Why Dues?
In stewards’ classes and in new officer’ training, a question inevitably comes up: "How do I explain to members why we collect dues." Most union activists understand the need for dues because without them, no union would have the financial base to provide any services for its members. But that kind of answer is like preaching to choir.

For new members, who tend to sign lots of papers when they hire in, signing dues deduction cards is like signing a tax withholding form. They do it automatically. But when they get the first paycheck, they look at all the deductions and right up there with federal withholding taxes is union dues. So the union begins to look a lot like the IRS. That’s not the image or the reality of labor unions.

So let’s look at some ways of connecting the concept of dues to the benefits that members receive. First of all, in every industry where we represent working people, unionized workers earn better wages and work under better working conditions than those workers in non-union environments.

There is more. In 21 states, called "right-to-work" states, where state law severely limits workers’ rights to bargain contracts collectively, the average pay is 20 percent lower than in states where workers have the freedom to form strong unions.

The only financial obligations on employers in a non-unionized workplace are to pay the minimum wage, which at the federal level is $5.15 per hour (states sometime mandate higher rates) and pay overtime if any, at time and a half for all hours over 40 in one week. Beyond that, employers pay workers’ compensation, Social Security tax, and payroll taxes. That’s it. They are not obligated to pay health benefits, pensions, vacations, or severance pay.

Now many nonunion employers pay more than the minimum because they wouldn’t be able to attract workers by offering $5.15 an hour and nothing more. But there is no law that obligates them to continue offering better wages and benefits if, for instance, there is a downturn in the industry. So they could change a pension or fire a worker without answering to anyone. And we all know the result of discussions at "open door" meetings offered by employers to discuss changes in wages and working conditions. The bottom line is that the employee has no contract and no union to enforce the conditions of work. That situation is what the lawyers call "employment at will."

As our organizers have often said, no CEO would ever walk into an employment situation without a contract. And the only means for most of workers to get a contract is to form a union. Individual contracts are unheard of in our industries.

Now if a new hire comes up to you and asks, "Why should I sign a union card," your answer should not be, "You’ll lose your job if you don’t." That’s not what a union is all about.

Paying dues is an investment. It allows the union as a whole, both the local and the international to defend and protect the member. By pooling resources at the local level and the international level, the union can defend and protect all of its members. It’s like that old saying, "An effective union is a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts." But we all know that.

For most members, the most visible connection with paying dues and union activity comes either at contract time or when the contract is enforced.

So you can talk generally about what the union does – polices the contract daily, negotiates the conditions of employment regularly, insures that the conditions of work are safe, lobbies regulatory bodies and politicians, and provides special membership services such as training, insurance, and/or hosts social events. There is probably lots more going in your local. All of those services and activities should be illustrated in some formal way, such as a handout or pie chart given to the members at hire or in a packet. It could also be put on the local website. The chart gives a clear indication in what areas dues are spent.

Next, your stewards need to be trained to spend a little time doing the math. It’s like costing out your agreement. What you will do is show the member the dollar value of union dues. Here are the steps:

• Take the current hourly wage rate and multiply it by 2080 work hours per year.
• Consider all overtime worked with applicable rate and multiply by number of hours worked in year and add it to the total.
• Take any night/shift differential and multiply by hours worked in year and add it.
• Add the value of employers’ annual contribution to health insurance.
• Add employers’ annual contribution to any other insurance
• Add employers’ annual contribution to pension
• Add employers’ contribution to any other fringe benefit such as 401(k), travel pass,
• Add value of employers’ supply of work clothes, shoes, tools, uniform cleaning
• Add any other benefits such as tuition reimbursement.

This will give you the total annual income. You can subtract the minimum wage times 2080 to get the value over what the employer has to pay by law. And if you subtract the annual dues paid and compare it to the figure left, you should have a reasonable cash value of your union contract for the member compared to the cost of dues.

Note that these figures do not include all the time paid for not working such as vacation, holidays, personal days, sick days, and bereavement leave, It also does not include the non-economic parts of the agreement such as the grievance procedure that has intrinsic value.

Bottom line is that dues are a small investment for a big payback. So get out the calculators and do the math.

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