This past Saturday, NFFE National Vice President and President of Local 1 Patricia LaSala, held an immensely successful fundraiser for the Machinists Nonpartisan Political League (MNPL), the political arm of NFFE-IAM. Raising hundreds of dollars over the course of the daylong event, Local 1 members from the San Francisco VA Medical Center shared drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the backyard of Patricia LaSala’s Haight Street home.
“It was a big effort putting this event together,” said Patricia LaSala. “In the end it was absolutely worth it. Our members loved every minute of it.”
MNPL, the IAM’s political action committee (PAC), was organized over 60 years ago to promote favorable legislation by supporting the campaigns of worker-friendly elected officials. Since then, it has become one of the largest and most powerful PACs in the nation. According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data from the 2010 election cycle thus far, MNPL is the fourteenth-highest contributing PAC out of more than 4600 in America. Simply put, that means that our union has serious influence in Washington, D.C.
This is especially important for federal workers because the decisions made by elected officials here in Washington impact us more directly than others. Every year Congress makes decisions about whether to increase or decrease the size of government agencies. Congress also sets the annual pay increase for federal workers, makes decisions about changes to federal employee benefits, and makes choices about government privatization.
For federal workers, it is critical to have a powerful voice in these conversations. Supporting MNPL is the way for NFFE-IAM members to amplify that voice. As long as members continue to give, our union will continue to have a strong influence on important federal worker legislation.
“With elections coming up in November it is very important to get involved, and contributing to MNPL is our way of staying active,” said Patricia LaSala. “We’re working hard here in California to elect public officials who value the services federal workers provide their country every day, and MNPL is helping us do just that.”
To do your part to strengthen the political influence of your union, click here to contribute to MNPL. You will need your IAM Book Number to fill out the online form. You can get your IAM Book Number in moments by calling the NFFE National Office at (202) 216-4420, or you can email your request to mnplsupport@iamaw.org. With our collective strength we will accomplish great things.
(All contributions made to MNPL are made completely voluntarily. No dues dollars can be contributed to these funds. Do not attempt to donate on official time or from a government computer.)