The Minnesota State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 5, AFL-CIO, is the executive bargaining representative for all employees in you bargaining unit. Employees within the bargaining units represented by AFSCME Council 5 are encouraged to become full dues paying members of the local union representing them. Your union dues work for you, you local union, AFSCME Council 5, and AFSCME International in a host of areas of interest and concern to you and your co-workers.
Your dues also support the costs of representing you and protecting your interests in legislative bodies, from the local to the national level. It is a particularly important protection because the rules and regulations which govern your job are written by those legislative bodies.
There is a demonstrated relationship between the number of dues paying members and the benefits won by state employees. Dues paying membership in AFSCME Council 5 establishes power to state employees in protecting their rights and their future.
However, only full dues paying members of the union can participate in the democratic processes which determine the union's goals, select its officers, negotiators and grievance representatives, and accept or reject the negotiated collective bargaining agreement.
Membership guarantees you a VOICE and a VOTE on issues affecting you and your co-workers.
How are dues determined?
Dues are established by the members of each individual local union. AFSCME Council
5 is currently composed of 127 individual local affiliates, representing seven
bargaining units for state employees. The membership of each local union determines what their
dues will be.
How much are the dues?
While there are minimum dues levels required to support your local union, your Council, and your International Union, the amount varies from local to local across the state. Some locals set a flat rate for all members; some base dues for each member on a percentage of the members' hourly rate; and some locals use a mix of both approaches. What is important is that the membership of each local has the right to determine what method is best for their local's need.
Where do my dues go?
The portion of your dues which is paid to affiliates (AFSCME Council 5, AFSCME International, State Policy Committee,
Duluth CLU, Mpls. CLU and St. Paul Trades) is referred to as "Per Capita Tax".
The details of the dues allocation is explained in detail in the
"Dues Allocation" Page.
