Proposed Dues Hike Divides UAW

United Auto Workers delegates are expected to vote Tuesdayon a controversial dues hike, and some members on Monday staged a last-ditch effort to derail the first increase in more than four decades, reported The Detroit News.

But halting the hike likely hinges on scoring an important on-the-record roll-call vote, rather than a voice vote, they say, because the dues increase is a union-backed proposal.

Getting that roll-call vote requires the support of 307 delegates — roughly one-third of the 1,100 attending this year’s convention. Dissenters, at a meeting following the conclusion of the convention’s first day, said they are looking to end the UAW’s “social club” mentality and prevent a “slap in the face” with any dues increase.

UAW President Bob King said the dues vote will take place Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s election of the next union president, which is presumed to be current secretary-treasurer Dennis Williams.

The possible 25 percent dues hike — the union’s first since the 1960s — is “opposed by a large majority” of UAW members, Gary Walkowicz, bargaining committeeman at Ford’s Dearborn Truck plant and the lone challenger to the union-endorsed Williams, said in a flier distributed on Monday to delegates.

Walkowicz said he’s not looking to have the proposed dues hike struck down this week. His goal is to have each of the union’s 391,415 members — instead of delegates — vote to decide whether to pay two-and-a-half hours’ worth of monthly pay, up from to two hours.

“It’s not primarily about the money,” Walkowicz said. “It really goes back to disagreeing with the leadership.”

For a veteran autoworker making $28 an hour, the increase would cost $14 a month, or $168 a year. Newer union members in the lower $14-an-hour wage tier would pay half that amount.

Some union members are pushing back against the UAW, and already are peeved that the union spent millions of dollars on recent political efforts, including the attempt to organize Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., and fighting Michigan’s 2012 right-to-work law. They believe union spending is out of control; one example cited Monday was the union’s insistence on spending hundreds of dollars per delegate to house them at a nearby hotel — even those who live and work in Metro Detroit.

The International UAW said it’s not responsible for the hotels of members who live in the local area.

UAW officials insist the union needs the extra money to boost its strike fund.

The fund once totaled about $1 billion but today is down to about $600 million, outgoing UAW President Bob King said Monday. King has said a larger strike fund will send a message to companies to bargain in good faith.

“If we vote here for a dues increase, it will deter more members from staying with the union,” Walkowicz said, referencing the choice for some workers to opt out of paying union dues if they reside in right-to-work states such as Michigan.

King said Monday he expects workers to remain dues-paying members even if the dues hike passes, citing six months of discussions with members. He would not speculate on how close he expects Tuesday’s vote to be.

Some workers are convinced eliminating the UAW’s two-tier wage system — which pays new employees half of what their veteran counterparts earn — and gaining raises for those veteran workers is an easier way to boost revenue.

About 30 union delegates and members attended the Monday afternoon meeting. At least two indicated that seven other union members at their home plants have committed to voting against the 25-percent hike.

The dissenters acknowledge their chances to shoot down the increase are slim.

“The roll call is going to be important to get the votes on record,” said Scott Houldieson, a delegate from Local 551, which represents workers at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant. “Those who vote for a dues increase will put their union positions further down the road in jeopardy.”