Where's Your Dues Dollars Going??? Retired UFCW President Tells All

Written by Retired UFCW President John Briley

Following up on the UFCW Int. Union Per Capita Tax Increases issue, reminded me of an article that I wrote as the former President @ UFCW Local 839 which appeared in our October-December 2006 Local Union newspaper edition. I wrote the article to inform Local 839's membership that President Hansen was announcing a mandatory Per Capita Tax Increase that was taking effect on December 1, 2006 to $12.54 per member per month.

Additionally, in my article; "I encouraged every UFCW member to contact our UFCW International Leadership to DEMAND a "change" concerning the entire UFCW International Union Per Capita Tax system. Clearly, a fairer and more equitable system must be put in place immediately".

Another portion of my article read; "It as become extremely unfair and financially burdening for the UFCW International to have the power to automatically increase per capita tax to the UFCW Local Unions and members on a routine annual basis. Not only is it a financial burden for the rank and file members to absorb these increases, the Local Unions are being "taxed" out of existence".

My outrage over the entire UFCW Int. Union Per Capita Tax issue entails many factors. One of which, is the history of the UFCW International Union Per Capita Tax Increases dating back to January 1, 1981. In my article I shared the following:

* Per Capita Tax in effect on 1/1/81 $4.70
* Per Capita Tax in effect on 1/1/82 $4.95
* Per Capita Tax for the year following the 1983 convention was $5.79 effective July 1984
* From 10/86 to 12/88 the rate was $6.04
* Per Capita Tax for the year following the 1988 convention was $6.54 effective 1/89
* From 1/90 to 11/93 the rate was $7.04
* Per Capita Tax for the year following the 1993 convention was $7.54 effective December 1993
* From 3/97 to 5/99 the rate was $8.04
* From 6/99 to 5/01 the rate was $8.54
* From 6/01 to 5/02 the rate was $9.04
* From 6/02 to 11/03 the rate was $9.54
* From 12/03 to 11/04 the rate was $10.54
* From 12/04 to 11/05 the rate was $ 11.04
* From 12/05 to present the rate is $11.54
* From 12/06 the rate is $12.54

If my math is correct the above reflects a percentage of increase of 166.8085. I am not aware of any other Per Capita Tax increases since my retirement in May/07??

By way of example: After the seven (7) UFCW Unions merged to establish UFCW Local 5 we have approx. 25,000 members. Using the UFCW I.U. per capita tax rate of $12.54 per member per month would equal $313,500.00 that would be required to be paid to the I.U. on a monthly basis. Mulitply $313,500.00 per month times twelve (12) months would equal $3,762,000.00 a year that Local 5 would have paid to the UFCW International Union.

So one must ask, where does all of the Per Capita Tax go and how does it help the hard working members within the UFCW??? Soooo President Hansen, maybe you could provide us all with the details of where the $12.54 Per Capita Tax is spent by the UFCW International Union?? With the UFCW International Convention scheduled for sometime in 2008 and based on the above history, we can only assume that the Per Capita Tax will continue to go To Infinity and Beyond.......

Regarding the status of President Hansen, only time will tell... If our International Leadership do not get their heads out of their asses soon and immediately address the numerous problems facing our organization, including the major "disconnect" that they have with the entire UFCW membership, we will never have the capacity to grow as an organization. We will ultimately implode from within.

Something to think about...

This article was originally posted at http://forums.uncharted.ca/about1068.html