Over the last 20 years, building a strong COPA fund has become a major priority for the APWU. With the support of tens of thousands of APWU members, COPA raised more than $2.5 million during the 2003-2004 election cycle, and nearly $2.6 million in 2005-2006. As a result, our voice on Capitol Hill—which in the past was just a whisper—can now be heard.

Thanks to the generous contributions of many members—and an even larger percentage of our retirees—legislators are now aware that the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, is a political force to be reckoned with.

Every APWU or Auxiliary member or retiree who contributes to COPA is vitally important—no matter the size of his or her contribution.

What COPA Does With Your Contributions

Every contribution is recorded in our computer system and deposited directly in COPA’s bank account. By law, COPA funds may not be co-mingled with other APWU funds. The Secretary-Treasurer’s Department is responsible for administering the COPA account, and employees in APWU’s accounting office make sure that individual and group contributors receive acknowledgements from President Burrus.

COPA committee members meet regularly to survey the political landscape and to determine the best possible use of COPA’s funds. We consult with headquarters staff and other APWU national, state and local officers about supporting incumbents and challengers. The COPA committee also consults the APWU Auxiliary, the Retirees Department, and retiree chapters to get their input.

Criteria for COPA’s Support

The COPA Committee uses many criteria to determine if, or how much, financial support will be given to candidates. Some criteria are:

For Incumbents:

• Does an incumbent candidate serve on a congressional committee that has legislative or budget authority on vital issues for APWU’s membership? (The key committees are: the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Government Reform Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as the committees on appropriations, budget, and rules in both chambers).
  
• Does an incumbent support APWU/labor goals? The COPA committee uses APWU voting records to determine an incumbent’s record on important issues.

For Challengers:

• Has the candidate responded to an APWU questionnaire in which we ask about their positions on issues that area important to APWU members? If so, how well did he or she answer?
  
• Is the candidate running for an “open seat,” or is he or she challenging an established incumbent?

For All Candidates—Incumbents and Challengers:

• Has the AFL-CIO endorsed a candidate?
  
  
• Is the race expected to be close or winnable? During election years, members of the COPA Committee meet regularly with representatives of other AFL-CIO unions to decide which races are expected to be close, winnable, and/or crucial to labor’s interests. Other factors we take into account include a candidate’s fundraising ability, partisan voting patterns in congressional districts, and polling results.

Locals Make it Happen

Members’ contributions to COPA continue to be strong, particularly in response to various proposals to cut postal pay and benefits that continually surface in the ongoing postal “reform” debate. We must constantly keep the COPA war chest full, even in non-election years, to help protect our jobs, wages, benefits and collective bargaining rights.

Across the country, locals have established COPA fundraising programs. Many have developed innovative and effective ways to raise COPA funds through special events, such as golf tournaments, dinners, 50-50 drawings and raffles. Many locals promote COPA in their local publications, and they often compete with other locals to see which local can top the other. What is your local doing?

On the state level, competitions at conventions have proven to be very successful. State organizations also request COPA funds in their publications. The fundraising efforts of each state have been charted in The American Postal Worker, our union’s national magazine, to assist them in monitoring their progress.

Thanks to Retirees and Auxilary Members

COPA’s most loyal contributors have always been APWU retirees, and that trend continues. Proportionally, retirees are our most frequent and regular contributors.

Nor can we cannot overlook the involvement of our APWU Auxiliary members in COPA fund-raising. In addition to running their own COPA campaigns, Auxiliary members continue to assist local and state fund-raising efforts.

Building a strong COPA fund is truly team effort.