In anticipation of a four-year battle to stop anti-worker legislation in Washington, D.C., the DC 37 PEOPLE program has announced its biggest membership drive ever this year.

PEOPLE, which stands for Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality, will work to increase its membership among DC 37 locals.

Elect pro-labor legislators
DC 37’s PEOPLE members contribute regularly to the political action fund through voluntary payroll deductions.

PEOPLE also plans to increase the funds it collects through contributions at union meetings and events. Its goal is to elect legislators with good records on working family issues and to pass laws that help working people, their communities and their unions.

DC 37’s program is part of AFSCME’s nationwide PEOPLE Committee, which has played a major role in federal politics.

“When I was first a local president and my main focus was on my members, I really did not care much about PEOPLE,” Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli said candidly at a recent membership meeting.

“Then came the day when we seemed to be on the losing side of legislation to privatize a wastewater treatment plant, which would have been harmful to the members and to the environment,” Tucciarelli said.

“All I could think was that if we had worked more with the legislators, we would not be in this predicament. From that day on, I became committed to PEOPLE,” he said. “Now as chairperson of the DC 37 PEOPLE committee, I tell members this story all the time.”

The membership drive will be in full gear throughout the coming months. PEOPLE volunteers will be stationed at strategic union events and locations to distribute information packets and to inform members about the crucial role PEOPLE plays in quality-of-life and job security issues.

The packet includes a membership card that authorizes a voluntary regular deduction from the member’s paycheck to be sent to the PEOPLE fund. The contribution can be canceled at any time.

“Now more than ever we need PEOPLE,” said Pascale Bernard, coordinator of the DC 37 PEOPLE Program.

Ms. Bernard explained that candidates who can support pro-worker legislation have been outspent by their opponents 10-to-1. “Without the financial support of PEOPLE and union members, our candidates and our issues often do not stand a chance.”

PEOPLE is power
Eliot Seide, DC 37 deputy administrator pointed out that DC 37’s growing numbers of volunteers on the streets and at the phone banks have been tremendously successful in recent elections.

“But political campaigns are very expensive,” Seide said.

“If we want to maximize the union’s po-litical power, we have to increase our contributions to the PEOPLE fund,” he said.