotiate wages.”
• “I am retired military.”
• “Every year you raise the dues.”
• “Congress gives benefits, not the union.”
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
Responding to Specific Objections
• “If all the other employees join, I’ll join.”
• “The IAM is a private sector union.”
• Other common objections?
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program
Making the Case for Membership
KEEP YOUR
EYES
ON THE PRIZE!
IAMAW – William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center – Federal Employees Organizing Program