Questions&Answers about union dues

Questions and Answers about Dues
AFT-W Local 395, WITC May 2011

With all the changes that we and our union are now facing, we’ve received many questions from members about the future of the union. Some of these questions are about union dues. Your union dues are an important investment in the future of our union, and we take our stewardship role with dues money very seriously. It’s important that members understand how their dues are used and why they’re needed to help build our union.

How are our dues set?
Dues rates are set by members of the union. State and national dues are set by members at state and national conventions. Our local dues were set when we wrote our constitution. We set the local rate to allow us to have the resources needed for our local union in good times and in bad times.

How much are our dues?
Full dues are $23.00/twice-a-month ($46 month), and half-dues are $11.50/twice-a-month.

Where does our dues money go; what are our dues used for?
The basic idea of a union is about uniting people and resources to make us stronger. Dues are one of those resources. They help pay for everything we do, including negotiating contracts, representing employees in disputes, training members on how to be effective leaders and organizers, communicating with members about our work and educating members about workplace as well as legislative issues that are important to us and that affect our jobs and our pocketbooks. Our dues pay for the assistance we get from our AFT-W staff and for the research and training that AFT is able to provide.

Dues go to national AFT, to AFT-Wisconsin, to the local union, and also to the area AFL-CIO, the umbrella union organization.

The national part is about $16/month. We get all kinds of support from AFT National, including research, organizing and legal help, educational conferences, training programs and more. During the current struggle here in Wisconsin, National AFT has been supporting us more than ever, with additional staff and money to help us in the fight against Walker’s anti-public employee campaign.

AFT-Wisconsin gets about $23/month. This pays for field staff that work with our local unions to negotiate agreements and resolve workplace disputes and problems and build local union strength, communications, legislative work, as well as training and educational programs for members.

About $1/month goes to the area AFL-CIO, to support and help coordinate union activities and programs in our region of the state. These may be about legislative issues important to working families, or training and support programs for a variety of unions.

The balance stays in our local union treasury to support expenses related to sending our own members to training programs and conferences and pay for local expenses related to meetings, events, negotiations, arbitrations, etc.

Can dues be lowered, since we won’t be able to bargain under the new law?
There are plenty of things our union will be doing even if we lose many bargaining rights under the ridiculous new law. Read on to see what some of those things are. As for reducing dues, dues levels are set by union members at conventions, both at the state and national level. So, state and national dues levels could be changed at a future convention. But keep in mind, we’ll be using more national resources than ever before as we fight to win back our rights in Wisconsin. And AFT-Wisconsin, our state union, will be right in the middle of that fight, and at the same time working to protect our working conditions. Is this the time to be thinking of reduced dues? Our local union can and will look at our local level of dues, but again, we want to be sure we have the resources we need for the fight ahead.

Under the new law, we can’t really bargain. What will our dues be used for?
If and when that bill does become law, we can still meet, negotiate, and advocate on issues with administration. We intend to do that. And we intend to continue to educate and communicate with our members about workplace issues, and train members to be effective advocates at work without bargaining rights. We’ll continue to organize our members and mobilize them to action so our voices are heard at work.

Beyond that, our union is the best vehicle for making the political change needed to move forward from Walker’s power grab. Our plan is to build on the energy of the rallies and protests in our community, in Madison, and all around the state over the last several weeks. In the next few months, we’ll participate in several recall campaigns to win a Senate majority that will support collective bargaining and workers’ rights. We’ll continue to strengthen our coalition with other unions, organizations, and citizens who stand with us for our rights. And we’ll pursue a long-term campaign to reclaim real bargaining rights and protect the high quality, accessible technical education that Wisconsin is known for.

Are dues used for political contributions?
No. Union dues are never used as contributions to either political candidates or political parties. When our statewide union, AFT-Wisconsin, makes any contributions to candidates or parties, those contributions are made with money that has been voluntarily contributed by members in addition to their dues.

Some of our union dues are used for education on specific legislative and political issues. In the past, the union has used money to support increases in public services and funding for higher education, along with supporting legislation that promotes and protects bargaining rights for public employees. In the near future, our union will certainly be using some of our dues to educate our members about how we can win back our bargaining rights that have been taken away by Governor Walker, and how we can help pass legislation to restore adequate funding to our colleges and communities. This political work is important because we have learned that politics – and elections – do matter and do make a difference in our wages and benefits.

Who decides what our union’s political position will be?
The members of AFT-Wisconsin, through our Committee on Political Education (COPE), determine what the political positions of the union will be on statewide issues, and who, if anyone, AFT-Wisconsin will support in elections. COPE is open to all AFT-Wisconsin members, and includes a number of members from Tech Colleges. If you’re interested and want to join, please let us know.

For more information, please contact
Local 395 President Todd Larson at todd.larson395@gmail.com