the cost of fair share
For University of Akron Faculty Who Are Not Chapter Members of Akron-AAUP:
Estimate Your Fair Share Fee AY 2009-10 and the difference between that and full chapter membership.
Fair Share is in your interest:
Maintaining a healthy financial standing for the Akron-AAUP serves every faculty member's interests. The 2+ years of our first contract negotiations were expensive. Our experience is that they will be expensive in 2009, as well.
Relative Worth of the Investment:
Every faculty member should ask themselves if it is worth less than the cost of a monthly cable television bill to insure fair treatment and regular salary increases for the future?
What Your Investment Gets You:
Regardless of salary level, Akron-AAUP negotiated an average raise of 3.56% per year for the life of our first contract. At a rate of .55% per year for a $65,000 salary, faculty recoup fair share investment at the rate of six and a half times each year!
Fair Share FAQ
Please Note: Some of the information reported below is a little outdated as it comes from the campaign to have a fair share fee approved by UA faculty.
This occurred in a special election held March, 2006 when fair share was approved with a vote of 70% in favor. This is one of the most impressive results in academic collective bargaining history in the U.S.
We've left this information posted here to give all who are curious a good sense of the rationale underlying and the purpose of the fair share fee. As always, Akron-AAUP invites you to Ask Us Anything!
What is Fair Share?
Most universities in Ohio with faculty representation (all except Cincinnati) have a provision in their collective bargaining agreement that requires non-union members to pay their “fair share” of the costs of bargaining and enforcing the agreement. Our first contract guaranteed a vote of all members of the bargaining unit (Akron-AAUP members and non-members alike) on whether or not faculty who are not Akron-AAUP members will be required to pay a Fair Share fee for the services provided. The vote in March 2006 was overwhelmingly in favor of the representation fee. Back
Why doesn’t the Akron-AAUP just refuse to represent non-members?
As the certified representative of The University of Akron’s full-time faculty, Akron-AAUP is required to provide services to ALL bargaining unit faculty members—union and non-union members alike. Regardless of the outcome of the vote on Fair Share, we will continue to do so. However, the quality and effectiveness of representation depend upon the willingness of faculty to support the work of your faculty colleagues in Akron-AAUP and upon the availability of adequate financial resources.
Furthermore, it is important that Akron-AAUP has the long-term ability to effectively represent the faculty. The first negotiation was grueling and expensive, and we have no idea what the future negotiations will bring. We cannot control what other parties do, but we can certainly put ourselves on a sound financial footing to protect our rights. Back
What are the costs of representation?
Every three to four years, Akron-AAUP will have the opportunity to bargain a new contract that will set the terms and conditions of employment for every faculty member in the bargaining unit (all 650 of us). As in the current contract, this bargaining will cover: raises; promotion increments; health insurance benefits and costs; tuition benefits; shared governance; and more. The Akron-AAUP is also responsible for monitoring compliance with the contract and ensuring that faculty rights are not gradually eroded.
The first contract negotiation cost Akron-AAUP tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. And the next negotiation may be similarly expensive. But in the intervening years there can be other high costs. As our sister chapters report, taking one legitimate faculty grievance all the way to arbitration can cost approximately $10,000. The Akron-AAUP would pay for these costs. Or there may be an unforeseen unfair labor practice, requiring tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs (as with the previous ULPs). As costly as this is, it is the price of protecting all of our rights under the contract. Back
How much will the Fair Share fee be?
Fair Share (representation) fee payers will only be asked to support those collective bargaining costs related to negotiating and implementing the contract. In the law, these are called “chargeable” costs, and they are for services that benefit ALL faculty and include contract bargaining, legal fees, contract implementation, grievances, arbitrations, etc.
Each year, the chapter will have an audit of its expenses to determine those costs that are chargeable and non-chargeable. The state and national AAUPs conduct a similar audit of the chargeable and non-chargeable costs in their dues. For each Fair Share fee payer, Akron-AAUP will compute the membership dues, then deduct off the top all of the non-chargeable costs, leaving just the Fair Share fee. Depending on the faculty member’s salary, these Fair Share fees (based upon the most recent data available) could range from about .32% to .6% of 9-month salary, with the “average” salary faculty member paying about .5%. After each year’s audit, the fair share fee percentage will be adjusted accordingly, and any faculty member may challenge how the calculations were made. This fee is less than the dues that Akron-AAUP chapter members pay, which is .75% of 9-month salary. However, chapter members also have full voting rights, membership in the state and national AAUP, a subscription to Academe, and other benefits of membership.
Fair Share fee payers are NOT paying for membership in the faculty union, but only for their share of the costs of bargaining, implementing, and enforcing the contract, which are services that benefit them. Back
What has collective bargaining accomplished?
According to colleagues at other Ohio institutions, we have negotiated one of the best first contracts they have seen. This contract has established a new governance landscape in which faculty have legally guaranteed rights on over 30 contract articles. Furthermore, the Akron-AAUP was able to protect faculty rights against unfair labor practices, leading to a 1.2 million dollar settlement for faculty and a scaling back of unilaterally imposed changes on faculty. Back
Does Fair Share result in a reduction of Akron-AAUP membership dues?
Only Akron-AAUP chapter members can authorize a change in membership dues. Dues for every Akron-AAUP member include a flat amount going to the state and national AAUP, with the remainder being for local dues. Therefore, a certain level of dues is required to pay those fees and have money left to provide services to members. Given the costs to date in reaching the contract, and the likely expenses in implementing a new contract, Akron-AAUP members will have to weigh these costs against dues reductions. Back
Will my Fair Share (representation) fee be used to support a political agenda?
No. Akron-AAUP does not advocate on behalf of political candidates or causes. We gratefully welcome support from policymakers or politicians who support higher education and the interests of faculty and students. But by law, a Fair Share fee can only cover expenditures related to collective bargaining and representation. Direct support for candidates cannot come out of the Fair Share fee. Back
Are there any circumstances under which a non-member can be exempt from the fee?
Yes. Section 4117.09 of the Ohio Revised Code provides that “[a]ny public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization…shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment.” In these cases, Ohio law requires that the employee pay an amount equivalent to the Fair Share fee to a nonreligious charity. Akron-AAUP will work with faculty who wish to exercise their rights under this provision of the law. Back
Are Fair Share (representation) fees tax deductible?
Dues and fees paid to professional associations such as Akron-AAUP may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for more information. Back