Pass The Labor Rate Bill

Telephone Script For Discussions With Your Legislators

    As we state on our "Lobbying 101" page, you are the best "lobbyist" for your cause, and the most popular and efficient method of lobbying for your cause is the telephone call to a legislator. Certainly, sending an email or a fax is quicker, but it is also a "one-way" communication piece. A telephone call, on the other hand, allows for interaction between you and the legislator so that questions can be answered and a relationship can begin to be built.

    We encourage you to make phone calls in addition to sending emails and/or faxes to your legislators. The phone call can be a good follow-up to an email or fax and you shouldn't hesitate to make the calls. We try to make it a bit easier for you by providing this sample script for your telephone conversation. You may only get an opportunity to speak with an aide in the legislator's office at first, but, hopefully, you'll get a chance to use the script more fully when the legislator calls back.

    Most legislators' offices are part of a larger office that serves a committee. Therefore, the person who answers the phone may be a receptionist for that committee. You should ask to speak with someone in the legislator's office. Generally, you will be transferred to the phone extension of an aide. You should ask to speak to the legislator, at which point you are likely to be asked "who is calling?" or "he (or she) is not here right now, what is this call regarding?"

    If you are unable to speak with the legislator, you should state your name, your address, the business name, and the fact that you are calling to request the legislator's support for the Auto Body Labor Rate Bill, also known as House Bill 1043 and Senate Bill 122. You will likely be told that the person will make a note of that and let the legislator know of your phone call. It is completely appropriate for you to ask that the legislator return your call at his or her earliest convenience.

    Please remember to ask for, and write down, the name of the person to whom you are giving this message. Also, be very courteous to all of the people with whom you speak. Aides are the eyes and ears of each legislator, they are typically well educated and very knowledgeable about issues. If your conversation goes smoothly, they are likely to reflect that when they ask the legislator to call you back. If you are not nice to them, the legislator will likely know that before you get your call.

When you get your call from the legislator, here are the five key points you should emphasize:

• The Auto Body Labor Rate Bill is the key reform measure for a collision industry modernization program that must take place to assure that today's and tomorrow's complex, high-tech vehicles are repaired properly.

• The bill will encourage investments in new tools, equipment, and training by shop owners, which will stimulate the Massachusetts economy, provide incentives for highly skilled technicians to remain in the industry, and attract recent graduates from our vocational schools to pursue careers in the industry in which they have acquired their skills.

• Consumers will derive great benefits from the bill because repairs will be safer and will follow recommended and established repair guidelines more closely, they will have more choices for their repairs based on the level of quality they need at the price they are willing to pay.

• If insurance companies make serious efforts to save money by implementing the Expedited Supplement Process regulation that was approved in 2006, the Labor Rate Bill will not cost them one cent. In fact, they would actually save more money than they would spend. Thus, they will not have to raise premiums on their policyholders.

• The entire system for reforming auto body labor rates and offering consumers expanded choices and higher quality repairs will not cost the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a nickel to implement, administer, and enforce, because the fees that will be paid by the auto collision industry will entirely fund the commission that will oversee the system.

However, it's unlikely that you'll be able to just blurt out all five points in your conversation. Rather, you must weave them into the discussion in as natural a way as possible. Here's a broad idea for a script you can use as a guideline. But, remember that you need to keep a "conversational" style to your phone call and try not to "force" the script onto the legislator. Here goes:

General Introduction

YOU: "Hello, my name is ___________________ and I am the _________________ of _________________. We are located at ______________________ in _________________________. I'm calling to ask for your support of the Senate Bill 122 and House Bill 1043, better known as the Auto Body Labor Rate Bill. Are you familiar with this legislation?"

[There are several answers you may get to this question. We will present a suggestion for handling each of them.]

Answer #1 Very Agreeable

LEGISLATOR: "Yes, I am familiar with that bill and I support it."

YOU: "I'm happy to know that you support the bill. Thank you very much. I will certainly contact you when it comes up for a vote in your chamber. In the meantime, would you consider sending a message to the [Senate President, if you're speaking to a senator - Speaker of the House, if you're speaking to your state rep.] to ask for the bill to be moved to the floor for a vote?

LEGISLATOR: Yes, I will do that for you. Can you provide me with some details?

YOU: Yes, I will email or fax to you a sample letter we have for just that purpose. How would you like me to get that to you? (Jot down the email address or fax number and follow through immediately after the call).

