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2016 SURVEY: IEA LOCAL MEMBERSHIP CONTACTS

SUMMARY OF “BEST PRACTICES”

In early 2016, an email survey was sent to all of the IEA’s 900+ local membership contacts, except for a small handful who did not have an email address on file. There were 215 responses (23% participation rate) to the survey, which covered these areas:

Page(s)1. Identifying new members 3-92. Identifying members to be “dropped” 10-153. Determining the reasons for member “drops” 16-194. Leaves of absence 20-225. Keeping the IEA roster up to date 23-276. Identifying and processing “demographic changes” 28-307. Making sure that all IEA-NEA dues are collected and transmitted 31-368. Relationship with local IEA office 379. Relationship with employer 38-4010. Identifying /processing members who belong to more than one IEA local 41

The survey responses filled over 80 pages with valuable insights. In an attempt to sort this information, remove redundant responses, and add some contextual information, we are providing this “summary” which itself is more than 40 pages long. The summary is intended to be more of a selection of “short stories” that can be digested on their own, as opposed to a “novel” that has to be read in its entirety in order to make sense. So you can pick and choose the topics that you want to visit, instead of just starting at the beginning.

Nothing is complete these days without a “Top 10 List,” so here is our list of ten “best of the best” practices for processing your local association’s membership data. The order is not relevant- these are all important ideas to consider.

1. Unless you have a “foolproof” way of accomplishing a given task, e.g. identifying new members, employ several different tactics in order to make sure that nothing slips through the cracks.

2. Know what information is available from IEA, and, more importantly, from your employer.3. Create and nurture a good working relationship with your employer’s staff members who have

the ability to help you to do your job better and easier.4. Know the available options for members on leave of absence (other than “drop-and-reinstate”).5. Get a detailed payroll deduction list for your members’ dues withholding every pay period and

make sure that it is correct. Use any discrepancies that you discover to help you keep your IEA roster up to date throughout the year.

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6. Find out why members leave your local, and communicate this to IEA. Don’t just cross them off your roster.

7. Have a system that allows you to monitor your employer’s payments for dues throughout the year, to make sure that the proper amount of dues is being collected and sent to you. Don’t try to do this at the end of the year. (1)

8. Process your “drops” as soon as you can. This saves the IEA a lot of wasted expenses in terms of printing membership cards, postage, etc.

9. Consider adding language to your contract that codifies the procedures, timelines and paperwork that help you to identify membership changes, collect dues efficiently, etc. If there are good relationships in place and everything is working well, it might be wise to formalize the current practices.

10. Periodically remind your members to keep their IEA demographic information up-to-date: phone number, addresses, name, etc. They can do all of this online, through the IEA website, except for changing their name (the local must do this). Or, they can give you the information and you can forward it to IEA.

We are very grateful to the local membership contacts who took the time to complete this survey. They have provided a wealth of “best practices” that can be used by their peers to make their lives easier!

(1) This may not be officially part of your job, but you need to understand how your local’s system works, and your role in the process

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Question 1“Many local associations have trouble identifying new members in a timely manner. What procedures have you put into place to make sure that you find out about new members as soon as possible after they are hired?”

There were 175 responses to this question. Grouped into broad categories, the feedback can be summarized as follows. Note: A large number of responders listed more than one method.

New member information received directly from the employer (114). Responses were subdivided into “HR Department” (40), Accounting/Business Office (36) and Principal/Administration/All Other (38).

New staff meetings/Orientations (44).

Governing board- Minutes (20); Attended meetings (6).

Building Rep/AR (20)

Many locals responded that they were so small that identifying new members was simply not an issue.

The first two categories require cooperation from the employer. This can be voluntary, when a good relationship exists between your local association and the employer, or else specific requirements can be built into your contract. Even when there is a great relationship, it may be advisable to incorporate the current system into your contract. Not all relationships last forever… this is a possible topic for discussion with your UniServ Director.

