Become a Member
Membership Application Form
If you would like to become a voting member of the union, please fill out a membership form (PDF), print it off, then mail it in to:
CUE, 2855 Telegraph Ave, Suite #302,
Berkeley, CA 94705.
Are YOU a CUE member yet?
or, why you’re not a member til you’ve signed the form or, why we can’t win a fair contract unless you join!
But wait – I thought I WAS a CUE member. Money is coming out of my paycheck every month, isn’t it? Aren’t I automatically a member?
If you haven’t filled out and signed a membership form and mailed it in to CUE, you’re not a CUE member yet. The money that comes out of non-members’ checks is called Fair Share Fees. That money helps the union meet the costs of representing and communicating with 18,000 clericals statewide, including bargaining contracts, representing clerical workers in grievances and arbitrations, making copies, and paying postage, office rent, phone bills, and staff wages. CUE is legally obligated to represent ALL UC clericals – and is much stronger because we don’t just represent a small group of clerical workers. But to be a member of CUE, you have to fill out a membership form and mail it in to CUE (please see the form on the back of this flyer). Until you’ve done that, you’re not a member yet.
So what’s the point of becoming a CUE member if CUE will represent me whether I join or not?
When you join CUE, you have a VOTE and a VOICE in everything the union does. You have a say in how CUE is representing you, at the bargaining table and in grievances. You get to vote on the CUE’s policies and campaigns, on what CUE is doing at the bargaining table and in Sacramento, on who the union’s officers are, on how the union spends dues and fair share money… The union’s decisions are members’ decisions, and you don’t get to help make those decisions unless you become a CUE member. And if you join, you’ll get more information more regularly from CUE about matters that concern everyone who’s a clerical worker at UC. And by joining, you’re making CUE stronger. When we’re sitting across the bargaining table from UC, for example, UC knows exactly how many members we have, and translates that into support for the union. Every single clerical worker who joins makes CUE’s voice louder, and makes UC take us more seriously! And that means better contracts and fairer treatment for all of us, on individual campuses and statewide. Very soon we’ll be going back to the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract for clericals. The more we can increase our membership now, the better contract we’ll be able to bargain for all clericals statewide. And the sooner you join, the more say you’ll have in what’s in our new contract.
How much are member dues? Are they higher than fair share fees? If I join, will I pay more?
Member dues are 0.5% (one-half of 1%) of your gross monthly salary. So, for example, if you make $2400 per month before taxes, you’ll pay $12 each month in member dues. Non-members’ fair share fees are 0.475% of your monthly salary. For most people, this means that member dues are between 50 cents and one dollar more than fair share fees. That’s all. With such a small difference in money, and such a big difference in the power of the union and your voice in it, you can’t afford not to join!
