Please fill out the form below to become a full member of the TCNJ AFT Union Local 2364.
If you prefer to print and fill out a paper version of the card, please use the pdf below. Upon completion, please return the printed version of the card to your Department Representative or drop the card off at the local office in Bliss Hall Room 325.
By becoming a member you will receive an array of benefits provided by Union Plus.
If you would also like to donate to the Local’s COPE fund, please use the form below.
What COPE is
The Committee on Political Education (COPE) is the AFT’s political action arm. It covers the expenses of meeting with and educating legislators, and helps elect officeholders who respect our members, support education and work for union goals. With COPE, we work for laws and policies that further education and safeguard our rights; we back candidates who back us; and we support public officials who get things done for our members, parents and students.
WHY COPE?
Public education relies on public money to exist. Public money, usually in the form of taxes, is controlled by elected and appointed politicians. To influence decisions and the spending of public money for public education, public education faculty and professional staff participate in politics through their unions.
Legislative battles now going on in Trenton and Washington will determine key aspects of our work environment. Many of the improvements in our environment are not negotiated at the bargaining table, but instead, require legislation. In 2001-2002 we must convince legislators to support legislation that would give us an increase in the amount the State contributes to our pensions, provide health benefits for adjunct and part-time faculty and secure representation for public employees on the State Health Benefits Commission.
We must be able to lobby effectively if we are to succeed in getting the laws we need enacted. Having a friend in the Governor’s chair is helpful when it comes to negotiating our terms and conditions of employment. It’s impossible to succeed in lobbying without political action. The brilliance of rightness of our arguments rarely persuades politicians. They want to know what we can do for them (or perhaps for their opponents). Those are the hard facts of political life. COPE funds give us political clout.
HOW ARE COPE FUNDS COLLECTED?
COPE funds are collected through payroll deduction. While the Union contributes to fundraisers for specific candidates, payroll deduction is the only way to establish an adequate COPE fund. State law and our contract establish our right to a check-off for COPE.
WHO CAN SPEND COPE FUNDS?
Delegates from the Council’s governing body make the decisions about COPE spending. The Council’s Political Action Committee, which is composed of delegates from each local, recommends political endorsements and contributions to the Council’s governing body.