From JPL’s Website: Dues & Fees

What They Wrote

Our Response

A union operates like a business with one major source of revenue: its members.

Unions charge their members for representation in the form of…

  • dues

  • initiation fees

  • special assessments

  • fines

  • reinstatement fees

A union is not a business. Unions are democratic, nonprofit organizations run by and for members. Member dues and any related fees are collectively decided, fully transparent, and used to fund:

  • contract negotiations

  • legal protections

  • efforts to improve workplace conditions

Dues ensure that members have access to resources independent from JPL management.

These contributions make it possible for employees to stand together and negotiate from a position of strength. Through collective bargaining, unions at peer institutions such as Caltech, LBNL, and USC have:

  • established fair starting salaries

  • guaranteed predictable annual increases to keep pace with the cost of living

  • protected against unjust layoffs

  • Strengthened health benefits

  • Secured paid family leave

  • Enshrined safety standards that benefit everyone in the workplace

Mandatory dues or fees are a common feature of a UAW contract. The union is free to spend members’ dues however it wants. If the union negotiated mandatory dues or fees in a contract, all represented JPLers would be required to pay dues and fees, even if they did not vote for (or voted against) the union during the election.

    It is true that dues are a common feature of union contracts: as we have noted elsewhere on the site, dues are collective resources independent from JPL upper management that will allow us to have necessary legal, bargaining, community, and staff support to run our union.

    However, it is not true that the union can “spend members’ dues however it wants.” We - JPL workers - will get to decide how to spend our local dues. Additionally, UAW members (which would include us) participate in a Constitutional Convention every 4 years to discuss and vote on how to spend member dues, and members democratically elect representatives who are entrusted with running our union. UAW’s structure differs from JPL’s, in which upper management unilaterally decides how to manage JPL funds without input from ICs.

    Most contracts include a non-union-member “fair share” fee, so that the cost of representation is shared equally and we have more resources available to enforce our rights and campaign for future contracts.

      FACT: “Each new member will pay an initiation fee, no part of which shall be considered as a Local Union fine, of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) and not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for membership in a Local Union of the International Union.” Article 16, Section 1 (a)

      True - we cite this on our website (see FAQ "Will I Have to Pay Dues").

      FACT: “… the minimum monthly dues will be an amount equivalent to: (i) 2.5 hours of straight time pay for members working full time paid on an hourly basis…” Article 16, Section 2 (a)

      ORGANIZERS: JPL union organizers have said dues will be 1.44 percent of gross monthly pay.


      True - we cite this on our website see FAQ "Will I Have to Pay Dues"). We list the dues rate as 1.44% of gross monthly pay, which is applicable to salaried employees (including most JPLers). See UAW Constitution Article 16 Section 2(b).