Union Dues Rising to Pay for Organizing

Abstract

A major theme in any organizing campaign is union dues. Employers commonly pose the following question to employees: “Do you want to vote for union dues, which may be automatically deducted from your paycheck under a union contract.” Union dues can be expensive. Depending on the union, they can exceed $1,000 per year. Union organizers generally counter the argument by assuring employees that those dues go toward representing them during grievances and the costs of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. Employees choosing to hire union negotiators to represent them at the bargaining table are likely to accept that argument. After all, negotiators are not going to work for free.