Is It Fair to Base Union or Professional Association Dues on the Gross Income of Members?

I obtained this information from the SEIU 1199 website. See http://ltc.seiu1199.org/HCFaq.aspx

Dues in SEIU District 1199 are 1.75% of gross pay, or $1.75 for every $100 you make.

So for every $1,000.00 grossed, the dues will be $17.50. I have several clients who are Ohio IPs and these nurses can gross from $50,000 to $80,000.00 a year or more.

An Ohio IP Nurse with SEIU labor representation who grosses $50,000 year may pay $875.00 a year for labor dues. This is speculative at this point but based on the figure provided on the SEIU 1199 website, which doesn't mention a cap.

This is expensive and there should be a cap, i.e. a maximum amount on which the SEIU figures dues for Ohio IP union members. A cap at $30,000 would yield $525.00 in dues.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that I am member of the Ohio Nurses Association. The Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) is a union and a professional association. I do not belong to an ONA collective bargaining unit. In addition to being self-employed as an attorney, I am employed as a home health R.N. The home care agency where I am employed is unorganized (no union).

As a RN and a licensure defense attorney I support the rights of individual nurses to determine what's best for them in the workplace:

1. Working pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement;

2. Working in a non-union setting and utilizing workforce advocacy tools (see the Center for American Nurses at www.centerforamericannurses.org) ; or

3. Negotiating with an employer and having an individual employment contract or agreement.

The Ohio Nurses Association is proposing a dues increase for its membership which will be decided at the Convention next week and its only 0.8% of a stipulated salary. ONA Union and Non-Union Members have different stipulated salaries.

I can't imagine an attorneys union. Even more unimaginable, would be a union of attorneys proposing to base dues on a gross percentage of attorney members income. You can say of course, I am comparing apples to oranges my comparing attorneys to nurses and other healthcare professionals.....

Should unions and professional associations base membership dues on the salary of its membership? I can assure you, the American Bar Association, The American Association of Nurse Attorneys, or the state Bar Association that I belong to would NEVER propose such a concept.

Can you explain why this is occurring? What's your opinion? If you want to express your opinion and would like for me to post the comment without your name and email address, just let me know.