What would YOU do with an extra $346 per month?
I asked that question of my friend Joe. He's a typical Union "fee-payer" who's been on the fence for a while about becoming a "dues" member. See, there is a difference:
I showed Joe this link to the CSUEU website:
http://www.calcsea.org/csu/membership/compare.asp
He had a few more questions about the fees, so I pointed him here:
http://www.calcsea.org/dues-fees.asp
Now, I don't like to make examples out of people, but I knew that Joe's take home pay was $2000 per month. Union dues (for members) and fees (for non-members) are based on your take home pay.
"Union" Members pay DUES = .01% of their gross monthly salary
"Fair Share" Members pay FEES = .0098% of their gross monthly salary
So, using Joe as an example, with his gross monthly salary of $2000, the difference between being a member and a non-member works out to be .40 cents...or less than $5/year.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Member dues = $20
Non-member = $19.60
Joe's impressed with my argument, but his mind quickly wanders back to my original question, and he asks me:
"Where do I get my extra $346 per month? Is this a Union kick-back or something?"
I answer: "No Joe. This is what you would earn if our current bargaining team can negotiate a 17.3% raise ACROSS THE BOARD for ALL CSUEU members."
I add enthusiastically: "$346 per month is what you personally would take home (17.3% * $2000).
I then go on to tell Joe that our bargaining team NEEDS US TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED. I explained to Joe that non-members may be paying their "fair share fees," but that the CSU Chancellor's Office doesn't count them when it comes time to negotiate with our Union.
Here's what the Chancellor's office sees:
Total CSU Employees = 14783. Members = 7020. Percentage = 47.48%
Joe touches his chin...tilts his head and asks: "Where do I sign up?"
"Easy" I say, 'Go here and fill out the online form."
http://www.calcsea.org/join.asp#form
I add: "If you'd rather NOT use the online form, any of the Unit Reps can get you a form that you can mail in, or you can download one from here:"
http://www.calcsea.org/pdf/forms/form1/form1-csu.pdf
Joe thanks me and heads off. In all, I spend about 10 minutes talking to him.
So now I ask you...
"What would you do with an extra $346 per month?"
-Tom
