PEP, September 2005: PEOPLE ranks and funds up

A drop in the bucket isn’t much until it is collected. Then it can become as powerful as Niagara Falls.

Likewise with PEOPLE, Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality, the political action committee of DC 37’s parent union, AFSCME. Each member gives a little, but collectively PEOPLE dollars help elect politicians who create life-changing policy and laws, like the Family Medical Leave Act, that affect all workers in America.

DC 37 celebrated adding 690 to its swelling ranks of contributors at a PEOPLE general membership meeting June 29.

“We had 24 bills passed by both houses because you lobbied in Albany and let legislators know we mean business,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “With calls from our phone banks, cards mailed to legislators, and our PEOPLE dollars, together we all made a difference. Our destiny lies with elected officials, so we have to make sure the right ones are in place. That’s what PEOPLE helps us do.”

DC 37 Political Director Wanda Williams and PEOPLE Chair “Sandy” Tucker, who is also president of Local 384, led 100 DC 37 members at the June meeting, which also celebrated the union’s 2005 legislative gains. An AFSCME PEOPLE video helped give a national perspective on the work members’ contributions accomplish.

“PEOPLE fights to protect pensions and prevent privatization of government jobs,” said Williams. “PEOPLE protects job security and Social Security. It lets us have our say for better pay and gives us the power to effect change.”

“Get involved, make a difference, make things happen with PEOPLE,” Tucker said.

The top prizes for enrolling PEOPLE contributors went to Maf Misbah Uddin, president of Local 1407 and DC 37 treasurer, Clarice Wilson of Local 983 and Karen F. Williams of Local 957.

“I have members in every agency,” said Uddin, who donated half the $300 top prize back to PEOPLE. “Everywhere I go I talk about politics, our bread and butter, and explain that when working people come together we have everything to gain and cannot lose.”

Wilson, the second prizewinner, is secretary of Local 983 and a PEOPLE coordinator. “I participate not to win but to make sure we get what we need from the politicians we elect,” she said. And one of the newest PEOPLE members, Karen Williams of Local 957, won $100as a new contributor to the PEOPLE program.

Dr. Kendall Stewart, a City Council member who represents Flatbush, Brooklyn, was the guest speaker. “It is not enough for leaders to say they care about working people,” he said. “Where does your representative stand on the living wage bill, immigration, or infant mortality? We contend with these issues in our communities. Democracy is not a spectator sport, you must participate.”

— Diane S. Williams