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March 2006 — Vol. 84, No. 2
COVER STORY
Why and how to
Engage your employees
in grassroots activities
Related Article:
What hot-button bill prompted about 1,000 people from more than 200 companies
to fire off e-mails to state legislators, via CBIA’s Web site, last
year?
The so-called “play or pay” health care tax on employers
whose health benefits did not meet an arbitrary standard set by the state.
The outcry from business leaders and employees alike helped scuttle the
bill by the time the legislative session ended.
It’s easy to see why a CEO would oppose the plan. But, you might
wonder, why would companies’ employees — including 352 people
at one company and 346 at another — urge legislators to reject it?
“Our employees understand that if legislation is bad for manufacturing,
it’s bad for them,” says Carl Siemon, president of The Siemon
Co., a midsize manufacturer of network cabling products, based in Watertown.
The company’s management and some of its employees contacted legislators
about the play-or-pay bill. “If we weren’t proactive, the
special interest groups would be the only ones expressing their viewpoints,”
Siemon notes.
Informed employees, effective advocates
Enlisting employees’ help in contacting legislators about business
issues is effective, and easier than it might seem.
“We had a general information meeting where we presented the facts
about the [play-or-pay] bill and had a question-and-answer session. That
gave employees a good understanding of what the consequences of that legislation
would be,” says Siemon.
One who would agree is Will Rijksen, director of public affairs for The
Hartford. “Educating our employees [about political issues] is something
we look at as a daily, ongoing effort. Well-educated employees serve as
effective advocates for our company,” he says.
“On our intranet,” Rijksen explains, “we have a government
affairs Web site with recent news articles and issues briefs with key
points on the issue, background information and The Hartford’s position
on it. We try to provide everything employees need to educate themselves,
so when we ask them to take action, they feel confident in doing so.”
The company, which has about 12,000 employees in Connecticut, has “matched
up employees with their federal and local lawmakers,” says Rijksen.
(CBIA can help members do that; see box, below.) “When the need
arises on a state or federal issue, we contact employees and ask them
to send e-mails. We’ve had a very successful program, with pretty
good participation rates,” he says.
Employees, legislators appreciative
St. Paul Travelers has also found it worthwhile to mobilize employee
grassroots efforts.
“As a leading property casualty insurance company, St. Paul Travelers
has initiated grassroots efforts on a variety of federal and state issues,
and with great success,” notes Katie Chipps, second vice president
for political affairs. “Last year we activated grassroots on a high-profile
federal issue and received positive feedback from both employees and elected
officials. Employees appreciated being informed about an issue critical
to our business and provided the opportunity to voice their opinion.
“Through return letters and personal conversations,” Chipps
adds, “we also know that elected officials appreciated hearing directly
from their constituents on issues that are important to them.”
John Klein, president and CEO of People’s Bank and recent past
chair of CBIA, would agree. “Having done some lobbying earlier in
my career, I can assure you that as few as half a dozen phone calls or
e-mails on an issue really get the attention of most legislators,”
he says.
“Legislators respond to grassroots,” agrees The Hartford’s
Rijksen.
That’s certainly the case for two of the General Assembly’s
leaders, Speaker of the House Jim Amann (D-Milford) and Senate Minority
Leader Lou DeLuca (R-Woodbury).
“Most legislators want to know what the businesses in their districts
do, what they make, who they employ,” says Amann. “The more
we know, the better able we are to make decisions that will help.
“I know there is a great deal of cynicism out there — a lot
of people think they’re not listened to,” Amann adds. “The
reality is, whether they’re a small business or a big corporation,
they have more power than they think. Business-people and their employees
should pick up the phone and talk to legislators. It makes a world of
difference in legislators’ attitudes.”
Legislators are especially impressed when they hear a company’s
employees saying the same thing as management about an issue.
“I’ve preached this at every CBIA meeting I’ve ever
attended: It’s of vital importance that people who work for companies,
as well as management people, let legislators know how what goes on at
the legislature affects their jobs,” Sen. DeLuca says.
“We hear from businesses generally at Business Day [this year,
March 1] and when we meet them at [other] CBIA functions. We hear from
employees when the issue is emotional enough that management mobilizes
them. As a rule, most companies don’t mobilize their employees,”
says DeLuca. “And that, I think, they should do.”
New session, renewed need to speak up
One “emotional” issue that’s already back on the legislative
agenda — at the behest of organized labor — is play-or-pay,
this time called the “fair share” health care bill. Even more
troubling is a so-called “captive
audience” bill, which would limit employers’ ability to
communicate with their employees about political issues. Other anti-competitive
proposals supported by labor and other special interest groups will undoubtedly
surface during the General Assembly session, which began Feb. 8 and runs
through May 3.
So, business leaders and their employees will need to be prepared to
contact legislators again — but not just about negative bills.
“Businesspeople and their employees should also contact legislators
about positive measures that will make the state more competitive —
especially, bills to reduce business costs, improve the skills of our
workforce, and upgrade the state’s transportation and energy infrastructures,”
says CBIA President and CEO John Rathgeber.
Chris Ulbrich, chief operating officer of Ulbrich Stainless Steels &
Special Metals Inc., in North Haven, expresses a frustration that other
employers may also have felt at times: When he and his company’s
employees have contacted legislators about issues such as workers’
comp or play-or-pay, the legislators, for the most part, have listened.
But then, he says, some legislators go and “put up bills damaging
to business. I can’t believe some of the bills they’ve put
up!”
Part of the problem, notes People’s Bank’s Klein, is that
“we have a growing cadre of full-time legislators — that is,
their primary job is being a legislator — and fewer legislators
with diverse business backgrounds and perspectives.
“By and large, legislators are good, dedicated public servants.
But increasingly, they lack the depth of practical experience in what
is required to successfully manage a business, deal with rising health
care costs for employees, or compete in a global economy,” says
Klein. “Without that perspective and adequate input from the business
community,” he notes, “the legislative agenda can lose sight
of the fundamentals that underpin Connecticut’s economic strength
and vitality.”
He urges, “Reach out to your state rep and state senator to initiate
a dialog about the competitive pressures you face and what you are doing
to build your business, to grow jobs, to provide affordable health care
for your employees, and what you need the legislature to do — or
not to do — to help support job creation and make Connecticut more
competitive.”
As House Speaker Amann says, “We need the experience and knowledge
of business owners to educate legislators.”
Another part of the problem is something the advertising industry has
long known: People often need to hear something multiple times before
the message sinks in and they take appropriate action.
That’s why “it’s crucial that businesspeople develop
a rapport with legislators. Keep in touch with them even when they’re
not in session, so they get to know you and your business,” says
CBIA’s Rathgeber.
He adds, “CBIA provides many ways to help members do that, including
events like Business Day, legislative breakfast meetings, our government
issues Web portal, and arranging company tours for legislators.”
The need to keep the business message in front of legislators is why
CBIA staff people are at the Legislative Office Building almost daily,
talking to legislators about key business issues.
But, points out Klein, “Entities like CBIA can’t do the job
through staff efforts alone. We all need to get more involved at the grassroots
level.”
That includes engaging employees in the effort.
It’s “absolutely” worth it to get employees involved,
says The Siemon Co.’s Carl Siemon. “It’s in the employees’
best interests, the company’s best interests and the economy’s
best interests.”
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