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"Fair Share": Building a Stronger
Union
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Questions and Answers
About "Fair Share"
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Prepared by the University Council-American Federation of
Teachers / February, 2000
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 What
is the new "fair share" law?
Senate Bill 645, which was enacted by the California state legislature
(and signed by the Governor) in the fall, requires that all employees
at the University of California and California State University
who are represented by a union start sharing the costs of this representation.
Before the law was passed, only employees who chose to become union
members financed the activities of these unions, although the unions
work on behalf of all their represented employees equally, and the
majority of employees represented by each union originally voted
to have a union in the first place.
Who does UC-AFT represent?
UC-AFT is the exclusive representative (bargaining agent) for all
employees in the Professional Librarian and Non-Senate Instructional
units at UC. If you aren't sure if you are in one of these units,
please ask your local union representative or contact your campus'
Human Resources department.
If I am already a member of UC-AFT, will I now pay a fee on
top of my dues?
No. Your representation fee is included in the dues you currently
pay.
If I am not a member of UC-AFT, how will this new law affect
me?
In the spring (probably May 1), the University will begin deducting
the UC-AFT representation fee from your paycheck every month and
forwarding it to the union. The amount of the fee will be the same
as if you were a member of the union: 1.096% of your gross monthly
salary, with a limit of $48.80. If only part of your salary comes
from your work as a Professional Librarian or Non-Senate Instructor,
then the fee will be deducted only from that part of your paycheck.
Why is the fee the same for non-members as for members? I have
heard that in some other unions non-members pay a lower fee.
Since UC-AFT's mission is to help all Professional Librarians and
Non-Senate Instructors gain more control over and improve their
working conditions, we see no reason to make the representation
fee different for members than for non-members. The difference between
being a member or non-member of UC-AFT lies not in what the union
does for you, but in what support you are willing to give your fellow
employees who are working hard on your behalf. However, non-members
will have the opportunity before payroll deduction begins to file
a legal challenge to the way we have decided to set the fair share
fee. More details will come in the mail later this winter.
UC-AFT will now have a lot more money than before. What will
the union do with it?
The new money will be used to make sure that we bargain the best
possible contracts for UC's Professional Librarians and Non-Senate
Instructors and that these contracts are enforced. Bargaining and
contract enforcement are very time-consuming and costly activities,
and the new fair share funds will allow us to do a much better job
than in the past, when almost all the work was done by volunteer
members on a shoestring budget. We will also hire new organizing
staff to keep academic employees informed about the union's activities,
attempt to involve them in the union's decision-making, and encourage
them to help the union make positive changes in their departments,
divisions and campuses.
I have heard I can give my representation fee to a charity
instead of to the union. How does this work?
According to the law, any represented employee who is a member of
a "bona fide religion, body, or sect that has historically
held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting
public employee organizations" is not required to financially
support UC-AFT. These employees will still have the fair share fee
deducted from their paychecks, and UC-AFT will then forward the
fee to one of three nonreligious, nonlabor charitable funds agreed
on between UC-AFT and the University. You will receive further information
from us about this option later in the winter.
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