Question 7 “At the end of the year, your local has to have collected all of the IEA and NEA dues that its members owe, and sent these funds to IEA. If you don't collect the right amount, you are still responsible for sending it in. What procedures do you have in place to make sure that you receive payments from your employer per the schedule that you have in place, and that they are collecting and remitting the correct amount of dues for all of your members?”

The Bylaws of the IEA are pretty clear on this subject:

“All local education associations are the agents of IEA-NEA for purposes of collecting and transmitting IEA-NEA and NEA dues.”

So when we saw several responses to Question 7 that included the words “hope,” “trust,” or “crapshoot,” we got a little nervous! Collection of dues is something that you have to take control over, not leave to chance or someone else’s whim.

Some membership contacts responded that dues collection is the local Treasurer’s job. Since more than half of the IEA’s local membership contacts are also the Treasurers of their locals, in many cases this is a moot point. Even if these jobs are held by two different people, dues collection should be looked at as a shared responsibility; at the very least, the local membership contact should understand the process and have a role in making sure that the Treasurer gets it right. And even if you collect and transmit the correct amount of dues, if the IEA’s membership roster is not correct, there will be problems. Keeping the roster up to date is, of course, the responsibility of the membership contact.

Here is some technical information about the IEA’s billing process. Some of this may not directly affect your duties as membership contact, but you should still understand how it works.

One thing that may be confusing at first is that your schedule for paying dues to IEA is different from your schedule of collecting dues from your members. You collect from your members based on whatever schedule that you and your employer follow. So your members may have dues withheld once a month, once a pay period, or some other system. You may collect dues year-round, or just during a certain time period. You may even allow your members to pay by check in one lump sum.

The IEA’s remittance policy is spelled out in its Bylaws. On November 1, your local is billed for 10% of its current dues obligation. The next bill, dated December 1, is for 20% of the current obligation, less the amount of the payment received for November. On January 1, the third bill is for 30% of the current obligation, less the total year-to-date payments received. This continues until the tenth and final billing date, August 1. The bill for August 1 is for 100% of your current obligation’ less the total year-to-date payments received. (NOTE: some higher education locals have the ability to request a different dues schedule; this won’t be covered here).

Page 1 of 6 Since the roster for most locals changes during the year due to turnover, illnesses, etc., the first nine scheduled payments (November-July) are basically “interim billings.” Don’t get hung up on whether one of these bills is exactly “right.” If your IEA roster/bill is temporarily “wrong” due to a delay in processing a new member, a termination, etc., the billing will self-correct once the roster is back in sync. As an example: You have 5 members with a dues obligation of $500 each As of November 1, the IEA has not processed the addition of one of the members So the November 1 billing would be for $200 (4 x $500 x 10%) So don’t get worried about being “underbilled.” Just pay the $200. The addition of the member is processed in November, so the IEA’s roster is now correct. Your December 1 bill will be for $300 ((5 x $500 x 20%) -$200). So when you pay the $300, you will have paid $500 year-to-date. This is the correct year-to-date amount (5x $500x 20%).

As long as your meet your monthly payment obligation, the IEA doesn’t know (or necessarily care) how much you have actually collected. If your bill for January 1 is for $5,000 but you have actually collected $6,000 as of January 1, the IEA just expects to receive $5,000. But if the reverse is true- your bill is for $6,000 but you have only collected $5,000- you still need to pay $6,000 in order to avoid the late payment penalty of 2% per month. So you need to make sure that the collection schedule that you set up with your employer allows you to collect enough dues throughout the year to keep up with the IEA’s payment schedule.

You can see that it’s important to make sure that your roster is correct at the end of the year, so the amount of your final IEA bill (August 1) is correct. This is where communication between the membership contact and the Treasurer is important (assuming they are not the same person, of course). Many Treasurers want to take the summer off, so when they pay the June 1 IEA bill they just pay the total amount shown as being due for the remainder of the year. That way they don’t have to write checks over the summer. But if the membership contact changes the roster over the summer (say they add a new member), the Treasurer may come back from vacation to find a past-due bill from the IEA waiting for them. So you need to take steps to make sure that your IEA roster/bill is up to date before your Treasurer makes the last dues payment for the year.

