One of the things not widely known unless you have been around for a while or have done some research, is knowing that union dues cannot be used for political campaigns. Everyone has seen political advertisements from AFSCME. How can political advertisements be paid for by AFSCME when none of our dues are used?  There is what is called a PAC (Political Action Committee) fund called PEOPLE.  Yes, another acronym (sorry!). PEOPLE stands for Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality. This is a separate, voluntary non-deductible contribution made separate from dues altogether. By in large, the PAC funds go to support worker-friendly candidates around the country. The importance of supporting collective bargaining in this state as well as others is certainly on the mind of the labor movement.

Our Local dues have not increased since January 2008 when we implemented progressive dues at a rate of 125% of hourly rate for membership. To figure out what your own dues would be use the following equation:

1.25 x Hourly Wage = Biweekly Dues Amount

Dues dollars we receive go to many things to help support your local! There are noon time lunch meetings, paying for mailings, paying for the Local audit, Zoom account fees, organizing and printed materials, convention expenses, grievances, rent on a storage locker, etc.

Please encourage your coworkers to become members if they are not already and encourage new staff to join the union. It’s as simple as contacting the Member Action Center at: 651-450-4990, and only takes a couple of minutes to sign-up. Higher membership numbers help us to negotiate better contracts and make our union stronger!

By Eric Mattson, Local 2829 Treasurer