Committee on Political Education (COPE)

This is the most important election in recent memory.

This is our chance to launch a major labor offensive, our chance to expand working family representation in Congress and strengthen the voice of organized labor throughout New Jersey.
Our candidates are fighting for an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy. They are fighting to make healthcare more affordable and to ensure equal pay for equal work.

Every vote counts. There is strength in numbers, and when we vote and encourage our families to vote, we can make a difference. If you don’t stand up for what you believe in and elect candidates who will work for you, others will — and you may not like the outcome.

Labor Walks through the Central Labor Councils will be conducted when it is deemed safe for all officers, staff, volunteers, and members and their homes. All best health and safety procedures and social distancing practices will be adhered to at all times.

In 2020, Contactless Labor Walks will be used to conduct an express advocacy campaign to union households. These walks will be targeted literature drops, with no door knocking. These walks will educate swing voters who are very likely to vote on the issues and target persuadable union voters to support endorsed candidates.

Contactless Labor Walk volunteers will be dispatched exclusively with the miniVAN application on their personal phones. Through the use of this technology, the walks are efficient and measurable.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO has created a cutting-edge program called CODE-U (Committee on Digital Empowerment — Union) to provide coordinated messaging for affiliates to use on their social media networks. The concept is simple: We provide sample messages for use by affiliates, everyone follows a simple weekly schedule, and together we create a massive online political education echo chamber.

Here’s the schedule:
Monday — eMail
Tuesday — Text
Wednesday — Website content
Thursday — Tweet
Friday — Facebook

CODE-U Messaging on:

New Jersey Primary
Voter Registration
Census 2020
Vote by Mail
Labor Relations
Federal Judges
Labor Laws
NJ AFL-CIO Endorsed Candidates
Social Safety Net
On Main Street

Labor Candidate Requirements

Proposed by the Labor Candidates Sub-Committee on January 31, 2006 and approved unanimously by the New Jersey AFL-CIO Executive Board on Monday, June 12, 2006

The President and Secretary/Treasurer agreed to memorialize the Board’s action describing the standards which must be met by a union member in order to be considered a New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidate. The standards are as follows:

1. Union members seeking candidacy to elected office must notify and secure the support of their local union President/Business Manager

2. As soon as the local union is advised of a union member’s intention to seek election to public office, the local union President/Business Manager shall notify the local Central Labor Council(s) and the New Jersey State AFL-CIO about their candidacy.

3. After obtaining the support of the local union leadership, the union member seeking candidacy for elected office must be considered and reviewed by their local Central Labor Council and finally by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.

4. After a positive review by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, the union member seeking candidacy for elected office must attend and graduate from the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School. However, a union member who is the incumbent office holder and is seeking re-election to said office does not, if he or she so determines, have to attend and graduate from the Labor Candidates School. This personal investment by the union member demonstrates a commitment to represent New Jersey’s working families. Additionally, the union member must commit to work on WORKER/VOTER, member education, and Get-Out-The-Vote activities.

The Labor Candidates School and Non-Partisan Training Seminars are the cornerstones of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s political program. At the Labor Candidates School, which is held every summer, election experts instruct union members about fund-raising and election law, research, message development, public speaking, media relations, voter contact, volunteer recruitment, targeting and get-out-the-vote. Participants are awarded full scholarships by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.

Details about the Candidates School for 2020 are subject to the reopening of New Jersey as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

More than 150 Labor Candidates School graduates currently hold public office. These include U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, State Senate President Steve Sweeney, State Sen. Troy Singleton, and Assemblymen Joe Egan, Wayne DeAngelo, Eric Houghtaling, Thomas Giblin, Anthony Verrelli and Paul Moriarty.

As officeholders, our graduates have championed policies that reflect the priorities of New Jersey’s working families, such as paid family leave and raising the minimum wage.

Union members are Republicans and Democrats, that’s why we encourage and support union members to run through both major political parties. To learn more about the Labor Candidates Program or to enroll in the Labor Candidates School, please complete and submit the form below.

Take advantage of the many resources available to support your election campaign! When union members run, working families win!!!

No one can represent working families and their unions better than working people themselves. That’s why the New Jersey State AFL-CIO sponsors an ongoing program to recruit, train, mentor, and support union brothers and sisters running for elected office. Through the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School, union members gain the skills they need to succeed in the political arena.