From the survey responses, it appears that some locals just wait to the end of the year to make sure that the correct amount of dues has been collected. The problem with that, of course, is that if you discover after the last pay period in May that dues have been not been withheld for a member, you don’t have the opportunity to payroll-deduct the balance due. You will have to go to the member and ask for a check. If the amount in question is large, this may not make you a popular person! So it’s important to check the dues deductions throughout the year to make sure that they are correct. You also need to make sure that your employer is withholding dues according to the schedule that you have agreed to. Many locals have arranged for their employer to withhold IEA-NEA dues separately from their local dues, and the employer pays this to the IEA directly. This is fine (it saves the local from having to write checks to IEA), but if you do this you need to remember that you still have to meet the IEA’s dues

Page 2 of 6 payment schedule. So you need to make sure that your employer is sending enough money to IEA to cover the amounts shown on each of your ten monthly statements, and that they are sending the funds in time to meet the payment deadlines. Regardless of who is writing the checks, your local is still responsible for making sure that all ten payment deadlines are met.

The “best practices” for dues collection and payment that were mentioned by the survey respondents included the following. Again, some of this may not directly fall under your job description; however, you should still understand how the process works so that you will know when problems occur (and how to avoid problems in the first place).

1. Keep a spreadsheet or other record of how much each member should be paying each pay period, and compare this to how much is actually received every period. As members come and go during the year, keep the spreadsheet up to date. 2. Make sure that along with each dues deduction check from the employer, you receive a list showing the amount of dues withheld for each member. Using the spreadsheet from #1, identify any discrepancies and either notify the employer for correction, or notify IEA if a roster change is required. 3. Work with your employer to make sure the process works correctly. 4. Make sure that your members know a) the dues amount that should be deducted from their checks each pay period, and b) who to notify if there is a discrepancy. 5. KEEP YOUR IEA ROSTER UP TO DATE THROUGH OUT THE YEAR (tips for doing this are included in several of the previous survey question summaries).

As was the case with several of the previous survey questions, a combination of methods is usually the best procedure. Here are some representative responses for these practices. The size of the local is indicated in parentheses.

Spreadsheet I am the treasurer, so I keep a spreadsheet of what each member owes in dues and what the district sends me on their behalf. Our contract spells out that dues are deducted during the first five paychecks of the year (which unfortunately puts these over two tax years and that confuses members), that way we have collected all the money and have it in the bank earning interest until it is all due. (128 members)

I set up all the information on an Excel spreadsheet and then share it with our district bookkeeper and verify the amounts every month when the check is received. (41 members)

I have a spreadsheet that I submit to our payroll person at the beginning of the year that includes monthly totals to be collected. As membership changes, we adjust the spreadsheet accordingly. When payroll is processed at the end of the month, I receive a check from our office and I check to make sure it is the correct amount and then send in my dues payment when I receive the statement. (122 members)

Page 3 of 6 Employer Listing I receive a printout from the district office for all dues deducted from members' payroll. (108 members)

We receive the dues deductions and rosters twice a month for 16 pays, and I check over each one to be sure the correct amounts are being deducted. (I am also the Treasurer) If there are discrepancies, I investigate the reason and make sure any corrections are made. The payroll/personnel has always been very cooperative. (66 members)

I watch the deduction register and have contact with the person that oversees the Union deductions. (47 members)

Each month we receive a list of all the members and the amount that was deducted from their paycheck and the amount that has been collected in total. (14 members)

I get a listing every two weeks (pay period) that lists all members and all dues paid in that time frame. I check each time for accuracy and correct any errors immediately so that my correspondence with IEA and the districts' payroll deductions are even. (109 members)

The individual who does payroll sends me an Excel spreadsheet after each pay period with each member listed and the amount deducted for union dues. I then check that against my records. (154 members)

Each month our payroll clerk sends us an itemized report of the dues collected from each member. At the end of year, she sends us a finalized report of the total dues collected from each member. (201 members)