The other two approaches can be used regardless of your relationship with your employer. If you are unable to get information about new members in other ways, these may be the only methods available to you. Or you may use them just to make sure that an occasional member does not fall through the cracks. Also, there are other good reasons to attend Board meetings, read Board minutes, and have a good Building Rep/AR system, over and above the identification of new members.

Listed below are the responses that included specific details as to how the tactic is employed. The size of the local is also listed in parentheses.

Human ResourcesWe have an open communication with our HR, who notifies the treasurer of new hires so forms can be completed. Since most new hires for us happen at the start of the school year this is very easy. We give a deadline for member response to forms and updates. (130 members)

I go into the HR department and sit down with them and go over where the new hires are as well as any one that has retired or been let go. (108 members)

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We have worked with our personnel/HR department to notify us by email with updated rosters. We are to be notified within 2 weeks of hiring or resignation, according to our contract. We often have to send reminders and be persistent. (66 members)

This is also a struggle for us. I email the HR secretary at the beginning of each month to ask if there are any new hires; however she will often remember to email me more frequently with new hires. (1,257 members)

I have asked our district's Human Resources dept to add me to the e-mail list when schools are made aware of a new hire's start date. That way I know the name, the school, the start date (for dues calculation) and I will e-mail our union building rep with some of that information so they are aware to contact the new hire for membership. (109 members)

Accounting/Business OfficeWe have a good relationship with the district payroll specialist who helps inform us of new hires. (485 members)

Principal/Administration/All OtherIt has been a work in progress but between myself and our organization, we have developed a good process when new individuals are hired. We have a Board of Control meeting the 2nd Friday of every month. By the end of the meeting day, our office manager will email me new hires information that are union eligible (we currently have fair share). I then pass the information on to the local IEA office. If we have individuals that would like to fully join the union as a member, they contact me directly, I fill out the appropriate paperwork with them and mail immediately to Membership Processing at IEA. (142 members)

I receive a notice from the school board secretary the day after the board meeting who has been hired. Then at that time I send out all union documents at that time. We did have a lot of trouble in the past. Now, since this has been in place, it runs really smooth. (69 members)

As a support staff union, in my district, the Admin. Secretary that hires all staff sends me a copy of the Board of Ed. list with the names, date hired/resigned/ or retired, positions and school about 2-3 days after the board meeting each month. So I know right away most of the time. There is a big turnover of parapros & some custodians in my district. (169 members)

I get a list of all employees from the district office and use that to start a spreadsheet. I then cross-check that list against the IEA roster and highlight anyone who's not on the roster. (297 members)

Our President meets with the HR department and other administrators on a weekly basis, so she has become the major link between membership and the new employees. (419 members)

Before the start of school year, check with all building principals for names of new hires. (71 members)

My local presidents requested the district to add my name to the daily email updates which they receive regarding new hires. These updates give us the person's name, address, phone, hire date, job title, and building location. It has been a tremendous help in identifying new hires quickly. (1,398 members)

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I was able to have my name added to the list of people who receive daily updates (Smart Notifications) on new hires through a program used by the district. These notifications give me the person's full name, district ID number, address, phone, hire date, and position title. This has really been invaluable to helping me keep current. I would encourage anyone who processes membership to look into what procedures their district has in place for tracking new hires, and if there is any type of internal notification process, perhaps you can be added to the e-list of people being notified of new hires. (377 members)

The district office has shared with me a Google doc where they keep track of all new hires from spring through fall. I check this list regularly to find any new hires. During the school year, the district office informs me if there have been any new certified hires. (452 members)

I look at the school board personnel report every month that is posted on our district website. (86 members)

New Staff Meetings/OrientationsWe have a local meeting at the beginning of the year discussion anything new and the new amount of dues for the year. I address new hires then, also I email them. (56 members)

It is my job to personally contact all new hires the first week of school. We try to have a meeting open to all teachers the second day of school. As a union we give school t shirts or some other gift that says welcome to our team, from our association. We let everyone know about the association and hand out applications for membership them. (28 members)

