The PIRG/Sierra Club canvassing job

[Cascadian]

Last Friday, I accepted an activist job with Washington PIRG. Considering that I believe and support progressive causes, plus the fact NOBODY was hiring during Christmas/New Year's (The Dead Zone!), I was in the hole moneywise (I was entitled to be a Scrooge this year!). The job required me to roam through certain neighborhoods and do a scripted "rap" and get people to contribute money or join the Sierra Club. I lasted only 2 days!

Don't get me wrong. I believe in what these guys are doing and all of that but I suppose I just couldn't cut it. First of all, I am pretty introverted by natured, plus I have attention deficit disorder which makes doing this scripted "rap" a pain in the butt. It would take me 10 days to get the script down pat but that would be too long. I was stiff whenever I would recite it. Also, there is a quota that I have to get per night. I knew off the bat I would not get up to the quota they set. I also felt a little hassle from the coordinator as well which somewhat bothered me. I had to quit, plus I was getting sick from walking around in the rain, slush, and cold for 5 hours. All in all, I felt a strange vibe that I was not going to make it.

Should I feel bad? I mean I gave it my best and it was nothing personal against the people I was with. I promised that this year I am going to join the Sierra Club and I intend to do this. I think I would rather just contribute money or work behind the scenes as opposed to knocking on doors, speak a rap, and get the door slammed in my face.

Has anybody ever done this kind of job and can anybody relate?

Thanks in advance!



John

[Redneck Socialist]

1. Did it for a while

Very interesting way to earn your money. I learned a lot and have some crazy stories, but it definitely is not for everyone.

[jburton]

2. It's not for everyone

I was a canvass director summer of 2000, so I know.

There is a big turnover rate, it's just the nature of the job.

And that was without winter weather.

BTW, what's the minimum fundraising standard (quota) these days?

[Lindsey]

3. I TOTALLY relate to you!

I tried it with the perg people here in Southern Cal during the summer of 2002. I didn't renew my teaching contract with L.A. Unified School District and I didn't know what I wanted to do. So, I tried several things that summer. I only lasted two days too! It was a total drag for me. The final straw was when we took a bus from the Mid- Wilshire area to Venice Beach (over an hour by bus). I overheard a couple of the people I was with saying that the night before they ended too late and had to wait for someone to pick them up and it was midnight when they got back to the office and on and on. I then acted like I was sick (which I really was after hearing the conversation) and got on the bus to get back to the office and went home. I didn't enjoy going door to door asking people for money and I didn't enjoy having to memorize that script either.

[Cascadian]

10. The quota? $100.00 a night.

If you don't get that dough for a long period, they sack you. I knew I would not cut it so I just quit. I was also a little bothered by the "coordinator" who kept hassling me (on my second night BTW!) on why I didn't get a hundred bucks that night plus why I did not get that many people answering their doors. What the f--- was I suppose to do?

John

[ldoolin]

4. I lasted a whole week

...with PIRG. Hated it.

I've done door to door and phone canvassing for Democratic congressional candidates, and collecting signatures for ballot initiatives, and loved it.

What's the difference? Why did I hate working for PIRG and last only a week? I think the reason ultimately boils down to a moral issue.

Canvassing for candidates is done with the purpose of convincing voters to get out and vote for your candidate. We only went to the homes of people registered D, I, or third party, so the reception was friendly by and large, and most importantly we weren't there to ask for money. That was a good thing that I felt good about doing, and I'll be doing it again for the 2004 elections.

Canvassing for PIRG has one purpose only: To squeeze as much money out of people as possible. We went to every door, got mostly hostile receptions, and were required to go to the homes of people who were obviously rich and poor alike, retirees struggling on social security, college kids living on ramen, etc. The most odious part of the whole thing is the quota. If you don't make the quota, you don't get paid even minimum wage. How can a group call themselves progressive if they don't even adhere to the basic bare minimum labor standards?

The only people who were successful at canvassing for PIRG and stayed around as the long-term employees were those who obviously had high-pressure sales personalities, the sort of people who could just as easily have been used car salespeople or televangelists - or successful Amway distributors, or panhandlers. It was obvious right from the start that the long-term people weren't there because they believed in PIRG's causes, but because they found it lucrative. Those who were there because we actually believed in their causes as a rule didn't last long.

The long-term people were the ones who became the supervisors, and it was obvious that they were lacking in moral standards and were interested in money and not in the cause. At one point I was canvassing and one of them was following along to see why I wasn't making the quota, and each time I stopped at a place and didn't get any money, they asked why:

"They said they don't have any money." "You see that car in their driveway, it's a BMW. They're lying."

"Well, this lady says she is on social security and can't afford to give." "I don't care, your job is to get her money. Try using some angle to get her to give - you need to have a hook."

If I remember correctly, the supervisors got a bonus depending on how much money the canvassers collected over quota, so it was in their interest to use high pressure tactics on the canvassers to get us to squeeze more money out of people.

There's a moral issue involved here, and I now have a policy of never giving money to ANYONE who uses phone canvassing or door to door canvassing to ask for money. If they're calling or stopping by to talk with me about their candidate, I am friendly. If they are doing so to ask for money, they will get hung up on or the door slammed in their face, and I don't care how "liberal" the group is. There is nothing liberal or progressive about PIRG's canvassing program.

