Article 16

Initiation Fees and Dues

    4.       Section 1. (a) The initiation fee, no part of
    5.   which shall be considered as a Local Union fine,
    6.   shall not be less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more
    7.   than fifty dollars ($50.00) for membership in a
    8.   Local Union of the Internatioanl Union. Five dol-
    9.   lars ($5.00) of such an initiation fee shall be set
  10.   aside in a new member orientation fund, to be ex-
  11.   pended with the approval of the Regional Direc-
  12.   tor.

  13.       (b) A Local Union may increase its initiation
  14.   fee, within limitations set forth in paragraph
  15.   (a) of this Section, in accordance with the proce-
  16.   dures of Article 47, Section 1.

  17.       (c) Men and women returning from service in
  18.   the Armed Forces of the United States shall be ex-
  19.   empt from payment of an initiation fee upon pre-
  20.   sentation of military discharge papers to the Local
  21.   Union Financial Secretary within one (1) year of
  22.   the date of their discharge.

  23.       (d) One Dollar ($1.00) of each initiation fee be
  24.   forwarded to the International Secretary-Treasurer.

  25.       Section 2. All dues are payable during the cur-
  26.   rent month to the Financial Secretary of the Local
  27.   Union. Minimum Union dues shall be a sum
  28.   equivalent to two (2) hours straight time pay per
  29.   month. For those members paid by the hour, day,
  30.   week or month, the dues shall be based on the
  31.   amount earned per straight time hour in the last
  32.   payroll period worked before the dues are payable,
  33.   including cost-of-living allowance and any other
  34.   amounts normally considered as part of regular pay,
  35.   but excluding shift premium. For those whose earn-
  36.   ings vary, straight time earnings for the purpose of
  37.   dues computation shall be based on the average
  38.   earned per hour in the last month the member
  39.   worked, including incentive earnings, cost-of-liv-
  40.   ing allowance, clock hour add-ons and any other
  41.   amounts normally considered as part of the regu-
  42.   lar pay, but excluding shift premium, uvertime pre-

Page 45

  1. mium, Saturday, Sunday and holiday premiums.

  2.     Dues income shall be distributed so that the
  3. Local Union shall receive thirty-eight (38) percent,
  4. the International Strike Insurance Fund shall
  5. receive thirty (30) percent, the General Adminis-
  6. trative Fund of the International Union shall re-
  7. ceive thirty-two (32) percent.

  8.     Nothing in this Article shall prevent any Local
  9. Union or unit of an Amalgamated Local Union
  10. from establishing, in accordance with the provi-
  11. sions of Article 47, dues in a greater amount than
  12. provided for in this Article; and any Local Union
  13. or unit, which at the time when minimum monthly
  14. membership dues are increased pursuant to the pro-
  15. visions of this Article, has dues in a greater amount
  16. than the minimum monthly membership dues pre-
  17. existing, the change shall automatically increase
  18. its dues by the amount of the change without the
  19. necessity of any additional Local Union or unit
  20. membership action and such Local Union dues
  21. shall continue until the Local Union's or unit's
  22. membership, pursuant to the provisions of Article
  23. 47, changes the Local union's or unit's dues struc-
  24. ture.

  25.     All dues established by this Article shall be
  26. uniformly required of all its members by each Lo-
  27. cal Union or unit of an Amalgamated Local Union
  28. except as specific exoneration or special arrange-
  29. ment, may be granted pursuant to Section 11 of
  30. Article 13, or Section 28 of this Article.

  31.     Section 3. (a) Where required by the necessi-
  32. ties of collective bargaining, a Local Union, or an
  33. Intra-Corporation Council and its affiliates, may,
  34. with International Executive Board authorization,
  35. double their Monthly dues in each of not more than
  36. four (4) months preceding the terminal date of the
  37. old contract, or following the ratification of a new
  38. agreement.