Our district has a new teacher meeting before school starts and they set aside time for me to talk to them and hand out paperwork. (100 members)

We have a luncheon for our new teachers where we try to get them signed up that day. If they don't we follow up with them afterward. We are a fair share district, so everyone contributes in one way or another. (362 members)

We have a teacher institute before the school year even starts...we strongly encourage ALL of teachers and aides to join, talk about the positives and make them fill out a local dues sheet even if they don't want to join the union. We also encourage them to take the paperwork for the union...it's easier than searching them out later to try to get all the info! (55 members)

We do it during their new staff orientation days. We do a small presentation stating what we do as their union reps and help them fill out the paperwork for union enrollment and then we have a luncheon to welcome them. (281 members)

The first Day of school is a teacher's institute. This day we give New Hires the paper to fill out and ask that they fill it all and return it us at the end of the day. If they have questions and want to think about the Unions, then we ask the building rep to follow up. (106 members)

The first day of school, we have our first meeting at 8 a.m. We make sure we send a personal invite and small gift for all new teachers and un-union staff. We make sure we give them the facts about IEA/NEA and our local association. We share how the union has been a benefit to our district. (31 members)

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We have worked out with central administration to allow us to come to the new teacher meetings that are held in August. We get 30 minutes for a presentation, question/answer session, and to fill out membership forms. After that point it is me working with the person in charge of payroll. We are lucky because everyone does payroll deduction, so they are more willing to notify me to calculate what the dues amount will be. (913 members)

Governing BoardAfter each board meeting, I check with the district office to see what action was taken in executive sessions regarding hiring/firing. Our association has regular post board meetings with the superintendent to discuss any actions relevant to the association. (108 members)

We had a set group of teachers take School Board notes every month and e-mail them out to everyone so that everyone knows what the school board decides. I usually check the notes to see if there is a new teacher hired and try to contact them during the summer to meet with them. (53 members)

Reviewing Board Notes after each meeting and emailing our District Secretary after each meeting to verify I have all the new hires. (148 members)

Building Rep/ARWe have three buildings and we try to have one person be the liaison at each building. (172 members)

The district sends a list of new employees at the beginning of the school year. The building reps then make personal contact with them regarding union membership. (68 members)

Every month the building reps report out on new members in their buildings. (276 members)

Ask the secretaries in the other buildings to send a current roster from their building. We are in a small local and I have been here a number of years so it isn't too difficult. (177 members)

CombinationI get an email from the Building Reps; I watch the Deduction Report from Payroll every payday; I get a monthly list from HR; All new hires and exits are listed in the BOE notes. (399 members)

Check board meeting minutes. Review/compare your list with district list on a monthly basis. Have a good rapport with your personnel office. Make sure your association reps know who to contact to make changes on their rosters. (433 members)

I get an initial list from our HR department at the beginning of the school year. Also the payroll department calls me for each new hire to determine what amount should be deducted for dues.(158 members)

Our personnel person contacts us. We are a fair share district so he needs to see if the new employee is fair share or union. Also, at the beginning of the school year our district holds a new teacher meeting. Union officers are in invited to give a brief presentation to new hires. (230 members)

I get the entire list of faculty and staff at the start of each school year. In addition, I speak at the new teacher induction workshop about our local, IEA, and NEA. (198 members)

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Our central office has new hires fill out our membership form when they fill out the district's paperwork. This works for a majority of new members. Some still slip through the cracks, so we try to catch that by comparing payroll to our district roster as well as our IEA roster. (2,040 members)

I communicate with HR before school starts to discover the new hires. I submit this list to the building representatives who contact the new teachers within a day or two. We also have our President greet the new teachers at the orientation that happens a day or two before school starts. (407 members)

Our school district has a new teacher orientation before the school year starts. Our local president attends this meeting and is given the opportunity to talk with the new hires. If a teacher is hired midway through the year, the building liaison is usually the contact person for that new hire and will offer the new hire the opportunity to join our local union. (79 members)

