Dear Colleagues in Health Services and the Counseling Center,
On May 18 you will have an important decision to make: whether or not you wish to have union representation by the National Education Association (NEA), a union that represents mostly school teachers. The outcome will be based on the majority of votes actually cast — either yes or no. If the majority vote for union representation, the NEA will want all employees to pay union dues as part of a negotiated contract. A union is a business. It needs money to operate, and that money comes from the paychecks of the employees it represents. Even if you vote “no,” if the union wins the election it will try to negotiate a contract provision requiring employees who do not join the union to pay what is called an agency service or “fair share” fee as a condition of continued employment. The NEA agency service fee is usually just a few dollars less than the annual dues of $375.
There is no guarantee the union will negotiate more for you in wages or benefits than you have now. But there is a guarantee that the union will want every employee it represents to pay union dues, at least $375 a year and more for employees considered “professionals” by the PELRB, like physicians. What will you get for your $375 or more per year? A teachers’ union representative you may have never met and who may know nothing about what you do. This person will be your voice. We encourage you to consider all aspects of this decision before you vote, including the financial costs of union representation the NEA will want to impose on you.
Thank you,
Kathy Neils
Chief Human Resources Officer
University of New Hampshire
