Administration FAQ
Membership
Dues
Core Fee Payers
Information Provided to the Union by the Employer
Health & Welfare Payments
Union Wage Rates
Membership
Q. How does an employee become a member?
A. By filling out a membership card and turning it into the union.
Q. Is it necessary for the employee to fill out a dues deduction card?
A. It is necessary for automatic payroll deduction.
Q. How do we get cards?
A. The union will send you as many cards as you need or you may download one as a PDF file.
Dues Deduction Authorization Card
Q. What happens to the card once it is filled out?
A. Keep a copy for your records and send the original back to the Union.
Q. What happens if an employee sends the card directly to the union?
A. We send copies of membership cards to each employer.
Q. Does an employee have to join the union?
A. No, they can choose to be a core fee payer.
Q. What is a core fee payer?
A. See below "Core Fee Payers."
Dues
Q. What is the employers obligation regarding a dues increase?
A. The union will notify the employer by certified mail when a dues increase is scheduled to go into effect and the employer is expected to deduct the amounts indicated in the letter.
Q. Can an employer refuse to deduct the new rates?
A. No, the dues check off language in the contract requires the employer to comply.
Q. What if the members say they were never notified about the change and don't want to pay the new rate?
A. Members must pay the dues increase. The dues increase was put to a vote of the entire membership in 2004 and passed overwhelmingly. This is the procedure required by the Local 615 Constitution and by-laws. Members in good standing (not Fee Payers) have the option of supporting or opposing all dues changes. As a condition of employment individuals either have to become union member or a fee payer.
Q. When did the new, percentage based, dues system go into effect?
A. January 1, 2005
Q. Is this System different than the flat rate system we had prior to January 2005?
A. Yes, it is a percentage based system with minimum and maximum dues.
Q. What is the current rate?
A. The 2010 dues rate is 2.5% of gross weekly salary including overtime, shift differential, vacation, sick payments or bonuses. There is a minimum payment of $34.40 a month and a maximum payment of $63.00. (See 2010 dues letter)
Q. What are the Initiation Fees?
A. They are three months of minimum dues. In most cases this will be a total of $103.20 deducted in three monthly installments of $34.40 but in special cases (when employees work less than 25 hours and earn less than $8.50/hr.) the minimum dues will be adjusted based on such income.
Q. Can we still deduct monthly dues?
A. Yes, but we would prefer you to deduct weekly because it is easier both for you and the member.
Q. What if our contract says we must remit dues within the month that they are deducted?
A. If you are willing to switch to a weekly deduction you can remit dues after the close of the month in which they were deducted. However, this is not open-ended; dues are due within two weeks after the close of the month.
Q. If an employer makes a mistake and fails to deduct the correct amount of dues in one pay period can they deduct more money in the next pay period to make up for it?
A. Never.
Q. What if employers have technical difficulties implementing a new dues rate?
A. They should call the Local 615 Business Manager and discuss the options.
Q. What if the employer fails to send the dues money to the union?
A. The employer is simply a conduit for the member dues to the union. Employers are barred from using dues money as operating capital or for any other purpose. Failure to send the dues money to the union in a timely manner is a violation of both the contract and the law. Significant financial penalties can be assessed up to three times the withheld amount.
Core Fee Payers
Q. What is a Core Fee Payer?
A. An employee who no longer wishes to be a member of the Union.
Q. How will this affect the employee?
A. They will no longer be a member of the union and can no longer vote for officers, stewards or dues increases. They will be able to file grievances, use the arbitration procedure and be represented by the union for matters pertaining to the collective bargaining agreement.
Q. What does an employee have to do to become a Core Fee Payer?
A. They must send a letter requesting that there status be changed to Agency Fee. The letter must be dated, include their full name, social security number, mailing address and contact phone number. The Union will inform the employer in writing that the employee has changed their status to Agency Fee payer and to reduce their dues accordingly.
Q. What is the Agency Fee rate?
A. For 2010 the rate is 82.5% of normal dues.
Q. What are the employers obligations to fee payers?
A. Once notified by the union the employer needs to reduce the employee's dues immediately.
Q. What if the employer fails to make the necessary changes?
A. The union will contact the employer as soon as it becomes aware of the problem. If the employer still refuses to make the change, the Union can initiate legal action.
