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For Faculty Who Are Not UC-AAUP Members: Estimate your Fair Share fee HERE. "Fair share" is a term that refers to a system under which employees who are represented by a collective bargaining agent pay a fee to help bear the cost of that representation. Fair share fees are allowed by Ohio law and pare paid by faculty at all other Ohio AAUP chapters engaged in collective bargaining, as well as here on the UC campus by SEIU, IUOE, and AFSCME represented employees. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 2. What does AAUP do that benefits me? What are Fair Share fees used for? The fair share fee represents costs to the UC Chapter AAUP and its state and national affiliates that are germane to the Chapter's legal duties to represent you as a member of this collective bargaining unit. These expenses are referred to as "chargeable" and include such costs as:
Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 3. Does the AAUP Chapter represent non-members? Yes. It is the Chapter's legal duty to assist and represent all faculty in the bargaining unit, regardless of membership status. (Chapter staff do not even ask a faculty member's status when s/he calls or stops by the office asking for assistance.) As an AAUP Chapter, it is also part of our mission to advocate for the rights of all faculty and for the best interests of the entire University. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 4. Are Fair Share Fees used to pay for political activities? No. Fair share fees cannot be used to pay for "non-chargeable" activities. Those activities include:
Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 5. Are faculty required to join the AAUP-UC Chapter? No. "Fair Share" does not require anyone to join any group. ("Closed shop" is a system under which one must join a union in order to have employment in a bargaining unit. Fair share is not a "closed shop" system.) Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 6. Why does Fair Share matter to all UC faculty? Maintaining a strong Chapter serves every faculty member's interests. With fair share in place, the Chapter will have sufficient resources to take any needed legal actions; to take to arbitration any legitimate and unresolved grievances; to further train negotiators and staff; to properly fund the work of the Chapter's new standing committees (the Contract Compliance & Education Committee and the Budget & Compensation Advisory Committee); and to most effectively negotiate the next contract. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 7. What has the AAUP-UC Chapter accomplished? Before we had a contract:
After we negotiated the first contract:
Subsequent achievements include:
Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 8. Are Fair Share fees or Chapter Membership dues tax deductible? In some cases, membership dues or fair share fees may be tax deductible. Consult your tax advisor for more information. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 9. What's the difference between Chapter membership and Fair Share fee status? Only members of the UC Chapter AAUP are entitled to vote for Chapter officers, seek a Chapter office, serve on Chapter committees, participate in establishing Chapter priorities for collective bargaining, and vote on important issues at Chapter meetings, including whether to authorize a strike or ratify a collective bargaining agreement. (There are also other benefits at the state and national level. Click here to see a list of the benefits of belonging to the national AAUP organization.) If you decide not to join the Chapter between now and January 15, 2008, under the terms of the new 2007-2010 contract you will automatically become a "fair share fee payer" in order to help share in the costs of representation that benefits all bargaining unit faculty. (Please refer to Article 22.1 of the new agreement for a description of the fair share provisions.) These fees will begin on January 31, 2008, through payroll deduction. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 10. How much are Fair Share fees? How is the Fair Share rate determined? Each year, the fair share fee rate is set according to the report of an independent auditing firm. Flynn and Co. has audited and analyzed the expenditures of the UC Chapter AAUP for the 2006 calendar year. The report of Flynn and Co. explaining the allocation of UC Chapter AAUP expenses between chargeable and non-chargeable expenses was mailed to all members of the bargaining unit on November 13, 2007. Part of the calculation of the Chapter's expenditures includes analysis of its payments to the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors and the National Office of the American Association of University Professors. The independent audits of those organizations were also mailed to all bargaining unit members on November 13, 2007, explaining how those organizations' expenditure were allocated between chargeable and non-chargeable amounts. The fair share fee as of January 1, 2008, will be 0.0048 of base salary. This rate represents the proportion of Chapter expenditures in 2006 which were categorized as chargeable. (The table below gives examples of how this rate translates at various base salary levels.)
Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 11. Why does the Fair Share rate change each year? When does the rate change? Each year's audit analyzes the Chapter's activities (and those of the state and national level AAUP) for the previous year. Because activities vary from year to year, so does the fair share rate. In 2006 the Chapter spent a lot of time and energy on new organizing and internal restructuring -- these are not chargeable activities, so the 2006 rate is relatively low. In 2007, however, the Chapter has spent almost all of it's collective time and energy on bargaining, which is chargeable, so the fair share rate for the audited year 2007 will be significantly higher. The 2007 fair share rate, once determined, will go into effect September 30, 2008. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page If a faculty member belongs to a bona fide religious organization, whose doctrine forbids contributions to outside organizations such as the AAUP, then the equivalent of the Fair Share fee can be donated to a non-religious charity. That charity must be agreeable to both the faculty member and the AAUP. If you think you may qualify, email Deborah Herman (deborah.herman@uc.edu) for more information. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page 13. Is there an appeal procedure? What can be appealed? The Fair Share fee procedures provide a system for the orderly determination of the Fair Share Fee amount. The Fair Share Appeal Procedures provide a process by which non-members may object to expenditures which they contend should not be charged to non-members (i.e., are improperly categorized as "chargeable"). The procedures provide for a prompt consideration of appeals. They were enclosed in the packets mailed to all non-members on November 13, 2007 (see Appendix B"). If you have any questions about the Fair Share or the appeal procedures, feel free to direct correspondence to the Chapter's Executive Director, Deborah M. Herman at Deborah.Herman@uc.edu or 450 Dabney Hall, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0176. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page For more than 15 years, faculty have been told by administration to "wait until next time" for meaningful salary increases. UC faculty can't wait any longer. UC's future depends on recruiting and retention of excellent faculty, overall employee relations and morale. Faculty voices must be heard in decision-making processes. Shared governance must be respected. Salaries for all UC faculty must be significantly increased. We need your membership now ... because a larger membership means a stronger faculty voice at the table. President Zimpher has agreed to the AAUP's request to start work now on solving UC's dismal salary situation through the AAUP-UC Joint Committee. Working together, we can all make "next time" a reality. Return to Top of Page Return to UC-AAUP Home Page
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University of Cincinnati Chapter AAUP © 2006