  39.     (b) Each Local Union which is authorized to
  40. double its monthly dues shall be required to place
  41. half of such dues in trust for each month collected,
  42. until it has been determined by the International
  43. Executive Board whether such additional dues shall
  44. be applied to future dues, or refunded to each mem-
  45. ber.

  46.     Section 4. The International Union shall pro-
  47. vide uniform monthly dues buttons, at not more
  48. than cost, of a different color for each month. It

Page 46

  1. shall be mandatory for Local Unions using dues
  2. buttons to use only those buttons provided by the
  3. International Union, which shall be supplied by the
  4. International Secretary-Treasurer to the Financial
  5. Secretaries of the Local Unions upon request. Lo-
  6. cal Unions covered by Union Shops or check-off
  7. agreements may, upon approval of the International
  8. Executive Board, use anannula membership but-
  9. ton, membership card or other suitable identifica-
  10. tion of membership in lieu of monthly dues but-
  11. tons.

  12.     Section 5. Upon acceptance of the application,
  13. membership shall date from the first day of the
  14. month for which dues are paid or dues check-off is
  15. authorized.

  16.     Section 6. The Local Union shall set aside five
  17. cents (.05) of each month's dues payment as a Citi-
  18. zenship and Legislative Fund to be used for the
  19. purpose of strengthening democracy by encourag-
  20. ing members, and citizens generally, to register and
  21. vote in community, state, and national elections and
  22. to carry on organizational and educational pro-
  23. grams directed toward the achievement of an even
  24. higher understanding of citizenship responsibility
  25. and the need for active participation in the affairs
  26. of a free and democratic society. Local Unions are
  27. obligated to carry out such programs in conjunc-
  28. tion with city, county and state (CAP) councils.
  29. Three cents (.03) of each month's dues payment
  30. must be laid aside by the Local Union as a special
  31. fund to be used for educational or recreation-
  32. leisure time activities as outlined in Article 27 of
  33. this Constitution, provided that two cents (.02) shall
  34. be apportioned to education and one cent (.01) ap-
  35. portioned to recreation-leisure time activities. One
  36. cent (.01) of each month's dues payment must be
  37. set aside by the Local Union as a Retired Mem-
  38. bers Fund to be used only to promote and support
  39. programs benefiting retired members. Local
  40. Unions are obligated to carry out this policy in con-
  41. junction with community groups, where commu-
  42. nity groups exist, for the purpose of promoting and
  43. supporting programs benefiting retired members
  44. and other retired workers.

  45.     Section 7. (a) Any member shall have the right
  46. to object to the expenditure of a portion of her/his
  47. dues money for activities or causes primarily po-
  48. litical in nature. The approximate proportion of
  49. dues spent for such political purposes shall be de-

Page 47

  1. termined by a committee of the International Ex-
  2. ecutive Board, which shall be appointed by the
  3. President, subject to the approval od said Board.
  4. The member may perfect her/his objection by in-
  5. dividually notifying the International Secretary-
  6. Treasurer of the objection by registered or certi-
  7. fied mail; provided, however, that such objection
  8. shall be timely only during the first fourteen (14)
  9. days of Union membership and during the four-
  10. teen (14) days following each anniversary of Union
  11. membership. An objection may be continued from
  12. year-to-year by individual notifications given dur-
  13. ing each annual fourteen (14) day period.

  14.     (b) If an objecting member is dissatisfied with
  15. the approximate proportional allocation made by
  16. the committee of the International Executive Board
  17. or the disposition of her/his objection by the Inter-
  18. national Secretary-Treasurer, s/he may appeal di-
  19. rectly to the full International Executive Board and
  20. the decision of the International Executive Board
  21. shall be appealable to the Public Review Board or
  22. the Convention Appeals Committee at the option
  23. of said member.

  24.     Section 8. Any member who has not paid her/
  25. his dues during the calendar month in which they
  26. are due shall automatically become delinquent ex-
  27. cept as otherwise provided in this Article. In order
  28. to regain good standing membership, s/he must
  29. fully reinstate her/himself in Accordance with Sec-
  30. tion 9 of this Article.

