SHARE bi-weekly dues will increase in January:

The regular dues rate for 2014 will be $16.48/paycheck (the 2013 rate is $16.25)
For employees budgeted for 20 hours/week, the 2014 rate will be $12.37/paycheck (the 2013 rate is $12.21)

Below are some Frequently Asked Questions about dues:

Why are the dues going up now, even though we haven't gotten a raise yet?

The dues increase is set by our national union, AFSCME (American federation of State, County and Municipal Employees). Any rate change is in January of each year.

How much do the dues increase each year?

The dues increase is calculated by AFSCME, based on the average raise that all 1.5 million members across the country got in the previous year. Many of AFSCME's members have had small, or no, raises over the past few years, and some have had pay cuts or unpaid furloughs. This has resulted in small, or nonexistent dues increases over the past few years, even though SHARE members at UMass Medical School were getting raises.

dues rates stayed the same from 2010 through 2012

Where do the dues go?

Most of the dues go to pay for the SHARE staff, the office rent, office supplies, mailings, etc. That money supports the work of the union here at the Medical School (and in our sister unions at UMass Memorial, Harvard University, and the Cambridge Health Alliance):

helping members with issues at work,
building connections across the campuses,
supporting people who have been laid off,
distributing information about issues of importance to SHARE members (like H59),
negotiating contracts, etc.

A portion of the dues goes to the national union in Washington -- they spend that money on advocating for AFSCME members as a whole, including research for things like workplace safety and lobbying for policies that help workers, like the FMLA. Support for political candidates comes from AFSCME's Political Action Committee, not from dues money.