DUES – LIFE BLOOD OF THE UNION

Without dues a union could not exist. Dues support negotiating, organizing, research, legal, legislative, contract administration, arbitration, strike benefits and many other services of direct benefit to the member.

Almost 90% of IAM members are covered by contracts, which provide for dues check off. This means that each month the employer automatically deducts dues so those members do not become delinquent. Initially a new employee must authorize the check off. In some facilities it must be renewed each year. As Steward you must be certain that new employees sign a dues check off authorization and also remind your members when it is time to renew.

In facilities where dues are not checked off, stewards may have to work a little harder to be certain that members do not fall behind. If you serve such a workplace, be sure to remind members to get their dues in before the 10^th of each month. In some facilities the steward helps the business representative or officers by collecting dues directly. If you have a dues-collecting responsibility, try to get members into the habit of coming to you to pay their dues at a certain specified time and day each month.

You should know workers by name, what kind of people they are and how they get along with other workers, what type of operation they are doing, what their seniority rating is, and what the hourly rate or piece rate is for their job. You naturally can’t keep all this in your head if your in a large department, so it’s a good idea to write it down. All this will help later when you’re approached on the matter of a grievance and what to decide whether workers are justified in their complaints. You’ll soon know the chronic kickers, the ones that don’t kick enough, and sort them out. Know who they are and deal with them.

It all helps in your efforts to see to it that all the possible benefits authorized in the contract are put into effect. Keep pushing to get qualified workers the wage rate to which they are entitled, to get them into better jobs for which they are qualified.

Keep the members informed, but not merely through the bulletin boards. Urge them to come to meetings. As the official closest to the people that make the union, you are responsible for keeping them informed of important union activities and policies.

You are the link between the workers and the union office. Many workers will never get to the office except for meetings. Many never see any union representative except for yourself. So, they must rely on you to tell them what goes on between meetings. YOU ARE THE UNION TO THEM.

Another service you can perform is to as your members if they are receiving the monthly paper, "The Machinists". If they are not, report this to the financial secretary. Furnish him with the member’s card number, latest address and former address. The secretary has or can secure blanks for reporting this information.

Along this line of "getting the first"-in seeing potential grievances before they arise-is the importance of keeping your department informed of changes in the shop which will affect them.

Say for instance, that some new machinery is going to be introduced and you’ve heard that management is planning to hire new workers to handle it. Because you know your workers and their work, you realize that three or four of them have done similar operations before and that the new job carries a higher rate than the one they’re now doing. If you’re on your job you’ll talk with the proper authorities about getting these employees into the job before new ones are hired into it. Otherwise, you may have trouble on your hands with a few pretty mad workers.

At any rate, when any change is being made it’s a good plan to have a department or union meeting and explain to your people beforehand what’s going to happen, how it will affect them, and find out how they feel about it, and what they want to do about it. This applies to other things too, like necessary layoffs because of cutting down on production or installation of automated equipment.

Another thing that makes for a stronger, more effective union in your workplace is presenting a united front in your relations with management. Make it understood how important it is for the workers to come to you with their complaints and grievances rather than "griping" among themselves and so stirring up trouble, or going to the supervisor without your knowledge.