PEP, April 2007: PEOPLE says: Be an MVP

The 2008 presidential election is 18 months away and the field of candidates is too broad to call, but one thing is certain: The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has stepped up its fundraising and voter participation efforts for you.

AFSCME wants to win. And winning means making sure next year’s elections result in a better life for 1.5 million AFSCME members across the nation. PEOPLE, Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality, isAFSCME’s political action committee and one of the largest grassroots fundraising organizations in the nation.

Up for election in 2008 are the U.S. presidency, at least 33 U.S. Senate seats, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and numerous state and local offices. To ensure victory in ’08, AFSCME’s 21st Century Committee set these goals:

increase PEOPLE enrollment
enroll 25 percent of members in the MVP Club, and
raise at least $30 million in PEOPLE contributions.

“DC 37 has committed to working closely with AFSCME’s PEOPLE campaign,” said DC 37’s new PEOPLE Chair, Kevin Smith, who is president of Local 1655.

“AFSCME would like more members to step up and enroll as MVP contributors,” Smith said. An MVP contributes just $2 a week, or $100 a year to PEOPLE.

If 25 percent of the members took the simple step to become MVPs, AFSCME would meet its goal of raising $35 million in annual PEOPLE contributions. Currently, members contribute about $6.5 million a year. Members’ voluntary contributions help elect candidates in state and federal elections, and help AFSCME lobby to protect jobs, Social Security and other benefits labor has won for working families. PEOPLE contributions support politicians, regardless of party affiliation, who stand up for workers’ rights, and understand and side with public employees.

PEOPLE matters
DC 37 is bringing its PEOPLE campaign into the 21st century by adding 56 new volunteer local coordinators and using technology to speed up the PEOPLE checkoff enrollment process — reducing the three-month lag time for processing PEOPLE checkoff cards to less than a month.

“Raising members’ participation in PEOPLE with a video featuring DC 37 members, tapping our younger members, and having a coordinator from each of the 56 locals are our immediate goals,” Smith explained.

“With an on-site PEOPLE video, members will see familiar faces and identify more closely with PEOPLE’s message,” Smith said. “We know nothing happens without support from the locals and we look forward to working more closely with them to reach our goals.”

Smith would also focus on younger DC 37 members. “Our retirees know the issues and do a fantastic job, but we have to broaden young folks’ political involvement.

“We need members to appreciate that the candidates this union and AFSCME support are chosen because of their record on issues that affect our jobs and advance labor’s interests,” Smith said.

“PEOPLE participation counts us in, it amplifies our voice, it says we matter politically, and we determine the course of our government and our nation,” Smith said.

DC 37 members can give to PEOPLE through voluntary payroll deductions, and those already enrolled in PEOPLE can increase their contributions. Members who contribute $2.00 or more a week are automatically enrolled in the MVP Club; those who give $2.00 a pay period are automatically enrolled as a VIP and receive a jacket and pin. The minimum voluntary contribution is 50 cents per pay period. To enroll in PEOPLE, please call the DC 37 Political Action Dept. at 212-815-1550.

—Diane S. Williams