Dues withholding is not a statutory requirement; rather, a dues
withholding agreement between an agency and a union is negotiable. The
agency and the union may decide to formalize dues withholding arrangements
by including them as part of a basic negotiated agreement or in a separate
memorandum of understanding.
- When authorized, management is required to deduct from the pay of an
employee dues which are required to maintain membership in the union
that represents his/her bargaining unit. Such allotments shall be made
at no cost to the employee or the union.
- Membership of the union is voluntary and done at the employees’
discretion. Employees choose membership by completing a SF-1187.
- Payroll deductions continue as long as employee is eligible to be in
the bargaining unit or until employee cancels membership. Except for
when employees are reassigned to another position which is ineligible to
be in a bargaining unit, employees may only cancel membership after one
year or in accordance with bargaining unit provisions. The negotiated
arrangement of dues withholding indicates when and how often changes to
membership may be made. Cancellation of membership is done by completing
a SF-1188.
- Dues withholding will terminate if the agreement between the agency
and the union ceases to be applicable to the employee or if the employee
is suspended or expelled from membership.
- It is considered an unfair labor practice for a union to deny
membership to an employee in a bargaining unit except for failure to pay
dues as required for acquiring and retaining membership.