Establish a Company-Wide GOTV Program
Most Americans consider voting nothing more than a right guaranteed by the Constitution, which grants a citizen the opportunity to head to the polls on Election Day and cast their support for one candidate over the other. Of course the ability to vote is definitely a right, however the actual practice of voting is more of a responsibility than anything else. It is a responsibility for every citizen of voting age to fully participate in the process, to take the initiative and research the candidates and the key issues, assess how each candidate, and his positions, will impact their life, and most importantly vote. While it is the responsibility of the individual to vote, when you consider that 55% of all working voters wish their employer would provide more election-related information, and another 46% indicated that the information provided by their employer influenced the way they voted, it is apparent that industry has a predominate role to play in this process as well.
In order to assist your workforce in this process, SPI encourages every member company to institute a Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) program in every facility throughout the United States. Through the use of SPI’s Political Action Center, and the helpful tips below, you have the ability to implement a comprehensive, sustainable, and effective GOTV program.
Educate Your Workforce
Establishing a GOTV Program entails more than a single early-Autumn message encouraging your employees to register and vote; it is an ongoing process based in large part on educating your workforce on the key issues affecting the industry. To this end SPI recommends:
- Employers openly discuss key industry issues during regularly scheduled business/staff meetings. During your meeting, provide background on an issue, indicate how it directly impacts your business, and how it should be addressed/resolved by Congress.
- For example, natural gas plays an important role throughout the plastics manufacturing process, and over course of the year, the price of natural gas has increased by __%. This increase has forced our company to restructure our daily operations and could ultimately lead to the closure of this facility. Therefore, Congress needs to enact legislation that would increase the supply and lower the cost of natural gas.
- During these briefings your company should not endorse one candidate over the other, but explain in detail how each of these key issues affects your business.
- Post your elected officials’ voting and sponsorship records on a bulletin board in the employee lunch room. SPI has prepared a list of key votes under the “Find Your Elected Official” page of its Political Action Center which visually depicts the extent to which your Senators and Representative support the industry, your company, and essentially your employees.
- Draft and send an industry-specific questionnaire to the candidates and post their responses in the employee lunch room. Considering that a challenger typically does not have an easily accessible voting record, and the fact that voting records at times fail to address certain intangibles, this questionnaire provides the candidate an opportunity to clearly lay out his positions, and for the employee to determine which candidate would best represent him in Washington DC.
- Bring the candidates to your employees. Host a candidate debate, a meet and greet, a facility tour, or similar event where your employees have an opportunity to interact with the candidates and ascertain their views on issues of importance to your employee and the industry as a whole. Additionally, these events provide an ideal occasion for you to foster new relationships and introduce the candidates to the plastics industry.
Encourage Your Employees to Register and Vote
While educating your workforce is a vital aspect of any successful GOTV program, these efforts will be fruitless without instilling the importance of voting with your workforce. While this could come in the form of a single early-Autumn letter to your employees, SPI recommends the following:
- In addition to discussing key industry issues at regularly scheduled business/staff meetings, begin to reinforce the importance of voting as the primary and general election near. Encourage your employees to utilize SPI’s Political Action Center to register to vote, obtain an absentee ballot, or gain more information on early voting programs in your state.
- Be flexible on Election Day. If possible, provide transportation, a late start time, an extended lunch hour, or other flex schedule to your employees in order to ensure they have the ability to make it to the polls.
- Incentivize the vote. Encouragement is one thing, “bribery” is something entirely different and at times more effective. Granted, SPI is not recommending your company actually bribe your employees, but rather organize a “registration raffle” and/or a “voter raffle,” and raffle off a gift card, an extra day of leave, lunch with the CEO, or something else of value to those employees that can prove that they have registered to vote or those that produce an “I voted” sticker. By doing so you not only show your company’s commitment to participation, but also encourage those who would otherwise sit on the sideline on Election Day to actually participate in the process.
Before implementing a comprehensive GOTV effort, be sure to consult you state’s voting regulations and guidelines. With the General Election fast approaching, it is imperative that you act today. If you have any questions, or require further guidance, do not hesitate to contact SPI’s Government Affairs Department at gov@plasticsindustry.org, or at (202) 974-5200.
Thank you in advance for your participation.
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