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Defending Dues:
The Bottom Line

There are a few things you can pretty much count on in this life: The sun will rise, the weather will change, you'll be older tomorrow than you are today...and a lot of union members will complain about having to pay dues.

There's nothing you can do about the sun, the weather or getting older, but at least you can do something about the dues beefs. This article will tell you how.

For starters, workers in a lot of union settings, long used to decent pay and benefits, may well have to be reminded of a couple of basics about what the law requires of their employers. Under federal law in the United States, an employer of hourly workers is only required to pay the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, and pay overtime--if any--at time and one-half for all hours worked over 40 hours in one week.

That, plus the requirement to provide workers compensation, Social Security and payroll taxes is the limit of the employer's financial obligation to his workforce. The law doesn't require any health benefits, any pensions, any severance pay, any vacations. When it comes to workers' needs, the government is strictly hands off.

So the next time you hear a gripe about dues, help the complaining worker understand the true value of his or her contribution to helping the union run. Get them to take two minutes to do the math themselves, using the accompanying form, to determine the value of the wages and benefits negotiated by the union.

The Dollar Value of Union Dues

Current hourly wage $_________, minus $5.15/hour, =___________ multiplied by 2080 work hours a year, equals..................................................................................	$______________
Daily overtime (over 8) or double time ("x" number worked in year)................................................................................	$______________
Evening/night differentials ("x" hours worked in a year)..........	$______________
Health insurance (employer's annual contribution)..................	$______________
Other insurance, such as dental, life, etc. (employer's annual contribution..........................................................................	$______________
Pension (employer's annual contribution)..............................	$______________
Employer contribution to other fringes (401K, etc.)...............	$______________
Working conditions (work clothes, safety equipment, etc.)....	$______________
Other benefits (tuition, travel, etc.)........................................	$______________
TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME.............................................	$______________
Subtract your annual union dues (which are tax-deductible!)..	$______________
Bottom line: The annual cash value of your union contract is......................	$______________
PLUS: Don't forget you contract guarantees you will be paid for vacations, holidays, personal and/or sick days, maybe jury duty and bereavement leave. These are days you're paid for not working.

Look at Wage Increases

Another powerful way to evaluate the value of your contract is to compare your guaranteed wage increases to an increase in union dues.

It's best to do this with the situation in your own workplace but for this example We'll use the situation for the tens of thousands of Communications Workers of America members at Verizon, the big phone company.

For a Cable Splicing Technician (Locality Wage Group B), the rate in the 2000-2003 contract was $1,030 a week, or $25.45 an hour, or $4,462.48 a month. For workers earning this rate, dues amount to $57.26 a month. Effective August 4, 2002 this classification rate increased to $1.081.50 a week, or $27.04 an hour, or $4,685.60 a month. New union dues meanwhile, will amount to $60.84 a month. So, bottom line: Workers whose dues increased by $3.58 a month received monthly wage increases of $223.12.

How about it? Would you pay $3.58 to make $223.12? If your answer's not "yes" you better have your head checked.

The numbers will be different in your situation, but the lesson to be learned will be the same. Dues are a small investment with big returns. Next time someone stars complaining about union dues, make sure they understand how their dues investment pay off, big time, in every paycheck.

--Bill Barry. The writer is a director of labor studies for the Community College of Baltimore (MD) County

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