by Steve Schessler
This past Fall semester, our union’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) supported our political allies and issues important to our work in education. Before the report and update, I’d like to offer a brief explanation of COPE and its function relative to CCFT.
Funding for COPE
CCFT does not fund any local political issues or candidates with member dues; members may elect to support COPE with a one-time donation or a payroll deduction starting with as little as $2 a pay period. All contributions to COPE are voluntary, and the support and expenditures of COPE are separate from the CCFT budget.
The Endorsement and Donation Process
For the past decade, we have taken endorsements from the CFT, the California Labor Federation and the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council. Any member of the union can recommend an endorsement; generally, our local endorsements are focused on Governing Board races. The COPE co-chairs – Sadie Reynolds and myself – discuss all potential endorsements or donations with the CCFT Council, and all expenditures are voted on by the Council. If you have any questions about the endorsement or financial support process, please contact me or Sadie.
COPE Activities
The purpose of COPE, as defined by CFT, is “to engage in political education, to facilitate member-to-member communications about political issues and elections, and to endorse political candidates and make contributions to candidate campaigns.” COPE’s largest contribution this past Fall was to the Tom Torlakson campaign for State Superintendent of Public Instruction; the race was close, and the stakes were high. Tom Torlakson won reelection against challenger Marshall Tuck. COPE also supported the Progressive Coalition, Santa Cruz, which operates get out the vote phone banks, distributes endorsement door hangers, and connects many of our Labor allies in Santa Cruz county. Other regional allies include Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee
The Committee distributed a letter and endorsement sheet for the 2014 elections, and donated to the campaign of Luis Alejo for the 30th California Assembly District; endorsements are made on the basis of candidates’ work for education, based on local information and material gathered statewide through CFT. In a related effort, members of the union ran a Voter Registration Drive on Upper and Lower campus during the week before the registration deadline.
COPE renewed its contribution to US Labor against War, the goal of which can be expressed by the following quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as noted on the USLAW website: “There is nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from reordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war.” The Committee also donated funds to the City College of San Francisco for their ongoing fight for survival. Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow recently handed down a tentative decision in favor or CCSF, and “the people (the City Attorney’s Office) will now draft a proposed judgment and injunction for review by ACCJC attorneys and provide it to Karnow. ACCJC will also submit comments on that proposed judgment” (Rodriquez, SFGate.com).
If you have any questions, please contact me (stschess@cabrillo.edu), Sadie (sareynol@cabrillo.edu), or Maya (ccft@ccftcabrillo.org).
