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  • Union Questions

    I was talking to our neighbor this morning as he washed his car and asked him if he had the day off. He said he did and added that he had to go by his union office. I've never lived anywhere that had as many union members as Hawaii (evidently we have the third highest percentage of union workers in the nation) so I took the opportunity to ask him some questions. He is a young guy and just starting out in construction. He said $132 from his weekly paycheck goes to the union as well as $15 per month for something else union related. He really didn't know too much about it so I thought I'd ask here as I would imagine that there are current or past union members who are regulars on HT.

    Since I've been here I've seen several unions go on strike and the potential strike by the Honolulu Advertiser folks got me to thinking. My questions are general, but what is a typical percentage of salary paid to the union? Where does the money go? Is there a pension fund for example? What does the union do beyond negotiating contracts? If you go out on strike, does the union cover any living expenses?

    I'm not trying to start a pro-union/anti-union debate, I'm just curious.

  • #2
    Re: Union Questions

    It varies from union to union. Your construction friend pays a lot more in union dues than the state government workers that I know - but then again, I bet the ILWU looks out for their people a lot more than the HGEA does.

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    • #3
      Re: Union Questions

      $132 per week? That's a bit much unless he makes a crapload of money.

      When I was unionized (Teamsters) typically it was one hour's worth of wages per pay period. As costs went up union dues were a bit higher than hourly wages but not too much. At $132 per week that person must have been raking in some decent money to not gripe about.
      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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      • #4
        Re: Union Questions

        Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
        $132 per week? That's a bit much unless he makes a crapload of money.

        When I was unionized (Teamsters) typically it was one hour's worth of wages per pay period. As costs went up union dues were a bit higher than hourly wages but not too much. At $132 per week that person must have been raking in some decent money to not gripe about.
        He wasn't really clear on whether it was deducted each pay period at first, but thought about and said that he was pretty sure that was what it was weekly. He is still at apprentice level for his speciality though he did say he expected to make $45/hr when he reached whatever the top level is, so he may be making half that or more.

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        • #5
          Re: Union Questions

          The thing you have to keep in mind that there is no one union that covers all the workers. It varies. Even within the same place of employment you might have different unions representing different types of workers.

          For example the University of Hawaii has at least 3 different unions to contend with. One union is the UHPA which covers the faculty, UPW covers the groundkeepers and janitors and the HGEA covers the rest of the full time staff. Even with in the HGEA there are seperate labor units which have different contracts.

          I don't remember the percentage that the University takes out of my paycheck to pay the dues for the union to represent me at the contract talks but it's taken out for all employees be it they are in the union or not (for the positions covered by the union).

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          • #6
            Re: Union Questions

            I work for the federal govenment - specifically the Department of Treasury. Our union dues are less than $20 a pay period (every two weeks). The Union has been responsible for getting us alternative work schedules (working 4 10 hour days or 9 hour days with one day off every other week), getting us Flexi-place privleges (working from home), fighting to make our cost of living raise match military raises, and many other benefits.

            They will also represent us in grievances with management and fight when problems arise with management on a personal level. They offer other benefits such as professional inusrance (in case we are sued) and dental benefits.

            As federal employees, we cannot strike, so that is not an issue with our union. However, overall it is very powerful.

            I have worked with some contracting companies that subcontract to Union employees. People pay high union fees, but get outrageous pay and benefits for jobs that are negotiated with the employer / contractor.

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            • #7
              Re: Union Questions

              Well that outrageous pay is a benefit from outrageous union dues I guess.

              Anyway Glossyp, your friend may also be paying union fees associated with any new hires so he may not be seeing that amount after a period of time.
              Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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              • #8
                Re: Union Questions

                Originally posted by helen View Post
                I don't remember the percentage that the University takes out of my paycheck to pay the dues for the union to represent me at the contract talks but it's taken out for all employees be it they are in the union or not (for the positions covered by the union).
                Yep, that is also true for anyone working for the state. Even if you are not a member of the union (be it HGEA, UPW, HSTA, etc.), money is taken out of your paycheck. You had no choice. When I was was a DOE teacher, I think the money was listed under "statutory dues" or something like that. I don't exactly remember. But if you joined the union, they would just take out a couple dollars more and you would be able to receive additional HSTA benefits.

