Agency Fees
Employees whose terms and conditions of employment are determined by a collective bargaining agreement may be required to pay an Agency Fee to their exclusive representative union. Under CA state law, Sections 3583-3585 of the Government code relating to higher education labor relations, eligible employees who do not pay union dues may be required to pay for the costs of "…lobbying activities designed to foster collective bargaining negotiations and contract administration or to secure for the represented employees advantages in wages, hours, and other conditions of employment in addition to those secured through meeting and conferring with the higher education employer." The decision of whether an Agency Fee will be levied rests solely with each individual union.
With two exceptions, every employee exclusively represented by a union opting for the Agency Fee will be required to either pay union dues or the Agency Fee. If an employee "…is a member of a bona fide religion, body or sect that has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting public employee organizations, [such employee] would not be required to join, but would instead be required to pay a "…service fee to a non-religious, non-labor charitable fund…" chosen jointly by the union and the University. The decision of whether the employee is a bona fide religious objector will be determined on an individual basis by the union.
Who has to pay the Agency Fee?All University employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement who are not currently paying union dues could be required to pay the Agency Fee. The following unions have opted to implement Agency Fees:
- AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) for employees covered by the Service and Patient Care Technical labor agreements
- CNA (California Nurses Association) for employees covered under the Nurse agreement
- CUE (Coalition of University Employees) for employees covered under the Clerical agreement
- GCU (Graphics Communications Union) for employees covered under the Printing Trades labor agreements
- UAW (United Auto Workers) for employees covered under the Academic Student Employees agreement
- UPTE (University Professional and Technical Employees) for employees covered under the Technical, Staff Research Professional, and Hospital Professional Residual labor agreements
- UC-AFT (American Federation of Teachers) for employees covered under the Non-Senate Instructional and Librarian Memoranda of Understanding
Are employees covered by the Personnel Policies for Staff
Members required to pay an Agency Fee?
No.
Are
limited appointment employees and students subject to the Agency
Fee?
Limited
appointment employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement
are subject to the deduction. Students in limited positions
are thus also subject to the fee. Students in casual/restricted
positions are not covered by collective bargaining agreements
and are, therefore, not subject to the fee.
If
an employee is a religious conscientious objector what should
he/she do?
If
an employee is a member of a bona
fide religion, body or sect that has historically held conscientious
objections to joining or financially supporting public employee
organizations, the employee should contact his or her union
to seek exemption from the Agency Fee. Exempt employees
are required to donate an amount equivalent to the Agency Fee
to one of three non-religious, non-labor charities designated
jointly by the union and the University. The union is solely
responsible for deciding the employee's objector status.
If the employee does not know what union to contact, Human Resources' Labor Relations Office (labrel@uclink4.berkeley.edu)
can assist.
Does
an employee have to agree to have the fees deducted from the paycheck?
No,
under the law the fees will be automatically deducted like taxes
and Social Security.
Can
the Agency Fee be rescinded?
The
Agency Fee may be rescinded (or eliminated) by a majority vote
in a secret ballot election of all employees in a particular bargaining
unit. To hold an election, a petition must be served on
the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) containing signatures
of at least 30% of the employees in that bargaining unit.
No more than one vote can be taken during the term of any contract
in effect on or after January 1, 2000.
What happens if an employee refuses to pay the Agency Fee and is not a religious objector?
Under the law, unless one has been designated a conscientious objector, payment of union dues or the Agency Fee is a condition of employment. Employees who refuse to pay the dues/fee cannot remain University employees.
How can an employee find out about how the unions are going
to implement the Agency Fees program?
The employee should contact his/her exclusive representative.
See Contact Information and Contracts.