C.O.P.E. Committee
C.O.P.E. is the acronym for Committee on Political Education. Making contributions is your way as a member to assist your union in protecting your job and wages. These funds are used to support political campaigns and assist in electing candidates to office who will champion our causes as transit workers and the agenda of labor and working families. C.O.P.E. contributions are a critical factor in the success of this or any union.
Any monetary contribution from Local 308 that goes to a politician, his/her fund or any political party must come from a separate fund in accordance with Federal Law. C.O.P.E. money cannot be commingled with the general funds of the union. A separate account is setup, by the ATU International office. All contributions that are deducted from your check are directly forwarded to Washington, D.C. A portion of your contributions is used by the International to work on behalf of all ATU Locals on a federal (or national) level. Once Local 308 decides which politicians or political party is to be the recipient of any money, a request is placed to the International, by our Lobbyist and/or the President-Business Agent, and they forward a check in the name of the politician or his party back to the local.
Contributions can be made through payroll deduction. For your support and your generosity, the International will give you recognition by printing your name in their quarterly publication, IN TRANSIT and issue you a lapel pin. Your support is greatly needed and it is tax deductible. The task before the union and particular this local is a never-ending one. After all, it’s all about your jobs. For more information, call the union office 312-782-4665 and sign up today!
From the ATU International Political/Legislative: ATU COPE
The Voice of Transit Workers
As the largest transit worker political action committee (PAC) in the United States, the Amalgamated Transit Union Committee on Political Education (ATU-COPE) is the voice of transit workers at all levels of government. Since by law union dues cannot be used to fund political campaigns, voluntary contributions from ATU members* to ATU-COPE are used to help elect pro-labor, pro-transit candidates for local, state and federal office. Once the election is over, ATU-COPE works closely with the officials we helped elect to make sure that our members' interests are well-represented.
Right now, ATU-COPE is working on behalf of our members to:
- Pass legislation in Congress to provide record increases in transit funding;
- Promote initiatives on the state and local level to increase funding for transit systems and other important public services;
- Enhance security measures in America's transit, school bus and intercity bus systems and ensure that every frontline employee in these systems has received security-related training;
- Ensure that all vehicles used to transport school children meet federal school bus standards and are operated by qualified drivers;
- Preserve worker health and safety laws that protect transit, school bus and intercity bus employees on the job; and
- Fight efforts in Congress to make it easier to privatize transit workers' job rights and weaken their collective bargaining rights.
Recent ATU-COPE accomplishments include:
- Passed legislation making it a federal crime to assault a transit operator;
- Secured federal funding for security improvements in the transit and intercity bus industries;
- Defeated a ballot initiative in Washington State that would have drastically cut transit funding and put hundreds of ATU members out of work;
- Prevented efforts to privatize transit services in Maryland and Massachusetts; and
- Supported successful ballot initiatives to increase transit funding in Kansas City, California, and numerous other cities and states across the U.S.
- Federal law prohibits ATU-COPE from soliciting contributions from persons who are not members of the ATU. Any contributions received from non-members will be returned to the donor.
ATU International C.O.P.E. site
