Employees working under collective bargaining agreements containing union security clauses are required as a condition of employment to pay monthly dues or fees to the union. This is their sole obligation to the union. Individuals who are members of IBEW Local 1245 pay monthly “union dues.” Nonmembers, or “agency fee payers,” meet their monthly obligation by the payment of an equivalent “agency fee.” Nonmembers have a legal right to file objections to funding expenditures that are not germane to the union’s representational duties.
Nonmembers who choose to file such objections should follow the procedures set forth below. When evaluating this decision, individuals should be aware that the union security clause contained in their collective bargaining agreement was negotiated and ratified by their fellow employees so that everyone who benefits from the collective bargaining process shares in its cost. The working conditions of all bargaining unit employees are improved immeasurably when the union secures higher wages, better health care and pensions, fairness in the disciplinary system, promotion and transfer of seniority rights, overtime pay, vacations, and many other improvements in conditions of employment at the bargaining table.
The agency fees paid by a fee payer who submits an objection will be reduced by an amount reflecting the portion of the overall expenditures of IBEW Local 1245 that are used for non-chargeable activities. Each fee payer who wishes to file an objection with Local 1245 must do so in writing, addressed to IBEW Local 1245 (Attn: Business Manager), Post Office Box 2547, Vacaville, California 95696. In registering their objections, objectors must state their name and address and that they pay fees to IBEW Local 1245, and provide their nonmember identification number, if known, and their social security number. Objections must be postmarked during the month of November preceding the calendar year for which the objection will be in effect, or during the first thirty days after the objector commences paying fees to IBEW Local 1245 as required by a collective bargaining agreement. Objections are effective for a single calendar year, and must be renewed annually during the month of November.