COPE, AFT 1493’s political education committee, supports local political candidates and Board of Trustees candidates
By Jessica Silver-Sharp and Rika Yonemura Fabian
Two elected officials, David Canepa for San Mateo County Clerk/Recorder/Assessor/ Chief Elections Officer and Noelia Corzo, San Mateo County Supervisor, have requested AFT 1493’s endorsement for their upcoming elections on June 2. On May 1 at 4pm, members of AFT1493 COPE (Committee for Political Education) are invited to a voting meeting on those endorsements. (The COPE constitution specifies that only COPE members present at a meeting called for this purpose may vote on endorsements).
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David Canepa for San Mateo County Clerk/Recorder/Assessor/ Chief Elections Officer
WANTED: Pro-faculty Trustee for Area 2
We are also looking for a candidate for a new Trustee in Area 2 (Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, South San Francisco) replacing Trustee Mike Guingona as he concludes his term. This gives our union a golden opportunity to bring in a pro-labor, pro-education board member who will listen carefully to faculty and take our working conditions seriously, and think for themselves rather than being manipulated by the District administration.
Given the year we’ve spent in bargaining, it’s pretty clear we need to make some improvements to our Board. The Board of Trustees is the highest governing body of SMCCCD. They give direction to the District bargaining team and approve recommendations from the Chancellor including Board Policies and Procedures. Having a pro-labor trustee will make a big difference.
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Please join COPE to elect pro-faculty Trustees
To back up a little for those of you who are not familiar with COPE, here’s how it works: AFT1493 members join at any level of contribution they choose –from $2/month up to $25 or more/month, currently. COPE dues are collected separately from regular union dues. The money is deducted from our paychecks monthly and deposited into a credit union account that belongs to AFT 1493 COPE. The COPE fund may only be used for the specific purpose of supporting political campaigns. Our union can only access funds from this account if COPE members vote to contribute a specific sum to support an electoral candidate, a measure, or a proposition.
The endorsement process works like this. Taking an endorsement of a SMCCCD Board of Trustees candidate as an example, once we’ve identified the candidate(s) we may want to elect to our board, we invite them to the COPE committee where members of COPE vet the candidate(s), and then recommend endorsement (or non-endorsement) to the AFT Executive Committee (EC). If the AFT EC endorses the candidate(s) based on the recommendation by COPE, the endorsement becomes official. If the COPE committee wants to contribute funds to a political campaign, this will require a separate vote.
Noelia Corzo, San Mateo County Supervisor
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Why should faculty support COPE financially?
Having a COPE fund gives our union the legal ability to support board candidates, measures, and propositions. If we vote to contribute funds to a candidate running for an electoral position, our COPE fund can help a candidate who does not have personal wealth to run their campaigns. It’s important to know that our union can’t legally spend any of our members’ dues on elections. Thus, AFT 1493 COPE was established as a separate organization with the express purpose of funding political activities, primarily candidates for the SMCCD Board of Trustees.
Over the past few years, our COPE membership has dwindled somewhat as we’ve been without a COPE Chair. We’re grateful to CSM Political Science faculty member Lee Miller who recently helped to jump start COPE.
If we vote to contribute funds to a candidate running for an electoral position, our COPE fund can help a candidate who does not have personal wealth to run their campaigns.
So if you haven’t joined COPE, it’s easy, quick and you can pick any level of contribution that suits your budget. Simply fill out our union membership form again and elect an amount to contribute under “Support the Union’s Committee on Political Education.”
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Looking for candidates for November’s Board Election
If you live in the county or have friends or family or colleagues who do, you can help us identify the right candidates for the open seat for Area 2 (Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, South San Francisco). The filing dates for candidates run from mid-July to the first week of August. That gives us a few short months to find the right person for the job. Improving our board strengthens our ability to help our faculty, so this is really about all of us.
And think about who you might know who would make a good member of the SMCCD board. A good board can make the difference between a protracted and ugly contract battle and a peaceful and collaborative process that ends up benefiting all faculty members. Email Chet Lexvold at lexvold@aft1493.org or Lee Miller at lee@LeeRyanMiller.com with your suggestions!