[Redneck Socialist]

6. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

I didn't work for pirg but I did work for an environmental group for a few years and I was a supervisor. For the most part the people I worked with were (and still are) some of the most committed activists I know. None of us were there because we found it "lucrative." Any half way decent waitperson would have made more money than we did.

My experience doing this is a very large part of why I am so active in politics now. Because of this work I was able to travel the country, work on several political campaigns and have an off and on again career as a political activist.

[chicaloca]

8. wow, that sucks

I'm sorry you had such a crappy experience. I did phone canvassing for four months for a progressive group, and I wasn't terribly good but usually made my quota, probably because the atmosphere was nice. Even if I didn't, I still got $9.50/hr, which was pretty good for an entry-level part-time job four years ago. I also got bonus pay (10%) if I got people to donate on their credit cards, because it took them less money to process credit cards than checks, and then we didn't have to worry that they might not send the check in. All of my bosses were really into progressive causes, and whenever new vegetarian places opened in our area, they gave us extra breaks so we could go patronize those places. :D But I'm just not a terribly social person, plus the pressure does get annoying, which was why I quit. I still believe in what they do, and I know that the higher-ups in the group don't get exorbitantly high salaries like some so-called non-profits. If you want, I can send their name to you in a PM.

[Cascadian]

13. I think I have learned a lesson from this.

I will not do canvassing, telemarketing, or any "strong-arm/high-pressure" sales job like that again. The only reason I took on this job was 1. I believed in activism and the causes and 2. I am unemployed, I needed a job, and around the holidays....NOBODY HIRES!!

We all learn something new everyday.

John

[Cascadian]

11. I have heard people have had some problems with PIRG.

I think a lot of factors that were involved in why it was an unpleasant experience for me. 1. It was after the holidays. Nobody has that much money to hand out. 2. Crappy weather. Who wants to spend 5 hours in the cold rain and slush??? 3. Some of the coordinators or whatever seem to like to put pressure on canvassers especially those who do not "perform". 4. They should have been upfront to me about how much I was really going to earn. I was told I would work 8 hours and earn that instead of 5 hours! That bugged me the most! 5. I just felt some uneasy vibes about some of the coordinators. I think some of them (Not all of them! Some were actually pretty cool!) had this "more progressive than thou" attitude which I did not appreciate. and 6. It seemed unorganized at times.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in progressive causes like these and I met some cool and interesting people while I was there but unfortunately, I could not stay.

Thanks to everybody for your understanding!

:-)

John

[Cascadian]

12. Man. That is messed up!

"Well, this lady says she is on social security and can't afford to give." "I don't care, your job is to get her money. Try using some angle to get her to give - you need to have a hook."

Why doesn't anybody do an expose on those guys? It is so wrong and a blight to the progressive cause as a whole.

John

[ldoolin]

17. Youthful idealism and reality

When I was told that from one of the supervisors, that was when I knew I wasn't going to be sticking around much longer. It was a big blow to my youthful idealism and I think it was the next day that I quit. It was a long time before I was able to look at some activists the way I had before - how many of those "activists" and petition gatherers were only in it for the money, vs. how many were doing it because of what they believe in? (That's also a reason why I'm strongly opposed to using paid signature gatherers for ballot initiatives; I'd like to see laws passed making the use of paid signature gatherers illegal in all 50 states.)

Fortunately I've gotten involved in volunteer work for Democratic congressional candidates since, and in collecting signatures for ballot initiatives (not for the money but because I believed in the issue), and have had much of my idealism restored knowing that many if not most activists are sincerely motivated.

[HuckleB]

5. It's not work that most of us can do, in my opinion.

I lasted three days back in the fall of 1992, with OSPIRG. I sucked.

[carols]

7. I made it for several weeks but I hated it

August in Florida and I am not getting any younger. I had left a technical job at a place that was basically a huge sweatshop - I had gone 6 months without a day off and was looking for a more socially-conscious job and a way out of corporate America. The last straw was when I actually got lost in a very well-to-do neighborhood and had to stop and ask passing cars for directions to the pickup location. A really kind soul offered me a ride back to the pickup spot as I was way off base and we talked for a long time about careers and she said that while she admired what I was trying to do, I really should think about what I was doing since I was clearly miserable canvassing. (For one, I hate asking people for money.) I quit the next day and now my activism is all on a voluntary basis and I stick with the kinds of work that are more suited to my more introverted personality :-)
If you like the types of projects PIRG does, consider volunteering for an environmental group or a consumer advocacy group and pick opportunities that are more in line with your talents.
As a previous poster said, canvassing is definitely not for everyone.
Carol

[Comadreja]

9. Oh Sure!

Did it for about 28 years, rain or shine. I worked for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in Brooklyn (aka Jehovah's Witnesses). Pay was lousy.

[Cascadian]

14. Check this article out!

Found this while internet surfing. Gave some interesting insight on this writers experience in canvassing with PIRG.


http://halogen.note.amherst.edu/~theindicator/oldsite/public_html/00sept21/text/kelley.html



John

[Room101]

15. chicaloca - I'm in the same boat now

The pressure is getting to me and everyone their knows it. I’m very knowledgeable and passionate about the issue but it is not coming across to people on the phone. I have no problem talking in front of multiple people or crowds but one on one canvassing rattles me for some reason.

[Cascadian]

16. It would not be so bad if it weren't for that damned script.

That rap we MUST use! I am sorry but I don't think it cuts it. That was another problem I had.


John