Creating a Strategic Outreach Plan

1.

Identify Strategic Organizations that have Membership [both Labor Unions AND Community-Based Groups] Be sure to consider the following— because CWA has a national relationship with:

2.

Review Websites—pay attention to the mission statement and recent campaigns. Take a quick look at organizational structure.

3.

If the organization is national in scope (ex.: Jobs with Justice, Sierra Club, etc.), and you don’t have a local contact, contact the Legislative or Political Department at CWA Headquarters to make an introduction for you with the local/national liaison. This will expedite an appointment with the local chapter of the respective organization.

4.

If the organization is local or regional in scope, first ask someone you may know from another organization to introduce you. If no one you know has a connection, then call the executive director and ask for a meeting to get to know one another and your respective organizations.

Sample script for a cold call:

Hello, my name is ______ from CWA Local ______. My union is interested in exploring ways we might work together for justice in our communities and I’m wondering if you’d like to sit down for coffee because I’m very curious about your organization and its mission to...

5.

Organize your thoughts in preparation for the meeting

  • What questions do I have about the organization I have identified as a potential partner? How can I start the conversation about their organization? (Consider asking about a recent campaign that they did.)
  • How will I portray CWA and our policy agenda? Why is it important that we explore working together? What recent campaigns have we done?
  • How might we work together? How can we build unity across mutually important issues?
  • What is the next step to build our work together?
  • Are there other organizations that you might suggest for outreach?

6.

At the meeting, ask what the organization is currently working on as well as what their priorities are for the near future. Is there a place we can work together on an issue or campaign? Where might we support one another’s work? How can we keep this conversation going and move it forward with other partners? Use the first meeting to get to know one another—as individuals and as organizations.

7.

Try to identify any assistance you might be able to offer the organization. No resource is too small. Examples: meeting space, phone bank, copies, volunteers for an event/canvass.

8.

Follow-up after the meeting with a note or email that shows why you wish to continue working together and any new ideas for doing so. If the meeting resulted in any commitments for information or action, be certain to follow through on things you said you would do.

9.

Take the results of the meeting and ongoing relationships with local organizations back to the Executive Board and membership. In our urgency to build a movement, we need to recognize that relationships are fluid and meant to be shared. Invite 1-2 activists in your local to the next conversation and invite leaders of community organizations to give issue briefings at local membership meetings. Report out the results of your new relationships through LPAT coordination calls. Share relationships whenever possible and you may discover that there is a personal or family connection to organizations that would be great allies with CWA.