Membership & Dues FAQ

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Membership & Dues FAQ

Graduate students in Northwestern degree programs providing instructional and research services for the University, including graduate assistants; teaching assistants; research assistants; and fellows.

Specific exclusions are listed in the recognition clause of the tentative agreement, and listed at the end of this FAQ.

How do I become a member of NUGW-UE Local 1122?

To become a current member of the Union, you must sign a membership card and pay monthly membership dues. The easiest way to do this is to fill out a digital membership/dues authorization form. You must be a member to participate in the ratification vote. If you were previously a member, to become a current member, you must sign a new digital membership card.

We will stop collecting voluntary dues in the near future and institute dues collection as agreed upon in the tentative agreement.

Dues fund a strong union that can win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Union dues go directly to NUGW-UE Local 1122 to fund the training, support, materials, staff and other resources we need to maintain an independent, democratic, rank-and-file union.

Union dues are 1.44% of our gross monthly stipend.

All RAs, TAs, GAs, and fellows who receive the full benefits and protections of the contract, are required to either pay dues as union members with voting privileges or else pay equivalent agency fees to cover the costs of collective bargaining and contract enforcement. Our union constitution sets the amount for both dues and agency fees to be 1.44% of our pay.

If you are covered by our contract, you can either become a member of NUGW-UE Local 1122 and pay dues or, if you choose not to become a member, pay an agency fee to the Union. This fee, which is authorized by federal law, is equivalent to union dues and covers your fair share of supporting our effort to bargain collectively with our employer and improve and defend our working conditions. Non-member fee-payers forego all rights and benefits of union membership. Non-members can sign up to pay monthly fees through payroll deduction here.

Importantly, becoming a member of the union gives you the right to vote in union elections, run for union officer and steward positions, attend General Membership Meetings (GMMs), and participate in the decision-making and democracy of our union. Only union members are eligible to vote.

The most convenient way to pay dues is by signing up for payroll deduction using the digital membership/dues authorization form. By filling out this form, your dues will automatically be deducted from your paycheck and forwarded to the Union.

If you would prefer not to use this convenient method of automatic payment, you may pay your dues directly to NUGW-UE Local 1122 on a monthly basis.

We will begin collecting dues shortly after the contract is ratified. We will send out an email informing you of dues collection 4 weeks prior to the first dues collection.

You can send us an email at nugraduateworkers@gmail.com.

  • Undergraduate Students;
  • Graduate students who are not providing instructional or research services for the University;
  • Graduate students not seeking Northwestern degrees, including visiting students;
  • Graduate student graders, tutors and proctors who are not otherwise providing instructional or research services for the University;
  • Assistant Chairs in residential colleges;
  • Residential Assistants;
  • Students enrolled in the Pritzker School of Law;
  • M.D. seeking students in the Feinberg School of Medicine (including M.D./Ph.D. students in Feinberg who are in their M.D. phase of studies);
  • Students enrolled in the Medill School of Journalism;
  • Office clericals, managers, guards, and supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act.