  31.     Section 9. The reinstatement fee established by
  32. a Local Union shall not be less than the regular
  33. initiation fee dharged by the Local Union, plus the
  34. dues for each month of delinquency in dues up to
  35. either the date of automatic suspension ot the date
  36. of reinstatement, as the Local Union in its discre-
  37. tion may determine, plus the current month's dues.
  38. Such reinstatement fee shall be uniformly applied
  39. to all delinquent members of the Local Union. In-
  40. dividuals suspended as a result of their failure to
  41. pay dues while employed in a workplace under the
  42. jurisdiction of another Local Union shall be dealt
  43. with in conformity with Article 17, Section 3.

  44.     Section 10. Local Unions may notify members
  45. of their delinquency. However, failur of the Lo-
  46. cal Union to notify the member of delinquency shall
  47. not exonerate such a member from automatic sus-
  48. pension except as provided in section 26 of this
  49. Article.

Page 48

  1.     Section 11. (a) Each Local Union from each
  2. member's dues must remit to the International Sec-
  3. retary-Treasurer a monthly per-capita tax of thirty-
  4. two percent (32%) plus thirty percent (30%) to
  5. the International Union Strike Insurance Fund.
  6. Each Local Union shall retain thirty-eight percent
  7. (38%) from each member's dues. One dollar
  8. ($1.00) of each reinstatement fee shall be forwarded
  9. to the International Secretary-Treasurer.

  10.     (b) The International Union will, on a monthly
  11. basis, rebate to each Local Union ten percent (10%)
  12. of each member's dues from the International
  13. Strike Insurance Fund. The International Union
  14. Operating Fund will receive an additional five per-
  15. cent (5%) of each member's dues from the Inter-
  16. national Strike Fund for the same pe-
  17. riod.

  18.     (c) The rebate in Subsection (b) above will re-
  19. main in effect, providing the International Strike
  20. Insurance Fund net worth is in excess of $550 mil-
  21. lion.

  22.     (d) Any time the International Strike Insurance
  23. Fund's net worth falls below $500 million, the re-
  24. bate in Subsection (b) will stop until the Interna-
  25. tional Strike Insurance Fund net worth reaches
  26. $550 million. Once the International Strike Insur-
  27. ance Fund is in excess of $550 million, the rebate
  28. in Subsection (b) will again resume.

  29.     (e) Local Unions must be in compliance with
  30. Article 16, Sections 16 and 24 of the International
  31. Constitution to receive rebates.

  32.     Section 12. When a member has been sus-
  33. pended for non-payment of dues and the Financial
  34. Secretary or other officers of the Local Union ac-
  35. cept such payment thereafter, acceptance of her/
  36. his dues shall not operate to exonerate or reinstate
  37. the member or to waive the provisions of the Con-
  38. stitution relative to forfeiture and reinstatement of
  39. members.

  40.     Section 13. The provisions of Section 8 of this
  41. Article shall not apply to a member who has en-
  42. tered the military service of the United Nations who
  43. shall be entitled to an honorable military service
  44. membership and whose membership in continu-
  45. ous good standing in the Local Union shall not be
  46. broken by such service, provided s/he reports to
  47. the Local Union at the time of entering such ser-
  48. vice or thereafter furnishes the necessary proof of

Page 49

  1. military service. S/He shall become subject to the
  2. provisions of this Section at the end of such mili-
  3. tary service.

