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One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says, showing that âweâre all here doing this together.â</p> 469<div class="wysiwyg_full"> 470 471 472 473 474 475<img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_220/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=PVVK5v2u 220w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_380/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=BINkigrE 380w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_540/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=snRcMEhq 540w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_700/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=B2aa9BVS 700w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_860/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=JJTerrk8 860w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1020/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=sUYXOio8 1020w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1180/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=VYLFb2I5 1180w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1340/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=Naesc7po 1340w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1500/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=a2obAP3a 1500w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1660/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=3Pr2Ds6P 1660w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1820/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=qDaIzPEQ 1820w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1980/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=-raeRYen 1980w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_2140/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=2EWr5_OS 2140w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_2300/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=9qqbVIBh 2300w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_2460/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=ydQxfVmF 2460w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_2620/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=VO0G4Azd 2620w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_2780/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=IeUc7iJN 2780w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_2940/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=zg5chw_I 2940w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_3100/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=dKkJF-Y_ 3100w" sizes="(min-width:1000px) 75vw, 100vw." width="220" height="147" class="image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_220/public/media/images/2026/PEF_winter_solidarity.JPG?itok=PVVK5v2u" alt="PEF winter solidarity"> 476 477 478 479</div> 480<p>Likewise, when youâre planning a mobilization, Byrne advises building in some down time. People like to get acquainted and know whoâs with them in the fight.</p><p>The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. To increase membersâ power, make sure they know exactly what theyâre fighting for. Then choose your tactics. No tactics are right or wrong, the leaders agreed. What they should be is memorable.</p><p>PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a moving personal story, which will draw media attention. With more media on the issue, he said, legislators will become more motivated to fix the problem.</p><h3><strong>Building people power</strong></h3><p>
480Virtually every union leader finds it challenging to mobilize people, an AFT state legislative expert reassured the group. Even where members do mobilize and share the load among themselves, âItâs not that activists are less busy. Sometimes theyâre the most busy. But they make it work.â</p><p>When planning a campaign, some affiliates use <a href="https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/how-to-write-smart-goals-that-actually-work/">SMART goals</a>. That stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. These goals donât have to be about winning a particular bill or funding level, but about improving outcomes for members and the wider community.</p><p>Things to consider: Your localâs number of members, its budget and technology. Are your members trained to go to the capital and rally? Are they well-versed in the proposed legislation? Are they acquainted with key decision-makers, including the governor and committee chairs? Does your local have primary and secondary goals in mind? And do you have the people power to reach your goals?</p><p>Reviewing best practices, the public employee leaders started with basic logistics for lobbying at the state capitol. Say you are planning a lobby day. To keep things orderly, register participants in advance and make a checklist. Youâll need buses and drivers. Youâll need parking. And lunches for members. You may want access to the capitol rotunda, a sound system and bullhorns in case the sound system fails. Youâll need to factor in the acoustics in the rotunda. And youâll have to know the layout of the capitol building.</p><p>Youâll need to know how to connect lawmakers with citizens, and if the lawmakers try to blow you off, how to catch them in the halls. Youâll have to provide members with contacts in case questions arise, and they will need training in how a bill is passed. Give them talking points on palm cards or leaflets.</p><p>Plan for âvisuals,â too. During a lobby day, members can march around their state capitol building, so people can see them from the windows and across the street. Good signs have great impact.</p><p>Enlist other unions as well, said Benjamin Kuiper of the Montana Federation of Public Employees: âWe managed to kill a lot of bad bills last year.