COPE FAQ
What is COPE?
COPE is the Committee on Political Education, and through it, SEIU 721 members have a powerful collective voice in the halls of power – from city hall to Washington D.C.
I already pay dues, why can’t you use them for COPE?
Member dues cannot be used for political campaigns, including electing our bosses or supporting worker friendly ballot initiatives.
Who decides where the COPE money goes?
The members (i.e. you) do. The members of SEIU 721 decide which candidates we endorse and COPE is a way for us to pool our resources together to support those candidates.
If I as a member can vote to endorse candidates that SEIU 721 backs with COPE, how do I vote on who we endorse?
SEIU 721 is holding town halls with candidates running in local races. As a COPE contributor, you can attend the town hall, hear from the candidates, vote for the ones you like and even ask them questions directly.
Is this just more “big money” in politics? How is this different from Elon Musk or another billionaire spending billions of dollars?
COPE is the opposite of “big money” in politics. It’s a way for us union members to pool our resources together to fight back against the billionaire 0.1%. They have money but we have the many and we have people power and a collective voice of over 100,000 members. COPE helps us fight back and ensure elected officials hear our voices, not billionaires like Elon Musk.
If COPE doesn’t go into things my dues do like negotiating a better contract for me or increasing services from my union, how will it impact me directly? How will it benefit me?
COPE allows us to elect officials who support our pro-worker values, and in the case of public employees, that means our own bosses. COPE gives us a strong voice when we negotiate contracts. COPE is more than a “dues payment”, it’s an investment in a fair contract.
I only care about national races, how does COPE spending money on City Council and Supervisor races help me?
City Council members and County Supervisors who employ SEIU 721 represented city and county workers get to decide if we have budget cuts and layoffs. COPE gives us more power to fight back against those to make sure we protect you from layoffs and recognize your essential work.
How does COPE connect to the LA County Contract?
With Measure G passing, Los Angeles County will elect four new Supervisors (nine total) and a LA County CEO in a few years. With more elected officials on the ballot, SEIU 721 needs more resources to ensure we elect Supervisors who support and respect essential county workers including social workers, nurses, and more. The County CEO has an outsized role (as we saw from this contract negotiation) in determining a contract that treats us with dignity and respect. With COPE, SEIU 721 can have a stronger voice in fighting for a County CEO who will respect us and thank us for the essential work we do improving and even saving lives of the 10 million LA County residents.
Can COPE help fight back against what is happening nationally?
Yes! Trump is attacking public employee unions federally and if they win, we may be next. That’s why we need COPE, to fight back against those attacks to protect our workers.