Joe Sebes, Chairman of the Parma Southwest Area Committee of Political Education, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the organization and its fundraising efforts to highlight and support labor groups in Northeast Ohio.
Parma Southwest Area C.O.P.E. was created to educate communities on pro-labor political candidates. Originally, Sebes said there were three similar organizations that focused on helping the AFL-CIO find labor-friendly candidates, but now there is only one. He discussed how members of C.O.P.E. find and recommend labor-friendly candidates to the AFL-CIO for endorsement purposes.
Sebes followed his father’s footsteps into the labor movement and became a member of Teamsters Local 1164 at the Canada Dry Bottling Company. He later worked in an automotive plant in Parma, Ohio, as a member of the United Auto Workers Local 1005. After some trying times at the plant, he switched industries and served two apprenticeships with the Graphic Communication Workers of America, as he spent nearly 14 years with Emerson Printing in Cleveland.
On Sept. 21, the North Shore Federation of Labor and Parma Southwest Area C.O.P.E. will host its Fall Clambake from 1 to 5 p.m. at the St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church Pavillion in Parma. Sebes discussed the event and how proceeds will help support other labor agencies and pro-labor political candidates. The first clambake was held in 2008, and since then, has turned into an annual fundraiser for the Parma Southwest Area C.O.P.E. Now, it helps the organization support and highlight labor groups in Northeast Ohio.
Listen to the show above for more about the Parma Southwest Area C.O.P.E.