Why Political Action

THE DECISIONS that a legislative body makes, whether it is a school board, city council, county board, state legislature, or the U.S. Congress, affect AFSCME members and their families in dramatic ways.

Elected officials vote on budgets that affect employee wages, benefits, working conditions and pensions. They vote on issues of particular concern to AFSCME members, like privatization, and they vote on broader issues of concern to all working families, such as health care reform and workers' compensation.

That's why working people need to have allies among elected officials. And that's why working people need to work to elect these allies.

Unions can never hope to match the hundreds of millions of dollars big business pours into every election. But working people have superior numbers, so they can get out in the streets and work for candidates. And if members pool their cash, unions can help make sure that their endorsed candidates have enough funds to compete against business-backed opponents in the ever-more important media ad wars.

That's where PEOPLE comes in. AFSCME's political action committee allows members to make voluntary contributions into a fund that promotes the political program and helps elect candidates friendly to working families.

Through the political process we can be involved in setting important public policy. Through the political process public employees can elect representatives  who are sensitive to maintaining vital public services and committed to dealing with workers fairly. Click here to begin participating in our PEOPLE program.