â</p><h3><strong>The value of lobby days</strong></h3> 481<div class="align-right wysiwyg_quarter"> 482 483 484 485 486 487<img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_220/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=yk7M8Wf9 220w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_380/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=Qd3st0NZ 380w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_540/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=Dz0qFh5x 540w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_700/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=ztG7dJ64 700w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_860/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=jdNJ3hLF 860w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1020/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=71swAIVA 1020w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1180/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=u6KDNB_Y 1180w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1340/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=lIECGEs9 1340w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1500/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=1ART9sMl 1500w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1660/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=9696Ec3C 1660w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1820/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=2NqkwIkf 1820w, /sites/default/files/styles/scale_1980/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=O_UOJEPT 1980w" sizes="(min-width:1000px) 20vw, 40vw" width="220" height="391" class="image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_220/public/media/images/2026/STOMP_with_PEF.jpg?itok=yk7M8Wf9" alt="STOMP with PEF"> 488 489 490 491</div> 492<p>Lobby-day attendance ticks up and down, and unfortunately, itâs been down since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Randi DiAntonio, vice president of the New York State Public Employees Federation. The hardest part is getting people thereâthey have to take a day off work or give up a weekend day. Make it easy for them, DiAntonio advised. Let them bring their kids, and if you have enough members living near the capital who will turn out, just call on them instead of trying to draw people from all over the state.</p><p>âIf they do it, 95 percent will come back the next year,â DiAntonio said. âFeed them, train them and make sure theyâre partnered with members who know what theyâre doing. That matters.â</p><p>You know Scabby the Rat, right? Well, last year PEF brought in a 20-foot inflatable bull named STOMP, for Stop Treating Our Members Poorly. That bull âput the fear of Godâ in PEFâs adversaries and energized its members, DiAntonio said. The threat of bringing STOMP to an agency usually gets their attention.</p><p>The PPC also discussed including nontraditional activities at protests, like the large crowds singing in Minnesota. Assemble a rapid response team through a listserv, so youâll have union messengers ready to share your posts on social media or send messages to lawmakers over lunch.</p><h3><strong>Encouragement from AFT officers</strong></h3><p>When AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram first came to our national union, he told the PPC, he was amazed by the number of job titles, from parole officer to chemist. Without the work that public employees do, nothing gets done, he said. Ingram thanked Jill
492Cohenour of Montana, who is retiring from the PPC, for her years chairing the group. Cohenour replied by saying sheâd be joining AFT Retirees, of course.</p><p>AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus gave a fiery speech about âwhen youâre called to be a leader.â</p><p>The council also chatted with AFT President Randi Weingarten about dealing with the Trump administrationâs assaults on the public sector. âThese guys are on the road to fascism,â she lamented. âDivision and hate are their main vehicles to maintain power. Theyâre going to get worse, not better.â</p><h3><strong>Tell them a story</strong></h3><p>Coordinate where, when and how members show up. You donât want legislators wrestling with a math problem when discussing the budget; you want them to remember the nurse who came and talked with them about her concerns for patient safety. No member needs to be an expert; they just need to tell how their life is impacted. For instance, if Walmart paid its workers better, they wouldnât need to rely so much on public services. Itâs a set of choices. Bringing five people to the capitol once a week, even if theyâre the same people, will eventually lead lawmakers to enlist the union in solving a problem.</p><p>If your programs are federally funded, the AFT might bring you to speak with members of Congress and their staff in Washington, D.C. This has happened a number of times when PPC member Sue Parton, president of the Federation of Indian Service Employees, has provided <a href="https://aftvoices.org/native-americans-urgently-need-help-with-reopening-schools-5cbf84631b6e">expert testimony on Native American public services</a> and other tribal matters.</p><p>Ryan Clark, president of the New York State Lifeguard Corps, heartily endorsed deploying both union colors and loud rallies. One thing he and his members really want is language in their contract that would reduce the vesting period in Tier 6 of the state pension plan.</p><p>âWe have to get the legislators who are sitting on the fence,â he said, âand ignore the ones who will never be with us.â</p><p>Matt Emigholz, president of the Illinois Federation of Public Employees, said his affiliate holds Full Funding Fridays, especially when thereâs a hard deadline coming up on a funding bill. And he confirmed that onlookers will say: âOh, I saw those blue shirts.â</p><p>Members who work in healthcare should wear their scrubs and lab coats, suggested Bill Garrity, president of the University Health Professionals in Connecticut. The best situation, he said, is when even the people youâre fighting know in their heart of hearts that youâre fighting for them, too.</p><p>[Annette Licitra]</p></div> 493 494</div> 495</div> 496 </div> 497 498 </div> 499 </div> 500 </div> 501</div> 502 503 </div> 504<div id="block-sharethiswidget" class="block"> 505 506 <h2 class="h2">Share This</h2> 507 508 <div class="sharethis-wrapper"> 509 <span st_url="https://hopeunions.org/news/tips-public-employees-mobilizing-members" st_title=" Tips from public employees on mobilizing members " class="st_twitter"></span> 510 511 <span st_url="https://hopeunions.org/news/tips-public-employees-mobilizing-members" st_title=" Tips from public employees on mobilizing members " class="st_facebook"></span> 512 513 <span st_url="https://hopeunions.org/news/tips-public-employees-mobilizing-members" st_title=" Tips from public employees on mobilizing members " class="st_email"></span> 514 515 <span st_url="https://hopeunions.org/news/tips-public-employees-mobilizing-members" st_title=" Tips from public employees on mobilizing members " class="st_sharethis"></span> 516 517 </div> 518 519 </div> 520 521 </div> 522 523 </main> 524 </div> 525 526<footer class="footer"> 527 <div class="footer__inner"> 528 <div class="footer__logo"> 529 530<a 531 class="logo__link" 532 href="" 533> 534 535<img 536 class="image" 537 src="/sites/default/files/aft-logo.png" 538 alt="American Federation of Teachers" 539 /> 540</a> 541 </div> 542 <div class="footer__copyright"> 543 <p> 544 ©American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. 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