Union Dues

For most members, union dues are 1.44% of your total gross compensation while employed in a bargaining unit" position.

Paying union dues allows you to be a “member in good standing,” which means you can participate in member votes, run for elected office, and determine where our money goes.

How do I pay dues? When you sign your union card, you check a box to authorize dues deductions from your paycheck. This means that Columbia deducts dues from your paycheck and sends them to us--you don’t have to do anything else! Some people make manual dues payments to the union, either because they are opting to pay the solidarity dues, or because Columbia is improperly failing to deduct dues from their paycheck.** Check out the full FAQ on our website for instructions on making a payment directly to SWC.

READ OUR UNION DUES FAQ HERE >>

WHERE DOES MY DUES MONEY GO?

Dues are split between the International Union–that is, the larger UAW organization–and the Local Union–that’s us.

38% of your dues stays with the Local. We use this money to fund things like basic operational expenses, like our Zoom and MailChimp subscriptions; to buy merch and fund social activities, like the orientation Happy Hour; and to pay for arbitrators when grievances reach the arbitration stage, which is one of the tools we use to enforce our contract. Eventually we may use dues to rent office space or hire staff. Decisions about how to spend our dues money are made by members at Workplace Council or General Body Meetings.

29.5% of your dues goes to the International. Like the Local, the International Union has operating costs. This money also helps to fund new organizing efforts: before we had a contract and started collecting dues, the International used its funds to support all of our day-to-day costs. Now that we have a contract, a portion of our dues goes to support new Locals.

30% of your dues goes to the International Strike and Defense Fund. UAW workers on strike receive $500/week from the strike fund. Strike payments make it possible for workers to stay on strike for as long as it takes to win a just contract–when we struck for 10 weeks in 2021, payments received from UAW allowed us to stay out on the picket line. The money we pay into the Strike Fund will do the same for other UAW workers, and we will be able to draw on it if we go on strike again in the future.

2.5% of your dues goes to the UAW Community Action Program (CAP). This is the political/legistlative arm of the UAW. It is a non-partisan program which works to educate UAW members on political issues affecting workers, to register members to vote, and to elect politicians who are friendly to labor.

When the Strike and Defense Fund is over $500 million, both the Local and the International receive a rebate on that portion of the dues--meaning that we effectively keep closer to 50% of the dues money we take in!

Some members also pay V-CAP (Voluntary CAP) dues. Like the name implies, these are voluntary payments which you may opt into. Federal law prohibits the use of union dues for campaign contributions, so the UAW funds its PAC (Political Action Committee) with V-CAP contributions. If you would like to contribute to V-CAP, sign to authorize V-CAP deductions on your union card and indicate how much you would like to contribute–$2.50 or $5.00 per paycheck are common amounts. You must be eligible to vote in U.S. elections to contribute to V-CAP.

ENSURING YOU’RE A “MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING”

Some student workers belong to our bargaining unit but are not “members in good standing” because their dues have not been processed. You should be a member in good standing if you signed a union card and authorized dues deduction. Once you’ve done that, you are a member in good standing if you fall under one of the following conditions:

  • You are currently employed in a bargaining unit position. In many PhD programs, especially in the Natural and Medical Sciences, students start the program “on appointment,” that is working in a bargaining unit position. When you have signed a union card and are “on appointment,” Columbia should automatically deduct dues from your paycheck, along with the initiation fee when relevant.

  • You are a first year PhD student in a program where students are not “on appointment” until Year 2. PhD programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences are generally “off appointment” their first year; their programs require them to begin working during their second year. We consider these workers to be in good standing once they sign a card, since their program requires them to begin working (and therefore having dues deducted) within a year. We encourage these workers to pay voluntary solidarity dues directly to us their first year–check out the FAQ on our website for instructions on how to make those payments.

  • If you do not fall into one of the first two categories, you must pay the $10 initiation fee directly to the union. We also encourage these workers to pay voluntary solidarity dues directly to us–check out the FAQ on our website for instructions on how to make those payments.

Not sure which of these categories applies to you? Reach out to a steward or organizer in your department, or ask the Financial Secretary (financialsecretary@studentworkersofcolumbia.com).

How can I tell if dues are being deducted from my paycheck? All of your paychecks are online! Go to my.columbia.edu→ Faculty and Staff→ People at Columbia (PAC)→ Payroll and Compensation→ Paychecks. If you are having dues deducted, you will see that listed at the bottom of your paycheck under “After Tax Deductions.” (Note that it takes some time for deductions to begin after you first sign your card).

**Note: Some workers in bargaining unit positions don’t have dues deducted from their paychecks. There are two main groups of workers this applies to: so-called “zero-salary” workers, who are funded via an external fellowship or training grant, and hourly workers. We have been fighting to have Columbia deduct dues from both of these categories of workers. In the case of “zero-salary” workers, we have come to an agreement with the University and we expect they will begin deducting dues from those workers in Spring 2025. In the case of hourly workers, we are still in the process of fighting the issue.

If you fall into this category, don’t worry! You are in good standing if you are employed in a bargaining unit position and have signed a card, even if Columbia is improperly neglecting to deduct dues from your paycheck. You may, however, opt to pay your dues directly to the union in the meantime--check out the FAQ on our website for more information. Talk to a steward or organizer in your department for help determining if this applies to you!

When not employed in a bargaining unit position, we encourage members to pay voluntary solidarity dues to support the work of the union. Solidarity dues are $5/month for PhD students within their guaranteed years of funding, and $2.50/month for everyone else. We encourage you to pay these by semester rather than monthly. The semesterly rates are:

  • Fall Semester: $20/$10

  • Spring Semester: $25/$12.50

  • Summer: $15/$7.50

There is also a one-time $10 initiation fee for every new member.