Where Your Dues Go
It’s a fair question every member should be able to answer: what am I actually paying for? Our constitution answers it directly.
📜 From Our Governing Documents
“The Local Union’s general fund shall be used to pay expenses incurred by this Local Union on behalf of its membership, primarily for organizing, defense, service, and contract administration …”
— Local 109 Constitution, Article XIII, Section 1 (Use of Funds)
💬 In plain terms: Your dues fund the work that makes collective power possible:
- Contract administration — negotiating and enforcing the agreement that sets your pay and conditions.
- Service — the day-to-day support of members, including grievance handling and representation.
- Defense — standing behind members and the union when it counts.
- Organizing — growing the union’s strength.
A portion of what you pay also goes upward — the Local sends per-capita payments and other obligations to the OPEIU International and to bodies like the AFL-CIO. That’s not overhead disappearing; it’s what connects our Local to a much larger movement and the resources that come with it.
Where to go for the numbers (not here): How dues and per-capita are actually calculated, tracked, and reported is the Secretary-Treasurer’s job — covered in course ST100. For the current dues amount and the union’s financial reports, use the live dues schedule and the financial records (your right to see them is in Lesson 3), not this course.
💡 Think first: What does your monthly dues money primarily pay for? Decide, then click.
The union’s core work on your behalf — primarily organizing, defense, service, and contract administration. In everyday terms: negotiating and enforcing your contract, backing members up, and keeping the union strong. A portion also goes up to the OPEIU International and the AFL-CIO, connecting our Local to a larger movement. It’s not a fee for a service — it’s your stake in collective power.