Capstone: Putting It All Together
Estimated time: 8–10 minutes
You’ve made it through the whole course. This last stop isn’t a test — there’s no score, no pass/fail, nothing to fail. It’s a chance to prove to yourself how much you now know about your own rights. Read each question, decide on your answer in your head, then click to check it. If one doesn’t land, that’s just a signal to revisit that lesson — no pressure.
Ready? Here’s everything you’ve learned, one question at a time.
💡 1. Two laws, two relationships. Which law governs your rights inside the union, and which governs your relationship with your employer? Decide, then click.
Inside the union — voting, speaking, running for office — your rights come from the LMRDA and our constitutions. Your relationship with your employer (bargaining, contracts, workplace disputes) runs on the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which is course REP100. Keeping these two apart is the single idea the whole course rests on.
💡 2. Someone says, “I’m just a dues-payer — the union is something I buy.” How would you correct them? Decide, then click.
You’re not a customer — you’re an owner. The union is a democratic organization the members run: we elect the officers, vote on the decisions, and set the direction. Every right in this course exists to protect your voice in that organization.
💡 3. You are a member. At a meeting, you strongly disagree with how leadership handled something, and you want to say so and get other members on your side. Are you within your rights? Decide, then click.
Yes. Free speech and assembly is one of your core rights under federal law — you can voice disagreement, make your case, and organize other members around a position. The only fair limits are about keeping meetings orderly, not about silencing views leadership dislikes.
💡 4. Can your dues be raised without the members getting a vote? Decide, then click.
No. Federal law requires a democratic process, and our constitution spells it out: a proposal is read at one meeting, held over to the next, announced with advance notice, and passed only by a secret-ballot majority of members in good standing. The Executive Board can propose an increase — it can’t impose one.
💡 5. What does “good standing” actually mean, and what happens if you fall three months behind on dues? Decide, then click.
Good standing simply means current on your dues. Fall three months behind and you’re automatically suspended — you lose good standing and the rights that come with it — until you pay a reinstatement fee plus back dues and your standing is restored. It’s reversible, and it’s not a disciplinary charge.
💡 6. True or false: voting for your leaders is the most you can do — ordinary members can’t actually hold office. Decide, then click.
False. With continuous good standing (our constitution sets the qualifying period at twelve months), you can be nominated for and hold office yourself, and serve as a delegate. Ownership means you can become the leadership, not just choose it.
💡 7. You want to know how the union spent its money last year, and to read your current contract. Do you have a right to that? Decide, then click.
Yes. You have a right to inspect the collective bargaining agreement, and to see the union’s finances — an annual CPA audit is made available for member review, the union files an annual financial report (the LM report) with the U.S. Department of Labor, and federal law backs your right to see the records behind it. It’s your dues; you have a right to know.
💡 8. You are a member facing an investigatory meeting with your employer. First: is this the same as the union bringing internal charges against you? And second: what’s your most important first move? Decide, then click.
No — it’s different. An employer investigating or disciplining you is a workplace matter under your contract; the union bringing internal charges is an internal union matter under our constitution and the OPEIU disciplinary procedure. Different rules, different rights. Your most important first move in either case: don’t go it alone — reach out for help early. For workplace discipline, contact a steward or leadership before the meeting; for internal charges, contact leadership (and consider legal counsel). If this is a real situation for you, treat this as background only and reach out about your specific facts.
💡 9. Is your contribution to the union’s political fund (VOTE) part of your required dues? Decide, then click.
No — it’s voluntary and separate. Contributing to VOTE is optional, not part of required dues. And more broadly, the law recognizes that members have choices about the non-representational portion of what they pay. Because that area is legally sensitive and specific to the RLA, the right move is to ask leadership about the current process rather than work from a general lesson.
🎉 You Did It — and Here’s What It Means
Cast your mind back to the very first thing this course asked you: have you ever voted, or spoken up, or run for something in your union — and if not, was it because you couldn’t, or because no one ever told you that you could?
Now you know. You know where your power comes from — the law and the documents we wrote for ourselves. You know your rights: to vote, to speak, to run, to a say before your dues change, to see how your money is spent, and to fair treatment if things ever get hard. And you know the difference between the situations you might face and who to call in each.
“I didn’t know I could” is off the table for you now. That’s the whole point. The union is stronger when its members know their rights and use them — and that now includes you.
Where to go next:
- Want to understand the law behind your contract with the employer? → REP100.
- Thinking about stepping up as a steward? → REP101 and beyond.
- Curious how the union’s finances actually work? → ST100.
Welcome to knowing your rights. Now go use them.
This course is general union-rights education, not legal advice, and it can’t decide any specific situation. For your own circumstances — especially anything involving discipline, an investigation, or a dispute — check with union leadership, and seek legal counsel where the stakes are serious.