Fair Share Service Fee 2016
Date: October 14, 2016
To: All Faculty Who Are Not Members of CCFF
From: Cerritos College Faculty Federation, Local #6215, AFT, AFL-CIO
Re: AGENCY FEE (ANNUAL FAIR SHARE SERVICE FEE) /CCFF Membership
___________________________________________________________________
Purpose of this Notice:
The Cerritos College Faculty Federation (CCFF) is the exclusive bargaining agent and representative for all faculty of the Cerritos Community College District (the “District”). In representing all faculty, the CCFF incurs significant costs, including collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance handling. In recognition of the principle that represented, non-union, members should pay their fair share of obtaining and maintaining the benefits of union representational activities, the California State Legislature has approved the deduction of “fair share service fee” or “agency” fees from the salaries of public employees who are not union members, but who are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent. Accordingly, the amount of the Fair Share Service Fee (FSSF) will be automatically deducted from your regular (Fall and Spring semester) paychecks for the duration of your employment as a faculty member at Cerritos Community College.
Your Fair Share Service Fees, together with union members’ dues and other contributions, are necessary for the CCFF to protect and advance the professional and economic interests of all faculty it represents. One of the most valuable of these union services is the negotiation of contracts that govern your earnings and other economic benefits and the conditions under which you work. Fair share service fees and union dues pay the costs of these negotiations, including the staff work, legal, economic, and educational research necessary to develop the union’s program on our behalf. Collective bargaining and the protection of employees’ rights under the contract require year-round activity by union officers and staff as well as volunteer union members. Further, since many of your working conditions and benefits, as well as the resources available to fund community college operations, are governed directly by legislation, the CCFF monitors the legislative process and lobbies to protect your interests through its parent affiliates, California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
Amount of Fair Share Service Fee (FSSF) or Agency Fee:
The Executive Board of the CCFF has decided to execute its right under the organizational security provision of the law to collect Fair Share Service Fees. If you do not elect to join the CCFF, a Fair Share Service Fee in the amount equivalent to 100% of the CCFF membership dues will be deducted from your monthly salary by the District beginning with the November 30, 2016 pay warrant. The CCFF membership dues effective November 30, 2016 pay warrant will be as follows:
Membership Dues:
Full Time Faculty: $98.94/month for each of 10 months
(Contract, Regular, Temporary)
Part Time Faculty: $22.68/month for each of 10 months
This fair share fee will be deducted from your salary from the date of your employment in the Cerritos Community College District but it does not automatically make you a member of the CCFF.
As your collective bargaining representative, we strongly encourage you to join the CCFF and become an active participant in our organization. Aside from the advantage of the CCFF membership to all faculty of increased solidarity, the individual advantages include the right to vote on union contract provisions and for the election of union officers, the amount of union dues, and the union Bylaws and Constitution. The Membership Form is found online on the CCFF website. If you decide to join the CCFF, simply fill out the Membership Form and submit it via campus mail to CCFF c/o Stephanie Rosenblatt, Membership Chair, or leave it in the CCFF campus mailbox.
Audit: Chargeable and Non-Chargeable Expenses for the 2015-16 Fiscal Year:
An audit of CCFF’s income and expenses for the 2015-16 fiscal year has recently been completed. The complete audit report is available online at the CCFF website at https://ccffcerritos.org/fair-share-service-fee/. The purpose of the audit is to demonstrate how CCFF’s income is expended. Through the experience of many years of labor law and many court cases, definitions have emerged as to what “chargeable” collective bargaining representation expenses are. The law says that FSSF payers are required to pay the chargeable portion of expenses, which encompass expenses that are considered necessarily and reasonably incurred for the purpose of performing duty as representative of the employees in the bargaining unit in dealing with the employer on labor management issues. These include the costs of negotiating and administering the collective bargaining agreement; investigating, resolving and settling grievances and disputes by mutual agreement, or in conciliation or arbitration, or otherwise; activities and undertakings normally and reasonably employed to implement the duties of CCFF as representative of employees in the bargaining unit; and the maintenance of CCFF’s associational existence. Chargeable expenses according to the 2015-16 audit are 78.79% of total CCFF expenses.
REQUEST for Reduction of Fair Share Service Fee:
Non-chargeable expenses are those incurred by CCFF in relation to issues and legislation only incidentally related to the terms and conditions of employment, or applied toward the cost of benefits available only to union members. As an agency fee payer and non-member, you are entitled to request a reduction in your fair share fee that corresponds to the percentage of the union’s total budget that is for “non-chargeable” purposes, and therefore only contribute to “chargeable expenses.” If you do not wish to pay the non-chargeable portion of the FSSF you may submit a Request for Reduction of Fair Share Service Fee (Request) via campus mail to CCFF c/o Stephanie Rosenblatt, Membership Chair. This Request must be in writing, following the Request Procedures. You may submit a Request any time up until thirty days (November 13, 2016) from the date of this Notice. You are, of course, not required to seek this reduction and, because CCFF’s work on your behalf is expensive, CCFF hopes you will not object, since even the non-chargeable expenses benefit the faculty of Cerritos College. If you elect to opt for a reduced FSSF or agency fee, it would be as follows:
Full Time Faculty: $77.95/month for each of 10 months
(Contract, Regular, Temporary) (78.79% of $98.94)
Part Time Faculty: $17.87/month for each of 10 months
(78.79% of $22.68)
CHALLENGE to the Determination of the Non-Chargeable Amount:
You are entitled to examine the auditor’s report, and you may challenge CCFF’s determination of the expenditures that are chargeable. This Challenge to the Determination of Non- Chargeable Amount must be in writing, following the Challenge Procedures. You may submit a Challenge any time up until thirty days from the date of this Notice.
OBJECTION to the Payment of the Fair Share Service Fee Based on Religious Principles:
Any faculty member who is a member of a religious body whose traditional tenets or teachings include objections to joining or financially supporting employee organizations may file an Objection to the Payment of the Fair Share Service Fee Based on Religious Principles (Objection). This Objection must be in writing, following the Objection Procedures. You may submit an Objection any time up until thirty days from the date of this Notice.
Procedures for Filing a “Request,” a “Challenge” or an “Objection”:
The procedures for filing a Request for Reduction of Fair Share Service Fee, a Challenge to the Determination of the Non- Chargeable Amount, and an Objection to the Payment of the Fair Share Service Fee Based on Religious Principles can be found on the CCFF web site at https://ccffcerritos.org/fair-share-service-fee/. Or, contact the CCFF office at 562.467.5000 x2295 or email CCFF’s Secretary, George Jarrett at gjarrett@cerritos.edu to request a copy.
Response to Challenges and Objections:
The CCFF Executive Board will review all Challenges and Objections according to the Procedures, and a decision will be made regarding acceptance or denial. All monies collected from you during that time will be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account until the results of the Executive Board deliberations are finalized. Any money collected as a FSSF that is deemed refundable will be returned to you, with interest, and your monthly deduction will be adjusted according to the results of the decision.
JOIN CCFF!
Again, we urge you to join CCFF. Member Dues are exactly the same as non-member Fair Share Service Fees. We encourage you to join CCFF and become a voting member so that you can elect your CCFF Officers, participate in surveys, and vote on contract ratification. The Membership Form is found online on the CCFF website.
Attachments:
2016 AFT Agency Fee Audit
2016 CFT Agency Fee Audit
2016 CCFF Agency Fee Compilation
Complete Audit Report for CCFF 2016
Reduced Fee Request Form 2016-17
Challenge Procedures
Objection Procedures