  4.     Section 14. The International Union shall set
  5. aside all sums remitted by Local Unions as Union
  6. Strike Insurance Fund dues and the funds result-
  7. ing shall be a special fund to be known as the In-
  8. ternational Strike Insurance Fund, to be drawn upon
  9. exclusively for the purposes of (1) aiding Local
  10. Unions engaged in authorized strikes and in cases
  11. of lock-outs, and (2) assisting by donations or loans
  12. other International Unions and non-affiliated Lo-
  13. cal Unions similarly engaged, and (3) meeting fi-
  14. nancial obligations or expenditures which this In-
  15. ternational Union or its affiliated Local Unions
  16. incur as a result of authorized strikes or in cases of
  17. lockouts, and then only by two-thirds (2/3) vote of
  18. the International Executive Board. An amount, not
  19. in excess of seventy-five percent (75%) of the in-
  20. terest and dividends received by the International
  21. Strike Insurance Fund, may be set aside as the Or-
  22. ganizational, Education and Communication Fund
  23. to be expended as authorized by the International
  24. Executive Board for such purposes. On June 15,
  25. 1995, the International Executive Board shall make
  26. a one-time transfer of fifty million dollars ($50
  27. million) from the International Strike Insurance
  28. Fund to the General Fund of the International
  29. Union.

  30.     From the remainder of each member's monthly
  31. per capita tax, the International Union shall set
  32. aside:

  33.       1.   Five cents (.05) which shall be expended
  34.             only for publication of "Solidarity," the
  35.             official publication of the International
  36.             Union or of any successor official publi-
  37.             cation
  38.       2.   One cent (.01) to the Civil rights Fund to
  39.             be expended only for the support and pro-
  40.             motion of the programs and activities of
  41.             the International Union in support of fair
  42.             employment practices and in opposition
  43.             to all discriminatory practices in employ-
  44.             ment.
  45.       3.   Three cents (.03) as the International
  46.             Union Education Fund to be expended
  47.             only for the programs and activities of the
  48.             International Union Education Depart-
  49.             ment.

Page 50

  1.       4.  One cent (.01) as the International Union
  2.             Recreation Fund which fund shall be ap-
  3.             portioned to each region on a per capita
  4.             basis.
  5.       5.   Five cents (.05) as the Special Citizen-
  6.             ship Fund to be used for the purpose of
  7.             strengthening democracy by encourag-
  8.             ing members and citizens generally to
  9.             register and vote in community, state and
  10.             national elections and to carry on organi-
  11.             zational and educational programs di-
  12.             rected toward the achievement of an ever
  13.             higher understanding of citizenship re-
  14.             sponsibility and the need for active par-
  15.             ticipation in the affairs of a free and demo-
  16.             cratic society.
  17.       6.   One cent (.01) for the International Union
  18.             Retired Workers Fund, which one cent
  19.             (.01) shall be used only to promote and
  20.             support programs benefiting retired mem-
  21.             bers including such programs of the In-
  22.             ternational Union relating to retired mem-
  23.             bers as may be adopted from time to time,
  24.             and to finance the operation of the Inter-
  25.             national Retired Workers Depart-
  26.             ment.

  27.     Section 15. At least once each month the Inter-
  28. national Secretary-Treasurer shall advise all Local
  29. Unions of the exact Strike Fund balance.

  30.     Section 16. All per capita taxes and all other
  31. monies collected for the International Union shall
  32. be transmitted to the International Secretary-Trea-
  33. surer by the twentieth of each month following
  34. collection. All such par capita taxes and other mon-
  35. ies are strictly the property of the International
  36. Union and in no case shall any part thereof be used
  37. by Local Unions, except upon permission of the
  38. International Executive Board.

  39.     Section 17. The International Secretary-Trea-
  40. surer will issue the official receipt of the Office of
  41. Secretary-Treasurer for all monies collected.

  42.     Section 18. Any member who has not worked
  43. forty (40) hours by reason of not having been
  44. scheduled to work forty (40) hours, or received
  45. benefits in lieu of work equivalent to forty (40)
  46. hours' pay within any calendar month, shall be
  47. entitled to exemption of payment of regular
  48. monthly dues.

Page 51

  1.     Benefits in lieu of work shall include the fol-
  2. lowing: Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (or)
  3. any equivalent type of layoff benefit), vacation pay,
  4. holiday pay, jury duty pay, bereavement pay, and
  5. paid absence allowance, but shall not include the
  6. following: pension benefits, sick and accident ben-
  7. efits, and Workers' Compensation. Effective Janu-
  8. ary 1, 1982, if a member receives Supplemental
  9. Unemployment Benefits (or any equivalent type
  10. layoff benefit) equal to or greater than fifty per-
  11. cent (50%) of her/his gross pay for a forty (40)
  12. hour week, less statutory deductions, within any
  13. calendar month, then the member's dues shall be
  14. one (1) hour straight time pay per month.

