COLLECTING COPE SIGNATURES - PEF Division 265 Council Leader Pat Lavin (L) shows member mobilizer Linda Hunter another completed COPE enrollment form at OASAS. — Photo by Deborah A. Miles

COPE enrollment soars at OASAS

By DEBORAH A. MILES
Union involvement is reaching a higher level among PEF members at the state Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). 

Last year, less than five members elected to participate in PEF’s Committee on Political Education (COPE). By the end of December, more than 56 percent of the members had signed-on.

“PEF builds political clout one member at a time, one COPE contributor at a time,” said Pat Lavin, PEF Division 265 council leader. 

“My goal was to speak with everyone on a personal level, and to get at least 50 percent of the staff enrolled in COPE,” Lavin said. “What made the difference this year is I made individual presentations. I explained why it’s important to build union power and to have a union voice. I stressed that it would be a strong bipartisan voice.”

“PEF can be a significant force when we combine and concentrate our resources on very specific political challenges and goals,” said PEF Vice President Ken Brynien, who heads the union’s COPE and political action programs.

“Under federal law, we can only use voluntary COPE contributions to support candidates for U.S. Senate, Congress or for president,” he said. “A strong COPE fund is an engine that drives the union’s prestige, clout and political presence wherever we look to promote our members’ interests.”

Lavin’s advice to other union leaders who are soliciting members for COPE is to first identify the activists in your division or agency. Find a mobilizer or Political Action Committee (PAC) member — people who are invested and believe in what they are doing. Organize these members into small groups and have them speak with other members on an individual basis, highlighting issues of importance such as uniting to stop the Bush administration’s overtime bill. 

“Union leaders should also seek input from a representative of PEF’s legislative department,” Lavin said. “He could speak on the importance of COPE and describe current issues that may further motivate more people to join.”

If you would like more information on how to encourage your members to join COPE, contact the PEF Mobilization Department at 1-800-342-4308 ext. 287 and request a training workshop.