Work with Employer I work with the bookkeeper. We double check each other. (28 members)

At the beginning of each school year and when new hires or deleted/retired members I give the Admin Bookkeeper/Payroll for the district a list with the amount of money to take out for full-time & part-time members, the start dates & the ending dates. And our treasurer gets a list from the payroll clerk along with the check of the dues taken out bi-weekly. The treasurer reviews the list for the correct names & we communicate with the payroll clerk. (169 members)

Every month, the treasurer goes through the bookkeeper’s report of dues withheld and paid to the union. She cross checks those with the current member list and their status. The treasurer works with the bookkeeper to make sure the final full amount of dues is taken out by their May paycheck. (123 members)

We have an automatic deposit set up from our district for our account. I check with the person in charge of the district payroll whenever we have additions and/or subtractions to our membership to be sure the correct amounts are taken out. I provide a list, and she verifies that it matches the information that she has. (129 members)

We have payroll deduction and I am issued a check each pay period. I provide the business manager a copy of the IEA/NEA dues pages and a copy of their membership form. We have a small local

Page 4 of 6 assessment with the first payroll deduction and I remind her. Then I usually remind her to take that off. At the end of the year our deduction ends in May so I remind her to stop payroll deduction. (39 members)

Communicate with Your Members I prepare a spreadsheet of local, state, national dues that will be collected from each member. The spreadsheet is reviewed with our district bookkeeper to ensure accuracy. An email goes out to all members noting the correct amount of dues that should be collected from each check. The email goes out the same day as the first paychecks are issued, urging members to compare the amount deducted that is noted on the paystub to the amount shown in the email. (40 members)

Combination I communicate with our financial administrator, keeping a spread sheet of what each member owes and how they will pay. We have an October to June payment system which provides us ample time to pay our dues on time to the IEA. (130 members)

I receive a dues roster from my organization for every payroll. I then keep my own data base in Excel so that I can quickly reference it to see when an individual became a member or dropped for our organization and association. I base any further questions from IEA off that information. (142 members)

I run an Excel document and each month the unit office sends me a deduction list for the dues. We also calculate the dues for 9 months. This way I have all the dues collected in the May paycheck and submit the final bill in June. After the April paycheck I also communicate with the unit secretary about the different amount in May due to the division of not always being perfect. (100 members)

Each month, the district sends a list of all paying members for that month. The amount of the deposit is entered into a spreadsheet where it is compared with the budgeted amount of dues collected. (68 members)

I check our payroll list to make sure dues are correct. Double check my IEA bill. Keep in contact with my HR. (662 members)

I make a schedule and have checked with the district bookkeeper and the other association board members to make sure that all dues amounts are correct. I always break down the dues and show the members a PowerPoint about where their dues are going at the beginning of the year. (53 members)

I receive a bi-monthly transmittal with all dues taken out and a check for the total amount. I cross check these transmittals with my union list and contact HR about any discrepancies. They usually respond within 1 business day and I forward any changes to the local and regional office. In addition when I receive a statement from the union, I cross check that as well with my list and correct or update any discrepancies. (91 members)

I check with our payroll department in the fall to make sure I have the correct information on the percentage of time each member is employed with the district. Based on that, I know how much each member should have deducted per paycheck. I also work closely with the payroll department to inform them of new members to our union and what the member's payroll deduction will be based on when they were first employed. I receive a bi-monthly report from the payroll department on payroll

Page 5 of 6 deductions for our union. I check it for accuracy. I check the documentation IEA sends me to make sure the number of members matches up with my personal list as well as the list I receive from the district. (86 members)

Payroll lists members’ names, total dues owed for the year and amount collected and balance owed. I give Payroll the breakdown schedule for full and part time employees and amount of dues per member. I list NEA amount, IEA amount, and local dues. I divide total by 18 and I know how much member owes each month. This flier also goes to each member so that they know how much per month they are paying. This goes out in Sept. Payroll has the schedule from me as soon as I find out how much dues are. (24 members)

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