Dear members,
In this season of union wins all across the country PSUFA is beginning to plan for our own contract negotiations, which will start in January 2023. One essential element of preparing for these negotiations is to make sure our union has enough money on hand.
We’re writing to you today because our current dues structure is insufficient to sustain the long-term health of our union. On top of that, the way dues are structured is inequitable. Given that, the PSUFA executive council is proposing to shift our dues from a fixed dollar amount to a flat percentage rate.
We will be asking members to vote to approve the new dues structure by May 20th using an online voting process.
This email will explain:
The new proposed dues structure
How it will impact people who are teaching different amounts of credits
Why our executive council believes this is the best model to balance our individual and collective financial needs
How you can learn more about this proposal and talk with us about it.
Answers to questions you may have
All members will receive an email with a link to your online ballot Friday May 13th before noon.
1.Proposal
We are proposing a dues rate of 2% of monthly salary in the months when we are being paid by PSU. We will phase this in over two years to ensure that no one sees a large jump in their dues. Because of the bargained salary increases we have coming in Fall 2022, everyone will have their pay rate go up next fall even with the proposed increases to dues.
The current dues structure is relatively simple but also inherently regressive: Members pay $28 per month in any month they are employed unless they receive less than $550 in compensation from the university that month. In that case, they pay $23 in dues. The PSUFA executive council wants to shift to a fixed percent of gross income. This is a common practice in unions, including other academic unions at PSU.
More: View a PowerPoint of the proposal here or watch a short video here.
2. Impacts
In our proposed system, your dues will be proportional to your income. The table below shows what dues have been under our current system for different monthly income levels, and what they will become under our proposed structure starting in fall of 2023.
To make sure people who teach two or more classes do not see a large increase to their dues for next academic year (2022/2033) we are phasing in the changes, so dues will be 2% for the majority of people, but no one will pay more than $45/month in the coming academic year. The following year (2023/2024) all dues will move to 2% of monthly salaries.
Below is how much money you would actually take home with our new dues structure combined with the raises we have won through bargaining in a couple scenarios.
Highlights:
• If you make less than $1,400 a month, you will pay less in dues.
• If you teach one 4-credit class (at the minimum rate) in a term, you will see a dues increase of less than $2 per month. However, in Fall 2023, you will see a raise of $48 per month.
• In PSUFA’s 2020/2021 bargaining sessions, your union won minimum per-credit and hourly rate increases that exceed any increase in dues. That is, everyone working at those rates will see a raise on their Fall paychecks, even with a new dues structure.
We cannot estimate exact dues impacts for 2023 because our union will be bargaining for new salaries for that year. Because we are proposing a flat percentage, our dues in 2023 will be dependent on those new (and presumably higher!) salaries.
What we do know is that for the remainder of the current contract, all members of our bargaining unit will still see an increase in pay that will outpace dues.
3. Reasons behind the proposal
Three main reasons led to our recommendation.
1. More equitable dues paying.
In our current dues structure, an instructor who teaches one course in a term pays the same as someone who teaches two courses. A fixed dues percentage of 2 for all adjuncts will mean our members pay dues that are proportional to their income.
2. Creating a strike fund.
Across the country we have seen the threat of striking result in massive pay increases and other improvements to working conditions for higher ed labor unions. Sometimes these wins have come after short strikes but often they result from just the credible threat of a strike. We want to be able to have a credible threat to strike by the time we go into our next full contract negotiations in 2025. To do that we need to start setting aside money for a strike fund. The strike fund would be used to support our members while they are on strike.
3. Long-term sustainability of PSUFA.
The executive council is an eight-person governing board, made up of adjuncts like yourself, that helps run PSUFA. Running PSUFA includes:
Bargaining. Bargaining has led to across-the-board raises for adjuncts. The new dues model will result in increased revenue that will allow the bargaining team to prepare for what is sure to be a tough contract negotiation in 2023.
Benefits. Managing and distributing PSUFA benefits funds. Last year, PSUFA distributed the following funds to its members:
$300,000 in our Adjunct Faculty Assistance Funds to over 400 members
$60,000 in continuing education assistance to allow 52 members to finish their advanced degrees and learn other new skills as PSU students.
Almost $50,000 in Professional Development grants that have allowed 40 members to present at conferences and pursue research and creative/artistic projects.
Grievances. Following up on adjunct grievances and fighting for adjuncts when PSU breaks the contract.
Policy and Political Action. Executive council members fought for years to win adjunct access to employer healthcare and Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for adjuncts through work at the state level.
EC members are paid a stipend of $300 every month, a small amount for the work involved. The nature of our jobs also means that we naturally have turnover in leadership as executive council members move on to other opportunities. Our members already live precarious lives with economic instability. In order for the PSUFA leadership council to continue in the future, the EC roles must pay enough so that members will want to run for and be a part of the executive committee.
4. Next Steps and Where to Learn More
PSUFA executive council members will be available during office hours to answer any questions about these dues changes. Office hours can be joined at this Zoom link at the times below.
Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Wednesdays, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
These can always be found on our website.
You can vote between Friday, May 13 and Friday, May 20. We will call the election at 5 p.m., which is during our Spring General Member Meeting (4 to 6 p.m. on May 20).
We will send you a link to an online ballot on Friday May 13th.
The prospect of restructuring dues is one we take seriously and have spent significant time discussing. Thank you for reading this message and we hope to see you at office hours.
5. Questions You May Have
Didn’t PSUFA raise dues in 2018?
Following the 2018 Janus Supreme Court decision, the revenue of PSUFA—and public unions around the country—were severely reduced. This was a targeted attack on collective worker power and part of the decades-long campaign to weaken unions. PSUFA responded quickly to that decision to ensure the union stayed afloat financially, but we did not have time to fix the inequities in our dues structure at that time. Our proposed fixed percentage decision will mean we will not need to restructure our dues moving forward.
Why a flat-rate percentage?
A rate-based arrangement for collection is considered progressive if the rate increases as income increases. So if one person made more than another, they wouldn’t just pay more in dues, they’d pay at a higher rate. A progressive system doesn’t have clear justification for adjuncts. This is because making a larger income as an adjunct is indicative of reliance on precarious employment. On the other hand, making a small amount of money as an adjunct doesn’t imply you have another lucrative job somewhere else and can afford a higher dues rate either. Therefore a flat (percentage) rate seems most fair. Furthermore, a flat system is easy to understand and commonplace among unions for the collection of dues.
Why does the union need money?
Sustaining a union is hard work and requires significant contributions of time from many adjuncts. Your PSUFA membership is a commitment to collective action. The financial contributions you make through dues allows our union to improve the working conditions of all adjuncts. This includes:
Managing and dispersing our benefit funds like the Adjunct Faculty Assistance Fund and Professional Development Fund
Representing you at the bargaining table and negotiating our pay and benefits
Staying in constant communication with PSU administration and never letting them forget the daily struggles of their adjunct employees
Organizing to take political action at a local, state, and national level to make lasting material impacts for adjuncts
Making sure that adjuncts are supported whenever they have work concerns or need to file a grievance
Your dues also support our parent union, the American Federation of Teachers. AFT-Oregon has a very strong track record of legislative victories that support us. They actively write and successfully advocate for legislation that improves the lives of adjunct faculty because many of the challenges we face must be addressed at levels that go beyond just PSU. AFT-Oregon & AFT National also provide legal support, training and many useful member benefits.