Jim Rihel wears many different hats in his union. He is president and local political coordinator of Local 940, 3rd District Y.O.U.N.G coordinator, and chair of AFGE’s Y.O.U.N.G Committee. But in every position he holds, he is always looking for ways to boost our union’s Political Action Committee (PAC) dollars – funds that are used to elect political candidates who stand for federal employees regardless of party affiliation.
He believes that if every member contributes just $1 or more per pay period, our union can do so much more work for our members in terms of defeating anti-federal employee initiatives, such as this Administration’s union-busting executive orders, hostile pieces of legislation, budget cuts, and pay freezes.
At his local, much like his membership numbers, he believes that with hard work and a combined effort in the local, they can reach 50% or more in membership participation in PAC.
“When we focus on PAC-only events, we are successful,” he added. “Finding the time to focus on PAC every day is where we need to be.”
His dedication to our PAC program earned him AFGE’s Ed Klein Political Action Award this year.
Jim is excited to receive this kind of recognition. He thanks his mentor Joe Malizia, former Local 940 president and current vice president who has given him the opportunity and helped him learn. He thanks National Vice President for District 3 Phil Glover and former District 3 NVP Keith Hill for their support. He also thanks the entire AFGE staff for helping move our union forward.
“They help us do all the things that we need to do because we don’t have the time to do them, and I think AFGE in every department has the best staff in the country,” he said.
Jim has been an AFGE member for more than 12 years with seven years as a local officer. He’s proud to serve our veterans as a Rating Veterans Service Representative at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Please join us in congratulating him for winning this well-deserved award!
Contributions to AFGE-PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Your voluntary decision to contribute more, less or not to contribute at all will not result in any favor or disadvantage in your relationship with AFGE.
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