  15.     A member who has been laid off, is on leave of
  16. absence, or is discharged from regular employment
  17. who is covered by check-off provisions under
  18. which management notifies the Local Union of
  19. members who are on leave of absence, laid off,
  20. rehired, or discharged, shall automatically be con-
  21. sidered as antitled to "out-of-work" credits, unless
  22. s/he has recieved benefits in lieu of work, equiva-
  23. lent to forty (40) hours' pay as provided in the sec-
  24. ond paragraph of this Section. Any member in or-
  25. der to be entitled to "out-of-work" credits shall
  26. report her/his layoff, leave of absence, or discharge,
  27. in person or otherwise, to the Financial Secretary
  28. of her/his Local Union within one month of the
  29. date such action became effective. Any discharged
  30. member or any member who is covered by check-
  31. off as set forth above shall report immediately to
  32. the Financial Secretary of her/his Local Union any
  33. other employment s/he may obtain during the pe-
  34. riod of the layoff, leave of absence, or discharge.
  35. Any member not covered by the check-off shall re-
  36. port to the Financial Secretary of her/his Local
  37. Union the termination of the layoff, leave of ab-
  38. sence, discharge, or any other employment s/he
  39. may obtain during the period of the layoff, leave
  40. of absence, or discharge.

  41.     Any member who is entitled to "out-of-work"
  42. credits pursuant to this Section and Section 2 of
  43. Article 17 shall be exempted from dues payment
  44. for the period of her/his entitlement.

  45.     Section 19. Any member who is entitled to "out-
  46. of-work" credits under Section 18 of this Article
  47. and who does not secure an honorable withdrawal
  48. transfer card, shall be presumed to continue to be
  49. entitled to "out-of-work" credits and thus remains

Page 52

  1. in continuous good standing without the necessity
  2. of paying dues for the first six (6) months of such
  3. layoff or leave unless the member has had employ-
  4. ment during this period which would necessitate
  5. her/his paying dues under the first paragraph of
  6. Section 18 of this Article or taking an honorable
  7. withdrawal transfer card under Article 17, Section
  8. 2. Unless any such member shall, during the last
  9. ten (10) days of such six (6) month period, certify
  10. in writing to the Local Union Financial Secretary,
  11. in person or by registered or certified letter, that
  12. s/he continues to be eligible for good standing
  13. membership without payment of dues pursuant to
  14. Section 18 of this Article and Article 17, Section
  15. 2, the member shall automatically be noted on the
  16. Local Union's records as having been issued an
  17. honorable withdrawal transfer card at the conclu-
  18. sion of said six (6) month period. If a member does
  19. certify as provided herein during the last ten (10)
  20. days of the six (6) month period, s/he shall con-
  21. tinue to be eligible for "out-of-work" credits for
  22. each additional month if during the last ten (10)
  23. days of such month s/he similarly certifies. Such a
  24. member shall automatically be noted on the Local
  25. Union's records as having been issued an honor-
  26. able withdrawal transfer card on the first day of
  27. such a month in which the member fails to certify
  28. as provided herein.

  29.     Section 20. Any member becoming out of work
  30. because of illness or injury shall be exempt from
  31. the above section. Such member shall be auto-
  32. matically exonerated from the payment of dues and
  33. shall be issued "out-of-work" credits provided good
  34. and sufficient proof is submitted to substantiate ill-
  35. ness or injury. The above shall not apply to those
  36. employees who recieve salaries equivalent to forty
  37. (40) hours' pay within any calendar month.

