Meetings The DC COPE meets every 2nd Tuesday of the month (except for July and August) at IATSE Local 22 (1810 Hamlin St, NE, Washington, DC 20018). 6pm to 8pm
Montgomery County & Prince George's County COPE meeting meets every 2nd Thursday of every month (except for July and August) UFCW 400 8400 Corporate Dr #200, Landover, MD 20785 10am to 12noon
TriCounty COPE meets normally the last Tuesday of every month at American Legion 6330 Crain Hwy, La Plata, MD 20646 7pm to 9pm
Get Involved For more information about DC COPE, Maryland COPE in Charles, St. Mary's Calvert and Montgomery and Prince George's counties, contact David Dzidzienyo (info below).
Staff
David Dzidzienyo Director of Legislative/Political Affairs 202-320-9027 (office) [email protected]
Critical 24 hours ahead in East End hospital crisis
The District of Columbia Nurses Association (DCNA) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199 urge all concerned area supporters to: PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL MEMBERS OF THE DC COUNCIL AND THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR NOW TO SUPPORT WORKERS AND RESIDENTS IN WARDS 7 & 8 The next 24 hours are critical in the battle for a new East End hospital, workers and Howard University. A final vote by the DC City Council on the East End Hospital is scheduled for Tuesday, with two crucial amendments at stake, one ensuring that workers at the new hospital will be protected by a union contract, the other that Howard medical students and residents can continue to be trained there. Universal Health Services, the Mayor and Councilmember Gray have threatened to kill the East End Hospital if these two measures remain part of the legislation, but “We must continue the fight and make sure the DC Council does not abandon workers or Howard University,” says Metro Washington Council Political Director David Dzidzienyo. DCNA, SEIU 1199, other unions, community leaders and Howard University urge turnout at the DC City Council vote – 9:30a at the Wilson Building – as well as calls and letters to Council members to support all labor-proposed amendments.
SAMPLE LETTER (COPY AND PASTE; see below for email addresses and phone #s):
Re: East End Hospital Equity Act of 2018 I write you today in support of efforts by the District of Columbia Nurses Association, National Nurses United, 1199SEIU, the Metropolitan Labor Council, AFL-CIO and church and community leaders. I strongly request that you vote “NO” on the “East End Hospital Equity Act of 2018,” or “YES” with amendments ensuring continuation of quality union jobs at the new hospital and that the new hospital will provide comprehensive health care services.
As described by labor, church and community leaders at a press conference last Thursday morning, “here in DC, an oasis in a desert of corporate greed, our leaders must decide whether they will drain the water from our community and add to the swamp of corporate greed by allowing a documented anti-union corporation, Universal Health Services to add to its coffers without providing equal health care services to residents of Wards 7 and 8.” This bill will give UHS a monopoly on health care services that will threaten the very existence of Howard University Hospital. Services including care for cancer, cardiac issues, at risk pregnancies and many others may not be available in Southeast, but fed to the GW University Hospital campus. UHS, with no apparent disagreement from the Mayor, refuses to provide workers at United Medical Center with quality, union jobs at the new hospital that is replacing the services at UMC. Good quality union jobs are in jeopardy. Workers at UMC have endured multiple management configurations, bankruptcies, pay freezes and benefit cuts, yet they have stayed loyal to the residents of Southeast and their patients. To now be told by the very people that have mismanaged care at UMC that guaranties of job security and pay and benefits will no longer be honored is unacceptable.
(10/2/2018) Here's the complete and latest Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education 2018 General Election Endorsement List. It includes endorsements in the District of Columbia, Montgomery, Prince George's, Calvert, Charles and St Mary's counties. Please direct questions and comments to MWC Political Director David Dzidzienyo [email protected]
TOM DERNOGA (Prince George’s County District 001, top left) is an attorney, long time civic and environmental activist. He has represented numerous organizations and citizens in protecting the quality of life in their community. He's consistently fought for ethical, open and transparent government. Tom been endorsed by numerous progressive, environmental and labor organizations including the Prince George's County Educators' Association and the AFL-CIO.
SYDNEY HARRISON (Prince George’s County District 009, top middle): After being abandoned at birth, Sydney was adopted by the Harrison family, raised in southern Prince George’s County, attended public schools, and graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High. In 2014, Sydney was elected to serve as the Clerk of the Court, for Prince George’s County and the Democratic Central Committee. He successfully manages 208 employees and oversees $58 million in annual revenue. Under Sydney’s leadership, the Clerk’s Office successfully streamlined business operations, improved workflow and service delivery, as well as instituted his acclaimed “We Care Standard.”
BRIANNE K. NADEAU (District of Columbia City Council - Ward 1, top right) has been a DC Councilmember representing Ward 1 since 2015, and has distinguished herself as a leader on affordable housing, education, and supporting working families. She grew up in a union family, with organizers in both of the generations that came before her. She lives in Park View with her husband Jayson, and daughter Zoe, and is proud to be a working mom, serving others.
EDITH J. PATTERSON (MD House of Delegates D28, row 2, left): Throughout my years of public service, I have been a proven Democratic leader who has remained committed to serving as the voice and advocacy for working families and creating opportunities for a better quality of life. During my four - year tenure representing District 28 in the House of Delegates, I’ve been hard at work putting Maryland Families First, voting to increase the State’s Minimum Wage for thousands of working families; to provide 700,000 hardworking Marylanders with Paid Sick Leave; supported legislation to reduce health care and prescription costs to ensure working families have health care access. With your help, I will continue to be your Strong Voice in the House of Delegates for District 28 Families.
SAMIR PAUL (MD House of Delegates, D16) is a public school teacher. The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Montgomery County and studied computer science at Harvard. After working on the 2012 Obama campaign in rural Wisconsin and spending two years serving government clients at IBM, Samir returned in 2014 to teach computer science in the very same MCPS classroom where he was once a high-school student; he was named Montgomery County's Rising Star Teacher of the year in 2016.
SUSIE PROCTOR (MD State Delegate, row 2, middle): I believe in strong leadership to create better working conditions from wages to contracts, from advocacy to empowerment. AFL-CIO unions provide these benefits for workers and I provide leadership at the state level to support unions. I will always support working people and the organizations that support them. Vote for those who support your work!
ELISSA SILVERMAN has focused her career on making the District of Columbia government accountable, responsive, and accessible to residents. In 2014, she was elected to an at-large seat on the D.C. Council, where she serves as chair of the Council’s Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. During her first term, Elissa co-authored a groundbreaking family leave bill, now law, which gives D.C. workers the time necessary to take care of themselves and their family members without fear of financial repercussions. She also authored a bill that strengthened the District’s unemployment insurance program. A major focus of Elissa’s legislative agenda has been making sure that the District remains affordable to all, delivering $20 million in additional money to repair D.C.’s public housing and more tools to keep landlords accountable to tenants and combat displacement. She has been a champion of putting at least $100 million into affordable housing production every year.
JOSHUA THOMAS (Prince George’s County District 002, row 2, right): I’m a native Prince Georgian and alumnus of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD. Why am I running? I’m a former middle school teacher, and I remember the challenges of teaching in an underfunded school system in which I had no way of expressing my concerns to those who were elected to represent me. I want to amplify the voices of teachers, families, and students because I understand their struggles in education from firsthand experience. I fully believe that educators can make the best decisions for public education, and I pledge to act in the best interest of working families in every tough decision I face as a board member for Prince George's County Public Schools.
2018 Questionnaire: download here
CLICK HERE to download the 2018 Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO Prince George's/Montgomery County Primary Election Questionnaire. Questions? Email David Dzidzienyo at ddzidzienyo@dclabor.org
