NYSUT has a fundraising arm called VOTE-COPE. VOTE-COPE stands for Voice of Teachers for Education (VOTE) and Committee on Political Education (COPE). NYSUT combined the two non-partisan political education campaigns in 1973. VOTE-COPE is NYSUT's political action fund that coordinates the voluntary contributions of members and supports NYSUT-endorsed candidates and campaign committees that are pro-public education and pro-union.
VOTE-COPE is about educating people. It is about protecting our professions, the institutions in which our members work, and the people and students our members serve. It allows teachers and public education to be represented with a political voice. As we receive educational funding and support (what little it has been) from the state and from the county, we must be present at the political table to demand more…and, like it or not, we must be at the table. VOTE-COPE puts us at the table and gives us that voice to demand more.
VOTE-COPE helps us raise our political voice for change. VOTE-COPE funds are put to work to lobby for pro-NYSUT member legislation, to elect candidates who understand the importance of public education and health care, who support the values of the organized labor movement, and to help pass school budgets. The single largest category of VOTE-COPE expenditures is in the form of rebates to local unions to be used in local activities such as school board races and for the passage of school budgets.
All VOTE-COPE activities are entirely funded through voluntary contributions from members, and do not come from NYSUT membership dues. The goal of VOTE-COPE is to protect our professions, the institutions in which our members work, and the people and students our members serve through grassroots lobbying…it is because of VOTE-COPE that you have a job!
Your support of VOTE-COPE is critical. The money invested by the forces supporting the anti-teacher, anti-education, anti-union rhetoric is massive, and in recent years, the attacks on teachers and public education have only increased. In these harsh times, our political voice is more important than ever, and the need for NYSUT to have the resources necessary to support our fight has never been greater. The SCTA urges you to contribute to VOTE-COPE. Remember you are not only helping to protect yourself and your job, but you are helping to protect the future of public education.
Contributing to VOTE-COPE is simple. Members looking to make a first time contribution can complete the donation card provided by your building representative (if you have not received it yet, please ask them for a donation card). Return the donation card to your building representative and they will take care of the rest- it’s that easy. If you are already contributing, please consider increasing your donation. Even increasing your donation by as a little as a $1.00 per check will have a huge impact, helping to make our political voice even louder!
We ask that members donate at the suggested level of at least $2.00 per paycheck. Members have the right not to contribute without any reprisal and will not be favored or disadvantaged because they have exercised that right. While payroll deduction is the preferred method, you may also make your contribution in one lump sum, with a check made payable to VOTE-COPE. Cash payments are not permitted and will not be accepted. Since our collective goal is to achieve 100% membership participation, your contribution is needed to help us meet this goal.