LEGISLATOR: [Provides information - you take notes.]

YOU: By the way, we are putting a list of legislators who support our bill on our website. If you would like to have your name listed there, I can provide you with a form for you to sign that would authorize us to put your name on the list. Would you like to do that?"

[If the legislator agrees, get a fax number and transmit the "Supporting Legislator Website Listing Form" to him or her as soon as you get off the phone.]

[If the legislator is apprehensive about having his or her name listed, or just says "no," then do not push any further. Tell him or her that you understand why he or she may not want to do that, then thank him or her again for his or her support.]

[Please remember to note which legislators agree to go "on the record" as being a supporter of the Labor Rate Bill. Contact us as soon as you can by phone at (617) 484-0205, fax at (617) 484-0568, or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Thank you for your help.]

Conclude the conversation in a friendly manner, such as saying, "Well, please contact me if I can be of any further assistance on this bill. And, if you're ever in the area of our shop, please feel free to come in to visit. It would be my pleasure to get to know you better. Thanks."

Answer #2 Needs to know more

LEGISLATOR: "No., I'm not familiar with that bill. Why don't you tell me a little bit about it, and, by the way, what is the number of the bill?"

YOU: "The bill is in both chambers - it's Senate Bill 122 and House Bill 1043. Because we had "fixed-and-established" auto insurance premiums for so long in Massachusetts, the insurance companies basically froze our rates for more than twenty years. Our rate was $30.00 per hour in 1987 and 23 years later, it is just $35.75 per hour. Collision shops in Massachusetts get the lowest rate in the United States. That's about $4.00 less than in Tennessee, the next lowest state, nearly $10.00 less than the national average, and almost $12.00 less than in our neighboring state of Connecticut. The insurance companies suppressed the rate, and past insurance commissioners did nothing about it. We just can't keep up with things and we are just asking for fundamental fairness. So, we now have a bill that will help to reform the labor rates we get."

LEGISLATOR: "Wow, I didn't realize the situation was so bad. But, why do we need legislation to fix the problem?"

YOU: "Well, the bill was introduced in the last session and it made it all the way through the budget in 2008, but, at the last minute, the language was changed so that it only established a special commission to look into it. That commission was chaired by the Undersecretary of Consumer Affairs and, during the two public hearings, the insurance companies asked to let the free market determine the rates, which they admitted were artificially suppressed. The special commission recommended that the insurers work towards significantly improving labor rates and, since they created the problem of a failed market, they had to be the ones to fix it. The commission set a deadline of June 30, 2009 to measure the performance of the insurance companies. If the rate did not move significantly closer to market prices, such as the national average, then the commission recommended that the legislature consider passing legislation to solve the problem. During that six-month period, the rate moved up by only 8 cents, from $35.67 to $35.75. Basically, the insurance companies thumbed their noses at the State Legislature, so we re-filed the bill. Now, I am calling to ask for your support."

LEGISLATOR: "Well, before I make my decision of whether or not to support this bill I have a couple of other questions. One of the things I'd be concerned about is that passing the bill will cause premiums to go up during these difficult times. Plus, the state may have trouble setting aside funds in the budget to operate the commission."

YOU: [Here is where you can naturally make a couple of the above points.]

"Actually, before our industry filed the original bill, we worked with insurers to help them reduce a lot of "friction" costs that they incur as part of the claims process. In good faith, the collision industry agreed to upgrade technology and work with insurers to significantly reduce the costs for sending appraisers to shops as well as lowering administration costs. In addition, these changes will reduce to total time a vehicle is in a shop, so auto rental costs for insurers would be reduced as well. Altogether, insurers will save hundreds of dollars on each claim. The smart ones already are saving this kind of money. As for the Labor Rate Bill, at most, only a part of these savings are required to pay for it. So, the insurance companies cannot justify any premium increases for policyholders. Secondly, the entire cost of the state commission that would implement, administer, and enforce the system for labor rate reform is entirely funded by fees paid by the collision industry. This will not cost the Commonwealth of Massachusetts one cent. In fact, it is likely to run a surplus."

LEGISLATOR: "Well, I didn't expect those answers. Insurance companies always complain that anything they have to give up will cost their policyholders more money. I guess that isn't true this time."