  38.     Section 21. Any member who has paid dues by
  39. check-off for any month for which the member is
  40. exempted from payment of dues under Sections
  41. 18, 19 or 20 of this Article shall be entitled to a
  42. refund of such dues if s/he claims the same in per-
  43. son or in writing from the Financial Secretary of
  44. the Local Union within two (2) months following
  45. the month for which the refund is due. Any mem-
  46. ber who has paid dues in advance other than by
  47. check-off for any month for which the member is
  48. exempted from payment of dues under Sections
  49. 18, 19 or 20 of this Article shall, when s/he returns

Page 53

  1. to work, be given credit on future dues for any such
  2. month.

  3.     Section 22. The Local Union shall use a re-
  4. ceipt book or receipting register and form of offi-
  5. cial receipt furnished by the International Union.
  6. All receipts shall be made out in duplicate, the origi-
  7. nal to be given to the member, the duplicate to be
  8. retained by the Local Union and made available to
  9. the International Union upon request. The Interna-
  10. tional Secretary-Treasurer may order the destruc-
  11. tion of duplicate receipts when they are no
  12. longer necessary.

  13.     Section 23. Local Unions covered by check-
  14. off agreements or having a check-off arrangement
  15. will be exempt from the provisions of the preced-
  16. ing Section, providing the company clearly shows
  17. on the check stub or pay envelope of each Union
  18. employee the amount of the deduction and the rea-
  19. son therefor.

  20.     Section 24. A Local Union failing to pay full
  21. per capita tax due the International Union within a
  22. two (2) month period, shall stand automatically
  23. suspended until the Local Union has been reinstated
  24. through payment of deficiency incurred, unless
  25. exonerated from payment of same as provided for
  26. in this Constitution.

  27.     Section 25. A Local Union failing to pay all of
  28. its financial obligations due the International Union shall
  29. not be entitled to a voice or vote at the Inter-
  30. national Convention.

  31.     Section 26. The failure of a company to check
  32. off and pay to a Local Union the dues of a member
  33. as required by a contract will not make the mem-
  34. ber delinquent if the member has signed a Dues
  35. Check-Off Authorization Card. Where a member
  36. has signed a Dues Check-Off Authorization Card
  37. authorizing the deduction of dues for a given
  38. month, the member shall be considered as having
  39. paid dues for that month even though the company
  40. fails to deduct the same. Upon the failure of the
  41. company to deduct dues, the Financial Secretary
  42. of the Local Union must notify the member to pay
  43. her/his dues. The member shall have thirty (30)
  44. days in which to pay her/his dues after being noti-
  45. fied. Failure of the part of the Financial Secretary
  46. to so notify a member of her/his pending delin-
  47. quency will not affect the member's standing and
  48. s/he shall be considered in good standing in the
  49. Local Union>

Page 54

  1.     Section 27 The International Executive Board
  2. shall be empowered, at its discretion, to arrange
  3. loans from Local Unions and other sources to
  4. supplement the Strike Fund where conditions dic-
  5. tate and in this connection, may use any or all of
  6. the International Union's real or personal property
  7. to secure any such loan or loans. At least once each
  8. month the International Secretary-Treasurer shall
  9. advise all Local Unions of the exact Strike Fund
  10. balance. The International Executive Board shall
  11. establish a program for strike relief which shall pro-
  12. vide aid and assistance to members actively par-
  13. ticipating in an authorized strike or involved in a
  14. lockout and, as between such members, shall pri-
  15. marily base such aid and assistance upon the right
  16. of each member to participate in accordance with
  17. the member's family obligations.

  18.     Section 28 The International Executive Board
  19. on a request of a Local Union or unit of an Amal-
  20. gamated Local Union, shall have the power to make
  21. special arrangements with respect to the dues
  22. schedules established in this Article, where unusual
  23. circumstances justify such arrangement.

  24.     Section 29. Notwithstanding any other provi-
  25. sion of this Constitution, the International Union
  26. and each Local Union shall each hold title to its
  27. respective share of the dues income and initiation
  28. fees immediately upon receipt of those monies by
  29. the Financial Secretary of the Local Union.