Prior to this, I recommend reading this NY Times Article:

Here’s Why You Should Call, Not Email, Your Legislators

In a congressional office, there are two distinct branches: the district and the legislative/D.C offices.

The district office (located in the congressional district) is where the caseworkers (Constituent Service Representatives), District Director, and Field Representative work.

The legislative office (located in Washington, D.C.) is where the Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, Scheduler, Legislative Assistants, Legislative Correspondents, Staff Assistants, and Interns work. The Representative himself/herself will go between these offices depending on whether there are votes or not.

The “hierarchy” is shown below in a diagram:

General Depiction of DC Office (Some positions not shown)

So when a constituent calls, the phone will generally reach the Staff Assistant or even the intern. Generally, in an office there are two or three interns and one staff assistant.

Here is the important part. As we move up the chain, the more responsibility and interaction with the Representative himself/herself the person will have. On the other hand, it is very very unlikely for the Chief of Staff or the Representative to answer the phone so we’ll cut those out.

The Legislative Director is the one you want to reach

So if a constituent were to call, an intern or staff assistant will log it in whatever system they use. The LC(legislative correspondent) will draft a letter and inform the LD (Legislative Director), CoS (Chief of Staff), and Representative. Usually the LD or CoS will sign off or edit the letter appropriately to reflect the Rep’s voice and opinion. They will then, ideally, log the letter and make a note that constituents are concerned with an issue.

This process seems rather appropriate but the problem occurs when a constituent calls about an issue which already has a designated letter. The constituent will simply receive the already created letter and their input will, ideally, be noted.

Now what happens when more than one call comes through? Well it will go to the next person who can answer it. With this logic, the proposed solution is evident. If enough people call at once, then someone has to reach the LD. We’ll call this phenomenon “Collective Calling” for convenience’s sake.

In newer offices which have fewer staff members, it may take around 5–6 simultaneous calls before the LD has to pick up. (This is all based on the assumption that each office actually cares about phone calls and does not just disregard them.) In a more veteran office, there may be 3–4 LAs (Legislative Assistants). So that makes the total of 3 interns, 1 Staff Assistant, 4 LAs, 1 LC equal 9 simultaneous calls before the LD is reached.

When constituents call, they generally are sporadic throughout the day. Usually peaks before work, during lunch, and in the mid afternoon. Be aware that most Congressional offices will set their phones to voicemail at 5 PM. The calls rarely reach the LD.

So if you, as a concerned constituent, want to reach out to your Representative please do so. But if you can organize with your friends, peers, and colleagues to call at the same time, that is even better. The goal is to reach the LD and inundate the office with coordinated calls to effectively reach the Representative.

As always, if there is anything I can correct or clarify, please reach me at my email: TrrncChng@gmail.com or leave a comment below. Thank you.

General Description of each Congressional Role:

http://cha-diversity.house.gov/position-descriptions.pdf