Door Knock Exercise: Trainer Instructions Overview: Three facilitators will play the role of potential petition signers while the teams, one team at a time, play the role of canvassers. Each team will have 6-10 minutes, depending on how we are doing on time, to knock on as many doors as possible. The team that gets the most signatures wins. Purpose: Practice the rap and the ask Practice distinguishing between yes, no, and undecided Practice extricating yourself from conversation and being an efficient canvasser Set up: Each member of a team should have a notepad and get an actual signature. Based on the number of teams you have and how much time you have budgeted for the exercise, determine how long each group will have to knock on doors (somewhere between 6 and 10 minutes). Give the groups 10 to 20 minutes to practice a script they will use but make it clear that they are knocking as individuals and everyone from the team will be knocking. It s important to stress that they are to knock each door by themselves, but they get points for getting the most votes as a team. Assign three facilitators as voters: o One should be Undecided. This citizen seeks more information and will take all day with the canvasser unless the canvasser makes a hard ask and then disengages from the conversation. A persuasive rap and a hard ask should persuade this voter to hand over a signature. o One should be a No. This person is totally opposed to signing the petition. S/he could be a single-issue voter or anti-union. Feel free to be argumentative at the door, or to stall the canvasser (within reason). o One should be a Yes. You re a supporter and you are tickled that a canvasser has come to your door. You want to keep the canvasser chatting at the door as long as possible.
How it works: If a team has five people (A, B, C, D, and E): o A should go to one door, B to another and C to a third (etc) as the exercise starts. o As soon as A, B, or C finishes, D should go to that door. Then E to the next open door, and so on. THE PAGES BELOW INCLUDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE EXERCISE FOR YOUR TRAINEES, THE SCRIPT, AND BACKGROUND TALKING POINTS.
We Are Ohio Petition Gathering Exercise: Going Door-to-Door Exercise Overview: You have pledged to collect 101 signatures for We Are Ohio, so Ohioans gain a chance to repeal SB5, the unfair attack on workers rights and employee s safety which will devastate our local communities. You have been working hard all weekend going door-to-door in your home neighborhood. As you know, petitions must be collected by 44 of the 88 counties in the state, and with your pledge, you will collect the necessary petition signatures to reach the goal. However, you are now finishing up your commitment and the weather is starting to get bad, with thundershowers likely to show up soon. Your message to the targeted registered voters in your neighborhood must be delivered one-on-one in the next 7 minutes. In a recent referendum, the team failed to reach the goal of 44 of 88 counties required, and you have pledged to reach that goal this weekend in your county. The Exercise: Your team will be confronted with a person who is: (A) undecided and very interested in what you have to say; (B) opposed to signing SB5; (C) supportive of signing and supporting We are Ohio. In each of these cases, present your best message and attempt to secure a signature from each citizen at their door. All members of your team should canvass as many of the three doors as they can in the time allotted to try to earn their support of the petition. The team whose members receive the most signatures wins based on a per person average.
Script for Door-to-Door Gathering Hello, my name is and I am talking to registered voters in my neighborhood today to ask them to sign the We Are Ohio petition. Politicians in Columbus have recently voted to take away the rights of teachers, nurses, firefighters, police, and other public employees to negotiate with management over wages, benefits, and working conditions. These basic rights improve working conditions and safety, and ensure that Ohio attracts the best employees who care about the communities they serve and the kids they teach. Your signature gives Ohioans a chance to reject this anti-working family law which was passed by the state legislature and the governor last week. Would you please sign this petition to preserve workers' rights and employees safety? Great, please sign and print your name on the next line on the petition. Thank you and have a nice day. Quick Talking Points This is a citizens repeal effort that will overturn the unfair anti-working family legislation known as SB 5. This will place the issue on the ballot in November for voters to decide, not politicians. You can protect police, firefighters, teachers, and other jobs and small businesses in your community by signing this petition.
Background and Additional Talking Points We Are Ohio is preparing to hit the pavement to begin collecting the necessary signatures to give Ohioans the opportunity to exercise a citizens veto of SB 5 - the unfair attack on workers' rights. On Friday April 1, 2011, SB5 was filed with the Ohio Secretary of State's office. The 90- day clock has begun to tick and We Are Ohio will have to collect 231,149 valid signatures to get the issue on the ballot this November. We are confident that we will be successful in collecting the signatures because of the widespread opposition to SB5 in Ohio. People in every community and every corner of the state are asking We Are Ohio how they can get involved to protect workers' rights. We Are Ohio is a citizen-driven, bipartisan, broad-based grassroots coalition that is growing by the minute. We Are Ohio is comprised of Ohioans Republicans and Democrats private and public sector workers, unions, small business owners, pastors, a wide array of progressive organizations, college students, and others. SB5 is an unfair attack on workers' rights and employee's safety, and it will devastate our local communities. SB5 is an unfair attack on working and middle-class families. SB5 does not create one job. It will mean fewer teachers in the classroom for our children, fewer police and firefighters on our streets keeping us safe, and fewer nurses tending to our sick, our children, and our elderly parents and grandparents. SB5 will hurt small business owners in our community. As teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses, and others lose their jobs or see their wages severely reduced, there will be less money to spend locally and small businesses will be forced to lay-off workers or permanently close their doors. The opposition to SB5 is bipartisan. Republicans and Democrats oppose this unfair attack on workers' rights. An extreme group of politicians, pushed by their wealthy contributors, are orchestrating this unfair attack against hard working and middle class families.