COPE

 

As the largest transit worker political action committee (PAC) in the United States, the Amalgamated Transit Union Committee on Political Education (ATU-COPE) is the voice of transit workers, school bus employees and over-the-road bus workers at all levels of government.

Since by law union dues cannot be used to fund political campaigns, voluntary contributions from ATU members* to ATU-COPE are used to help elect pro-labor, pro-transit candidates for local, state and federal office. Once the election is over, ATU-COPE works closely with the officials we helped elect to make sure that our members’ interests are well-represented.

Right now ATU-COPE is working to:
Provide record increases in federal transit funding and expand the availability of federal and state operating assistance for transit systems.
Fight efforts to make it easier to privatize transit and school bus workers’ jobs and weaken their collective bargaining rights.
Enhance security measures in America’s transit, school bus and over-the-road bus systems.
Preserve and expand worker health and safety laws that protect transit, school bus and over-the-road bus employees on the job.
Defeat state and local initiatives that seek to limit the amount of funding available for school bus transportation.
Promote initiatives requiring transit labor representatives on state and local transportation boards and commissions.
Recent ATU-COPE Accomplishments

Preserved transit worker collective bargaining and job rights in the recently-passed federal highway and transit legislation.
Secured federal funding for maintenance training program for transit workers.
Supported successful ballot initiatives to increase transit funding in Seattle, California, Minnesota and numerous other cities and states across the U.S.
Defeated so-called "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" (or TABOR) initiatives that would have limited funding for crucial public services, including transit and school transportation, in multiple states.
*Federal law prohibits ATU-COPE from soliciting contributions from persons who are not members of the ATU. Any contributions received from non-members will be returned to the donor.