PROTECT WORKING FAMILIES: GET INVOLVED WITH CSEA POLITICAL ACTION

Why should public workers get involved in political action?

Western New York--  Simply put, CSEA members need to have their voices heard.  We are critical stakeholders in the political process and have an obligation to help create a better world.  Whether it’s a city, county, school district, town, village or state employer, CSEA members can increase our clout in our workplace and in our community by getting involved in the electoral process. 

Where else on earth but the public arena can workers choose our supervisors and managers?  By exercising our political muscle, we can shape and mold who controls our very own public budgets and our very own workplaces.  Political action is one powerful way for working people to strengthen their union and their communities.

Political action is also an opportunity for CSEA members to act together to influence decisions at the bargaining table and to influence elected officials who pass laws that affect our co-workers, families, neighbors and friends. It’s how we secure legislation that protects our jobs, pensions and how we can secure contracts that protect our salaries and health benefits. Political action is the means by which we elect officials who will represent our best interest.

Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality (P.E.O.P.L.E.) is CSEA / AFSCME's legislative / political action fundraising program. The PEOPLE committee is responsible for raising money to promote the interest of the membership on legislative issues.

How does the endorsement process work?

CSEA’s Statewide President makes endorsements for:

*All federal offices (U.S. President, U.S. Senate, House of Representatives)
*Statewide offices in NY (Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General)

The Statewide Poltical Action Committee (PAC) makes endorsements for:

*State Assembly and State Senate
* Region PAC does the interviews, and sends recommendations to the Statewide PAC

The Region PAC makes endorsements for all local races:

*County executive and county legislature
*Mayor and city council
*School boards/budgets/propositions
*Town/village supervisor and town/village board
*Unit/Local PAC does the interviews and sends recommendations to the Region PAC

Why do candidates seek our endorsement?

The CSEA endorsement is valued by candidates because of our union’s resources. The most valuable of these resources are the members themselves who volunteer through Political Action Committees. In addition, candidates know that we will contact our members with our endorsements and we will encourage our members to vote. We work in coalition with other unions, our international union AFSCME and our AFL-CIO brothers and sisters. Labor is the most valuable resource a campaign can have.

What are CSEA’s endorsements based on?

*Candidates voting records
*Questionnaires we ask them to fill out
*Personal interviews with our PAC committee
*PAC's meet to discuss candidates records, and to interview candidates. Through our questionnaires, we consider only issues of interest to the union but not limited to: workers rights, workplace safety and social justice issues.

Get Out The Vote
photo:  Ove Overmyer

How do we help labor’s candidates win?

It's important to note the distinction between first supporting issues that matter to working families rather than relying on the identity, political affiliation and character of the candidate in question. 

It's all about our issues-- it's not about the people in office. 

And with that in mind, we encourage our members to vote for pro-labor candidates through:

*Postcards and mailers
*Phone banks
*Labor walks and door-to-door

We also:

*Give monetary contributions to their campaigns
*Encourage our members to vote union through newspaper or media ads
*Invite candidates to meet our membership at union meetings

Want to get involved by interviewing candidates and campaigning for pro-labor electeds?

Contact Region 6 PAC Coordinator Courtney Brunelle at 716-691-6555 or by email.  You can also find CSEA Political Action on the web for updates on our activities throughout the summer and fall.  Check us out and bookmark our facebook and twitter accounts today!

CSEA Monroe County Local 828 PAC Co-Chairs for the 2011 election cycle are Cris Zaffuto and Ove Overmyer.  If you have any other questions about CSEA's political process, feel free to contact them at any time.