Grassroots Advocacy Tactics Must Be Timely to Be Effective

NARFE GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY

LEARN MORE about how you can take action to protect your earned pay and benefits by reviewing NARFE Grassroots materials at www.narfe.org/advocacy.

Grassroots Advocacy Tactics Must Be Timely to Be Effective

NARFE harnesses the power of grassroots and grasstops advocacy to affect policy change. It is a strategy that typically takes a long time to achieve. At times, it can take a decade or more to see significant progress on the issue.

Using grassroots advocacy to affect policy involves putting deliberate pressure on elected leaders and administration officials to support or oppose issues that affect the earned pay and benefits of active and retired federal employees. This means, at the grassroots level, NARFE stakeholders engage in meetings, send letters, make phone calls, participate in rallies and more. However, although this type of tactic can bring attention to the issue, when and how they are used during the legislative process determines how successful the campaign will be.

Look at NARFE’s grassroots strategy for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) repeal campaign. In the beginning stages, after H.R. 82/S. 1302 was introduced, NARFE’s advocacy team in Washington, DC, focused on developing communication materials to educate stakeholders, blanketing all members of Congress with the ask to cosponsor the bill from grassroots and grasstops advocates.

After the initial stage, the team developed an advocacy campaign utilizing membershipwide grassroots mobilization and targeted grasstops tactics to build momentum around the issue, and gain support from the most susceptible congressional

holdouts. Members were asked to meet, send messages, make phone calls and more to urge lawmakers to cosponsor the bill. This stage often lasts for months as the bill sits in committee. As progress is being made and congressional consensus around the issue is being realized, the team focuses on timely, one-on-one tactics, as NARFE’s professional lobbyists press on.

USING GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY TO AFFECT POLICY INVOLVES PUTTING DELIBERATE PRESSURE ON ELECTED LEADERS AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE EARNED PAY AND BENEFITS OF ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

Thanks to the determination of NARFE members who pushed aggressively to increase cosponsors of H.R. 82 to the 290 total required for consideration by the House, the bill was added to the Consensus Calendar the week of July 17, with 295 cosponsors as of August 9. This achievement reflects the strong desire of stakeholders who understand the value and power of their voice. It happened because of strong collaborative and timely grassroots and grasstops effort. Getting on the consensus calendar is one more incremental step on the way to aiding those affected by these unfair penalties.

NARFE values the time and efforts of its members and advocacy leaders who understand the importance of advocacy and that it cannot be successful without the voices of the people who are affected. It takes commitment, patience and a strong desire to make a change.

Grassroots advocacy is everyone’s responsibility. Activities are open for all members who want to lend their voice to an effective, combined effort to protect the earned pay and benefits of all active and retired Feds.

Thanks for your advocacy!

—BY MARSHA PADILLA-GOAD, DIRECTOR, GRASSROOTS PROGRAM