YOU: "It's refreshing to speak with a legislator like you who gets it. Insurance companies are not always the best source of truthful and straightforward information. We would really appreciate your support of this bill. Since I've answered your questions, can I count on you to help my business and all of the other shops in your district by supporting our bill?"

LEGISLATOR: [This is now a "yes" or "no" decision. If yes, proceed to ask whether the legislator would like his or her name listed on our website. If no, tell the legislator that you respect his or her opinion, but that you will continue to seek his or her support. If you can, suggest that you would like to meet in person and bring more documentation as to why this bill is one that should be supported. Ask for a mutually agreeable place, date, and time for a meeting and confirm the appointment. Then, contact our office at (617) 484-0205 to explain the objections that you uncovered during your conversation and a suggested list of documents and explanations you can use in your meeting. We are here to help you.]

Conclude the conversation in a friendly manner.

Answer #3 Against the bill

LEGISLATOR: "Well, I'm against that bill."

YOU: "Would you mind telling me the reason you are against it?"

LEGISLATOR: [Please pay very close attention to the reason, because what he or she tells you actually presents you with an opportunity to persuade him or her to support the bill.]

    "I'm against the bill because I think it will cost too much money for policyholders, which is especially bad during this tough economy. I also think that you guys get enough already, especially since I'm told that you get paid for more hours than it actually takes to fix the cars. And, I believe that a free market will solve all problems. I don't mean to be blunt, but that's how I feel."

YOU: "Sir or ma'am, I don't have a problem with you being blunt with me at all. I'm glad you told me what you just did. Based on what you've said, my guess is that you've been speaking with people in the insurance industry, as those have been the messages they've been floating around as their main objections to the bill. Their real objection is that they hate having to pay for anything - kind of like taking a rattle out of a baby's hand. But, if you'll allow me to, I will be blunt with you also. First, this bill will cost nothing for the insurance companies, therefore they will have no justification to raise premiums. The collision industry agreed a few years ago to upgrade technology so that the insurers could save a lot of money on claims. Those savings are so big, that they amount to more money than this bill will cost them. Second, the "labor hour" issue is a myth. Quite simply, because the insurance companies have suppressed our rate at such a low level for so long, Massachusetts is the last state in which damaged vehicle panels, like hoods, doors, and fenders, are repaired rather than replaced. Insurance companies demand these repairs and a repaired panel takes 8-15 hours to perform, while a replaced panel takes 2-3 hours to install. You can do the math! We're nearly $10.00 below the national average labor rate, so an extra 10-12 hours on a repaired panel gives them a reduction of over $100.00 per panel. And, they get away with it because they can. What hurts most is that they actually use this flawed logic against us and then tell people like you only half of the story. The labor hours are higher in Massachusetts because the insurance companies make them higher for their own - let's say - less than honest advantage. It's a myth. As far as a free market is concerned, I think it's rather odd that insurance company employees would preach about free markets to men and women who put their names over their doors and their whole life savings at risk as collateral for bank loans on their businesses. We all understand free markets. Free markets are actually free when prices are negotiated, not set, capped, or suppressed by the payer. But, in our case in Massachusetts, the government stepped in and enforced a ‘cost containment' regulation in 1988 that essentially froze labor rates for over two decades. Our bill asks that the state now participate in undoing some of the damage that was done by neglecting to review that regulation, as required by law. By setting minimum amounts based on national labor rate averages indexed to the Massachusetts labor wage market, you can help us begin to restore a free market for labor rates. That's the least you can do if you are a believer in free markets."

LEGISLATOR: "Well, I must say that my bluntness was certainly equaled by yours. You've given me a lot to consider."

YOU: "Sir or ma'am, I would appreciate the opportunity to sit down with you in a personal meeting. I have more information that is probably best presented face-to-face. Is there a place, date and time that we can agree on to meet, perhaps somewhere here in your district?"

LEGISLATOR: "Yes, I would like to discuss this further with you."

YOU: [Set up the appointment, contact our office, and we will help you strategize for your meeting.]

Conclude the conversation in a friendly manner. As you can see, you can take an objection and turn it into a reason to explain the real truth about why the Labor Rate Bill needs to be passed. The Talking Points page and this page provide you with many of the answers.

When you finish making all of your phone calls, please print out a copy of the Tracking Worksheet, complete all of the information, and fax it to our office at (617) 484-0568.