Dear
Letter Carrier,
In recent months
there has been much talk about COLCPE. Many carriers do not fully
understand what this is or may have some misnomers about exactly COLCPE
does. The NALC has asked all carriers to consider a contribution to
COLCPE and as such, the Officers of Branch 43 would like to take a
minute of your time in an effort to clear up any questions you may have,
and ask for your support.
COLCPE
(pronounced "cole-sep") is an acronym for the
Committee
On
Letter
Carriers
Political
Education.
COLCPE
is a federally registered PAC (Political
Action
Committee)
established by the NALC in 1976. Since its inception COLCPE has donated
over $15 million to the campaigns of candidates for the House and Senate
who support the needs of letter carriers and their families. In 1998,
23 of 27 COLCPE Senate candidates were victorious in their elections as
were 248 of 266 House candidates. COLCPE-backed victors included
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) who defeated the incumbent Al D'Amato,
who letter carriers will remember for his about-face on Hatch Act
reform.
COLCPE is
non-partisan
and supports both Democrats and Republicans. In 2003 contributions were
almost equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. Parties at
local levels decide who to support based on meetings with the
candidates, the candidates views on Letter Carrier issues, the
candidates previous voting record on Letter Carrier issues, and the
opinions of Letter Carriers in each locality on their choice for a
particular office.
COLCPE
contributions are not tax deductible. They are however an investment in
your future. Some people do not like the idea of “Paying off
politicians”. Believe me, none of us do. Funding the campaigns of
political figures with your interests in mind is the way the system
works. Voting for those individuals is important, but they need money
to educate more voters than just you and me on why they should be
elected. With the advancement of advertising, running for office has
become a very expensive proposition. No matter how good, or moral a
candidate is, without money he or she cannot get elected. Candidates
know this and whether they are Republican or Democrat, they remember who
helped them to get elected.
One of the
strongest political actions groups around is the NRA. They obviously
donate their funds to ‘Pro-Gun’ candidates while the Moral Majority
donates to ‘Right to Life’ candidates. That's the way (in over
simplistic terms) the game is played. Why shouldn't we contribute to our
PAC so we can see some more labor friendly men and women elected?
Consider for a
second that UPS and our other competitors contribute millions of dollars
each year to candidates who will vote on legislation to limit the Postal
Services monopoly on mail delivery. These same candidates will also
support legislation to remove limits which are set to make them unable
to undercut the Postal Service on certain services. These laws protect
the Postal Service and our jobs. The Postal Service, as a government
organization, cannot contribute to political candidates. In short,
those politicians who oppose us are being funded by our employer’s
competitors and our employer’s hands are tied. It is up to us to save
this company, no one else can.
We are stronger
than you may think. If roughly a quarter-million active Letter Carriers
donate just $2 per pay period, we can raise close to 12 million dollars
in just one year. This would do a great deal to save the Postal Service
and our jobs. Historically, retirees are the largest contributors to
COLCPE, they worked for a different Postal Service and know all to well
the importance of having their voice heard. In 1970, before COLCPE, a
Letter Carrier earned about $3.50 hourly. To put that in perspective a
paycheck for 80 hours plus 30 hours overtime would net a Carrier about
$400. COLCPE and the NALC have been good to Letter Carriers while
asking little in return. Some of us have seen nothing but good times.
Ask a Retired Letter Carrier who went on strike (to get you the job you
enjoy today) if it was worth risking their job and their future by
walking off the job to fight for their rights. We owe them all a great
deal of respect. What we are asking for pales in comparison.
We ask only that
you donate just $2 per pay period to COLCPE. This can be done through
payroll deduction, just like the combined Federal Campaign which we are
all familiar with. NALC President William Young recently spoke at one
of our branch meetings. He made a promise to us there that if we
contribute he will get us level 7 pay on our next contract. Level 7 is
a lot more than $2 a pay period. Quite a bargain if you ask me. Step
by step instructions have been included which will help you to set up
your deduction over the phone using PostalEASE. If you have any
questions about this, we encourage you to call the branch office and
talk to one of your union officials. It’s time to start acting like a
union!
