PEOPLE: Getting our Voice Heard
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
The state's labor movement is flexing its political muscle in the Take Back Minnesota version of AFSCME's Take Back America campaign. TBM is aimed at clearing the landscape of policy makers who don't support public services and working families during economic crises.
A major part of this state's effort consists of an intense recruitment drive by Council 14 to enroll its members in PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality), AFSCME's political action committee.
PEOPLE mobilizes activists who help elect pro-worker candidates in state and local races. Council 14 has been conducting a drive to achieve 10-percent member participation in PEOPLE "Check-off" — the process by which unionists sign cards authorizing their employer to regularly deduct a specific amount as a voluntary contribution.
Roger M. Siegal, the council's executive director, says leaders are going to their local unions and telling colleagues about the importance of the program. To get to the 10-percent benchmark, activists have left no stone unturned. They've attended such functions as town meetings, the council convention and a massive Lobby Day at the state capitol. Since November, 300 new contributors have signed on to support PEOPLE.
Siegal singles out for special praise Local 34 activists — Pres. Jean Diederich, Sec. Elizabeth Portlance and Nancy Fleming-Norton — who've been instrumental in the campaign. Not only are they out pounding the pavement, they also have earmarked parts of their wages for PEOPLE.
Fleming-Norton is giving 1 percent. To honor her local's designated number, Portlance increased her contribution to 3.4 percent. Says Diederich, who contributes $40 per pay period: "We need to be dedicated to putting our money where our mouth is for political action. There are way too many people out in the workforce who don't understand why they have holidays, 40-hour workweeks, overtime, Social Security and civil rights laws. So much out there is a direct result of active unionism. And politics is one way we have of getting our voice heard."
— Jimmie Turner
MVPs for PEOPLE, OAPSE Style
"People who need PEOPLE are the luckiest..." — you know the line in the Streisand song. But luck has nothing to do with the success achieved at the recent 63rd Annual Delegate Convention of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/AFSCME Local 4. Tapping into the political savvy and motivation of its members, the union was the first to launch AFSCME's "Most Valuable PEOPLE" (MVP) program. It was a resounding success!
PEOPLE is the union's political, legislative and fundraising arm. With the voluntary contributions members make to the program, our union helps elect public officials who support public services and the employees who provide them. Many OAPSE members understand the need for an extraordinary effort — especially now, with state and federal attacks on the public sector at an all-time high.
That's why AFSCME has established the MVP level for those who contribute at least $100 a year. In recognition of their special status, MVPs receive newly created green-and-blue jackets. At OAPSE's May convention, more than 200 delegates stepped up and became MVPs. To learn more about establishing an MVP program in your local or council, contact AFSCME PEOPLE at (202) 429-1021, or e-mail us.
