PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Kristina Kohler
kristina.kohler@beaconfire.com
703-894-0090
Beaconfire Develops Political Site for Nation's Largest Public Service Employees Union
Falls Church, Va., September 24, 2004 —
Beaconfire Consulting has launched the first-ever members-only site for the
political arm of AFSCME — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees.
This new Web site enables the union to communicate directly and effectively
with its members while providing them with essential online tools and political
content in the months leading up to the 2004 elections. AFSCME members can log
on to the site to do the following:
- Access timely information about presidential candidates, key election races,
and related political content;
- Compare candidates' positions on a number of issues, including corporate
responsibility, outsourcing, health care, pensions, and the environment;
- View election and candidate information on races in local communities;
- Sign up for email alerts and get involved in advocacy campaigns; and
- Make voluntary donations.
In addition to disseminating critical information about political candidates
and issues that affect AFSCME members, the site increases opportunities for
members to support AFSCME's political action committee — Public Employees
Organizing to Promote Legislative Equality (PEOPLE)-with voluntary
contributions. The PEOPLE committee is the second largest AFL-CIO PAC and is
among the ten largest PACs nationwide.
"This is a good example of a members-based organization reaching out to its
constituents and providing them with a place to go to get the official line on
an issue and be able to take action and interact in specific ways," says
Beaconfire Project Manager Mark Leta. "This is a trend among unions — they are
moving toward better ways to push advocacy among members and also be able to
pull in donations for their PACs."
A new Java-based authentication system is one of many exclusive online
services that AFSCME is providing to its members. Access to this section of the
site is controlled by authentication and the system is integrated with an AFSCME
enterprise database.
About AFSCME
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),
AFL-CIO, is the nation's largest and fastest growing public service employees
union, with more than 1.4 million members. AFSCME organizes for social and
economic justice in the workplace and through political action and legislative
advocacy.
About Beaconfire
Beaconfire Consulting serves the nonprofit community with interactive markeing and fundraising, web design and development, internet strategy planning, and technology evaluation services. Beaconfire has guided some of the world's leading nonprofit organizations to achieve something remarkable with Web technologies. Results that shine..
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