Payback on your Union Dues

Labor unions, like working families, have basic needs for survival. These needs are met through a structure called union dues. Union dues are fees that union members give to the union to help their union have the basic necessities to represent the interest of the workers and their families that belong to the union.

 Union dues are decided on by the very members of the union. The International Union cannot decide on how much dues are paid by the members. This is one of the many benefits of belonging to a union. The members themselves decide on the amount of union dues that the members will pay, where the money will be spent, what the salaries will be for the officers of the union, and who the officers will be.

 Union dues are a small amount of money, paid each month. However, the benefits of job security, union negotiated wages, insurance, pensions, safety protections, seniority rights in a union contract, and the support and backing of a union to fight for your rights make this small amount of union dues well worth the money. In fact, where else can you get a payback like this?

 Union dues are used to provide many services, including:

 1.         Processing and handling of grievances, conducting collective bargaining- contract negotiations and implementation of a collective bargaining agreement with your employer, and coordinating the work of the local stewards and officers.

2.         Training and education of stewards, local officers and members.

3.         Assistance in dealing with health and safety problems on the job.

4.         Legal counsel to help win ironclad guarantees in your union contract and to represent you in legal matters that affect your rights and benefits.

5.         Research on topics like pay scales, contract language, job descriptions, arbitration cases, legal histories of similar cases, employer research, industry research, and labor laws, plus other research that directly benefits the workers and their families.

6.         International and Local Union publications to keep the membership and their families informed on issues that affect the union and the members and to inform the membership on what the International Union is doing to better the lives of their members and families.

7.         Salaries of secretaries, officers and staff, all of which are decided on by the members.

8.         Travel expenses for officers to represent the membership.

9.         Representation before Congress and state legislatures on legislation needed to protect the wages and jobs of the union member and their families.

10.         Insurance, mortgage, retirement and other programs that bring lower costs for services that union members and their families use each day.

These are a just few of the things that union dues are used for, all of which benefit the members of the union and their families. Union dues are decided on by the very members who pay them and are used for the benefit of the union and its members.

Union dues are well worth the money -- especially when you consider the payback of job security, better wages, better insurance coverage, pensions, job safety, worker rights on the job, a voice at work and security that each of these benefits can be negotiated into a union contract approved by the members of the union.

The Department of Labor reports that the average difference in wages and benefits between union and non-union workers is $6.69 per hour. An investment of a small amount of union dues each month is well worth the prospect of making an average of $6.69 per hour in wages and getting significant benefits, with job security and workers rights included!

Where else can you get a payback like this?