Q. Does the employee have to send a new request asking to be a fee payer each year?
A. No, the Union will continue their status until the member decides to join the union at which point the employer will receive a membership card, they leave the employer or pay no dues (inactive) for 90 days.
Information Provided to the Union by the Employer
Q. What information do we send with the dues check?
The union needs certain information on all employees in the bargaining unit, including both union and non-union members, so that we can administer the collective bargaining agreement. We need the following:
Social Security Number, Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial, Date of Birth, Date of Hire, Gender, Address (either Street Address or Post Office Box), City, State, Zip code, Ethnicity, Employee ID, Building/Job Location (Street Address only) City, State, Zip code, Job Title, Hourly Rate of Pay, Weekly Hours (if you deduct weekly, then just add a row per pay period, per person), Monthly Hours (only applicable if you deduct monthly), Worker Category (A, B, C, D or 5 year rates), Termination Date, Leave Date, Dues Amount, Initiation Amount, COPE/PAC Amount (employee 'optional' political action contribution).
There is an Excel spreadsheet available for download from our Administrative web page that includes all the information we need and is suitable for sending electronically. If you have another format you would like to send it in, please contact: Leo Hsu, Paragon Corporation, 617.227.3636 or lr@pcorp.us.
Health & Welfare Payments
Q. How can a member get a Pension Application Package?
A. Contact: Massachusetts Service Employees' Pension Fund
26 West Street - 3rd Floor
Boston MA 02111
Phone (617)399-4616
Fax (617)742-1261
Q. When does a company start paying Pension Contributions?
A. For each Category "A" employee, effective on the first day of the month following one hundred eighty (180) days of continuous employment.
Q. What is the Pension Payment due date?
A. Pension payment shall be paid no later than the twentieth (20) day of the month following the month for which the contribution is being made. For example: Pension payment for January's hours should be paid by February 20th.
Q. Are there any late fees for late payments?
A. Yes, late payments will be subject to the following interest or late fees, whichever is greater:
a) Interest at the prime rate as set by the Bank of America plus 3% or,
b) $100.00 per day
Q. What is the current pension rate?
A. The rate for calendar year 2005 is $0.76 cents per each hour worked with a maximum of 173 per month. Pension rates change every January 1st, therefore you must contact the fund office for future rates.
Q. What are considered pension hours to be paid by an employer?
A. Any hours paid by an employer for Category "A" employees (employees working more than 29 hours/week) with a maximum of 173 hours/month.
Q. What is normal retirement date?
A. This is the date of member/employee's 65th birthday or, if later, the 5th anniversary of his initial membership in the plan.
Q. Is there an early retirement?
A. Yes, if member/employee has been credited with 5 or more consecutive years of Vesting Service, he can elect early retirement any time after reaching age 55. However, the amount of his monthly payments will be reduced according to the starting date of his pension, to reflect the fact that payments will probably be made over a longer period of time then if he had retired at Normal Retirement Date.
Q. How many years of service and hours are needed in order to be eligible for Pension Benefits under the Massachusetts Service Employees' Pension Fund?
A. If member/employee worked at least five (5) consecutive years and worked 1000 hours or more each of those years and retired after 1997. If member/employee worked at least ten (10) consecutive years and worked 1000 hours or more each of those years and if retired before 1997.
Q. How is service and benefit determined when member retire?
A. Member must request a Detailed Earnings Listing record from Social Security Administration for his/her years of covered employment.
Union Wage Rates
Q. When is an employer obligated to pay the contractual hourly rates, immediately on date of hire or after 30 days when an employee joins the union?
A. Immediately upon date of hire.
Q. When is an employer obligated to pay the five year rate when an employee has a break in service?
A. No, the contract states (page 26): "Employees with five (5) years of continuous service will have a minimum rate as specified. In the event an Employer loses a Contract, the successor Employer will recognize an employee's years of continuous service with the previous Employer with regard to the five-year rate."