                Since the statutory dues had to be paid, whether you joined the union or not, the decision to join the union was a no-brainer for almost everybody.
                This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

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                • #9
                  Re: Union Questions

                  As a former Teamster I can only speak of what I experienced with my local because we all have separate contracts. Our union dues was three times your hourly pay per month and that was used mostly for the union officers salary, office supplies, etc. We had an exceptionally good contract, to me, where the company paid for our medical, which included drug and vision, dental, pension, and life insurance. Today the employees pay 30% of the cost of the medical premium. Nothing was taken out of our wages except taxes and whatever deductions you had such as credit union or maybe AUW. Besides negotiating your contract the union ensured fair hiring, promotions, and other work related issues. The Teamsters have a strike fund that is provided by the International for any authorized atrike and also whatever your local might provide. I believe right now the strike fund from the International is $200.00 per week. As for the pensions it is not all the same because each company negotiates individually.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Union Questions

                    hawaii just recieved an F rating in its union work environment.... the full story can be read at Hawaii Reporter...how com this doesnt surprise me... things like the mandatory dues whether you join the union or not is an example of the one of the conditions that give us this rating...
                    the bigger the government the smaller the citizen.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Union Questions

                      Originally posted by escondido100 View Post
                      hawaii just recieved an F rating in its union work environment.... the full story can be read at Hawaii Reporter...how com this doesnt surprise me... things like the mandatory dues whether you join the union or not is an example of the one of the conditions that give us this rating...
                      Consider the source. The Hawaii Reporter article you mention got its information from a survey released by the Alliance for Worker Freedom.

                      The fine print at the bottom of the Alliance for Worker Freedom's web page says that it is "a Special Project of Americans for Tax Reform".

                      The head of Americans for Tax Reform is Grover Norquist, archconservative and sworn enemy of all government taxes anywhere. As an example of his views, Norquist was famously quoted as saying, "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."

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                      • #12
                        Re: Union Questions

                        Funny how Hawaii Reporter is the epitome of free expression. Malia is one of my heroes. We're polar opposites when it comes to politics, but see eye to eye when it comes to everyone's right to be heard.
                        Aloha from Lavagal

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                        • #13
                          Re: Union Questions

                          Originally posted by Frankie's Market View Post
                          Yep, that is also true for anyone working for the state. Even if you are not a member of the union (be it HGEA, UPW, HSTA, etc.), money is taken out of your paycheck. You had no choice. When I was was a DOE teacher, I think the money was listed under "statutory dues" or something like that. I don't exactly remember. But if you joined the union, they would just take out a couple dollars more and you would be able to receive additional HSTA benefits.

                          Since the statutory dues had to be paid, whether you joined the union or not, the decision to join the union was a no-brainer for almost everybody.
                          Not entirely true. There are classes of civil servants, specifically excluded employees, that do not pay dues and are not a part of the union. An example of a group of employees normally excluded from union membership would be Human Resource (HR) staff. These employees normally represent management in an employee grievance and provide data/feedback to management negotiators during contract talks. The conflict is clear, and that is why they are excluded.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Union Questions

                            This has been an educational thread for me. Thanks, glossyp, for asking the question. I hope it doesn't devolve into a political debate over the value of or problems with unions. I'm just interested in how it all works.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Union Questions

                              Originally posted by Pretender View Post
                              Not entirely true. There are classes of civil servants, specifically excluded employees, that do not pay dues and are not a part of the union. An example of a group of employees normally excluded from union membership would be Human Resource (HR) staff.
                              True, although I thought I made myself clear that I was talking about all state employees who were eligible for union membership rather than those who are not. Note that I did specifically talk about employees who could make the decision to join (or not join) unions like HGEA, UPW, and so forth. The folks you are talking about have no such choice.

                              Those state employees who conduct labor negotiations on behalf of the state obviously wouldn't be eligible to join those unions. For that matter, neither do directors and deputy directors of the various departments. Naturally, those state employees are not subject to mandatory union dues, since they have no union to join.
                              Last edited by Frankie's Market; February 20, 2008, 09:10 PM.
                              This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

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