A person at our district office emails me a roster of all new hires. I also read the minutes of each School Board meeting which also lists new hires and those that have left the district. (219 members)

I receive a copy of the board docs. I then fill out an excel sheet and send it to our local IEA staff, who sends the head AR a membership packet for the new member. I also send the excel sheet to the IEA Membership contact, who updates that system. (1,897 members)

The administration holds a new teacher/staff orientation and they allow our union to have a place in agenda to talk to all new members at the same time. Problems arise when they hire within the year and don't share the communication. We make sure to always have a union member attend all board meetings for these reasons. (123 members)

I send a reminder to all building reps to let me know of any new employees. Our district is small so I also watch the Board Agendas to see if there will be any new hires. (93 members)

We have direct communication with our district office secretary, and our union president attends the new teacher orientation program in our district and hands out and collects membership information right there at the meeting. Problems sometimes occur when new members are hired after the orientation. (436 members)

Our president attends all board meetings and is very in - the - loop when it comes to personnel. He passes the word to me about new members and I address them as soon as I can. At the beginning of a new school year, we hold a luncheon to welcome new members. At this time, I have them complete the necessary paperwork. I also have a good working relationship with our administrative office, so I can contact them any time I need more information about personnel. (155 members)

I contact the Asst. Superintendent's secretary as she is in charge of new teacher workshops. I also attend the New Teacher workshops along with the President of our union and explain membership to the new hirees and hand out membership forms right then for them to fill out and either give back to me then or send them to me in inner district mail. I also get the personnel reports from the Human Resources Secretary when the board approves new hires and so forth. (399 members)

Our head of membership attends our new staff orientation to discuss membership and sign up as many new staff as currently hired. Each building has an association rep that is responsible to mark any returning staff on the rosters from IEA and return to membership chair. (501 members)

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I make sure to attend the monthly school board meetings to hear if anyone has been hired or resigned. I also have regular contact with the district secretary and payroll person in order to find out about new hires. (167 members)

I am from a small, one school district with only 29 members. My district gives me the information of new hires before the school year starts (our CBA states that we will receive this information within the first two weeks of a new employee starting) and I invite all new teacher employees to an information meeting about our Union after school hours during our initial institute days. (29 members)

I pay close attention to our board meetings since the board has to approve all new hires by name, and usually their position is listed in the agenda as well -- agendas are posted online if I cannot attend a meeting. I also communicate with administration to find out when to anticipate new hires. I keep a list of current members who are set to retire, have resigned, or have been let go/RIFFED. That way I have an idea of who will be replaced. If a position is eliminated or added, the board minutes reflect this as well. (78 members)

Our District holds new teacher training 2 days before school starts. We (union) are on the agenda to sign up all new hires. Then as the year progresses I get the Personnel Transactions from each Board meeting and send the Building AR rep any membership forms that are needed. (713 members)

We meet with all teachers the first day of school and ask that each building rep meet with new hires. Then we give a deadline so that union dues are taken out prior to the first paycheck of the year. This year, we are going to meet with new hires at teacher orientation so they have a bit more time to ask questions prior to signing up for the union. (50 members)

We have two pieces in place: 1) Mentor Coordinators work in every building and intercept new teachers. 2) Our Executive Director is cc'd on hire letters and informs me as well. (444 members)

At the end of the year we get our list of who will be rehired and who has been let go, I use that as my first component. I attend our new staff orientation before school begins to speak with the new hires and again look for any recent drops. I also speak with the entire staff at the beginning of each school year at our orientation to reiterate the importance of new hires and new drops. (still we will have a few that sneak by for a short while) (263 members)

Our contract provides for notification of new hires. During new teacher orientation, our association is provided a short presentation time where we talk to new hires and sign up some, while answering questions of others. I also receive a weekly update of staff assignments by building and grade-level. (122 members)

At the beginning of the year it's easy because we make sure the unit office submits a roster to us of new members. Throughout the year, it is rough to get a list of new members. Unit office is not good about letting me know when people are hired. So, we put a person in charge in each of our buildings to inform me whenever somebody new comes in. (263 members)

I attend the new teacher meetings at the very beginning of the year to introduce myself, talk about the union, hand out paperwork and get it back RIGHT AWAY! I have found the longer amount of time I give to the new teachers to get paperwork completed, the less likely I will get it returned in a timely manner.

