CAPE Council Duties
Citizen Action for Political Education (CAPE) Council
Overview of CAPE Council Duties
CAPE Council Members (delegates) are responsible for helping to lead the political program of our Union. This includes:
- Communicating about politics among your co-workers;
- Fundraising for CAPE among your co-workers;
- Leading in the candidate interview and endorsement process;
- Participating in lobby days, phone banks, and canvasses; and
- Recruiting co-workers to lobby days, phone banks, and canvasses.
For our Union to have an effective political program, we need to significantly increase member engagement. CAPE leaders have a unique perspective on the impact of politics on our members’ lives that we need to share.
Our union has a very active political program that includes:
- Direct lobbying in the capitol on issues ranging from improving public services to affordable health care to economic fairness and workers’ rights;
- Grassroots lobbying at legislative town halls and through phone calls and letters;
- Member education and training on the political process;
- Recruiting elected officials for political support on organizing drives, bargaining, and worksite challenges;
- Active support for and against candidates for public office; and
- SEIU Local 503 works on local, state, and federal issues.
We need CAPE Council members who will be engaged in as many of these activities as possible.
The CAPE Council makes recommendations to the 503 Board of Directors on endorsements in local and statewide candidate elections. The CAPE Council and its Executive Committee make spending decisions of CAPE funds on candidate contributions.
The current term of office is November 1, 2023, through October 31, 2025. The next term of office is November 1, 2025, through October 31, 2027.
The CAPE Council is staffed by Mike Powers. If you have questions about serving on the Council or our union’s political program, contact Mike at powersm@seiu503.org