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The new teachers who are hired after the new teacher days, are a little more difficult for me to track down. I keep in contact with my human resources manager in order to get updated lists to account for new hires after the school year has started. (124 members)

Usually the district makes a press release of new hires, along with comparing last year's roster and who I know left with who replaced them (unless there was a RIF). I also communicate with the principal and HR regarding this issue (142 members)

I have set up with our Central Office to receive emails with new hire information. It is very helpful. I fill out the membership form with everything but the employees info and send it to the building rep. at the school where the new employee is working. (522 members)

Our business office sends me a list the first week of school. She is usually good at updating me for the first month or so. After that I am not always notified, so I tend to rely more on watching the job postings we are emailed monthly and I remind building rep to inform me when there are new hires. (377 members)

Our administration allows me to come to the new teacher's meeting before school starts. I make each new member a folder and that day I have them fill out a form. I collect this form that day. This makes my job a lot easier at the beginning of the school year. During the school year, I get minutes to the School Board meetings and this document will tell me any new employees so I can send a folder through our inner school mail. (458 members)

We have set up a relationship with our HR secretary that an email be sent to our current membership chairs upon the hiring of new employees. We then double check by having our president and membership chairs verify school board minutes each month. (201 members)

Our school board makes personnel decisions at its March meeting. I get a copy of the minutes from that meeting and I know which non-tenured teachers have been asked back as well as who is retiring that year. I communicate with our Human Resources Department in early August to receive a list of the entire faculty for the upcoming year. Then, by comparing that list to our membership list from the previous year, I can identify who is gone and who is new. I usually have to ask the Human Resources people about name changes for newly married people. (292 members)

At beginning of the school year, I have to call Payroll and ask if there are new employees. I call the first of Sept., Oct. and maybe Dec. Other than that, I listen to other employees talking about new people. The best way to find out about new employees is to put it in the contract that Payroll notifies an Association Officer with their name and school. Then we go to the new employee and talk to them about joining the Association. Also if you have building reps. they can notify an officer to contact new employee. (24 members)

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Question 2“It is important to identify members who are leaving your association, to make sure that the correct amount of dues is collected and that they are dropped from your roster so that they don't receive IEA communications, a membership card for the upcoming year, etc. How do you make sure that you are promptly notified when a member leaves?”

There were 169 responses to this question. Grouped into broad categories, the feedback can be summarized as follows. Note: A large number of responders listed more than one method.

Information received directly from the employer (87). Responses were subdivided into “HR Department” (27), Accounting/Business Office (24) and Principal/Administration/All Other (36).

Analysis of payroll deduction list (14).

Governing board- Minutes/Meeting attendance (30).


Local association meetings (3).

Member (3).

Many locals responded that they were so small that identifying their departing members was simply not an issue.

The first two categories require cooperation from the employer. This can be voluntary, when a good relationship exists between your local association and the employer, or else specific requirements can be built into your contract. Even when there is a great relationship, it may be advisable to incorporate the current system into your contract. Not all relationships last forever… this is a possible topic for discussion with your UniServ Director.

“Analysis of payroll deduction list” is shown as a separate category even though it technically falls under the umbrella of “Information received directly from the employer.” We did this so that we could emphasize a couple of important concepts:

1. Every time your employer writes you a check for your members’ dues deductions, they also need to give you a detailed list showing the amount received from each member. You can’t just be expected to take their word for the fact that the amount is correct, and you need this information to verify that they are withholding the correct amounts and that they are withholding from everyone that they are supposed to be withholding from. If you have a tiny local, with no staff turnover and everyone is paying the same amount of dues, then you may be able to do without this; otherwise, you really need to insist on this.

2. Someone from your local, usually the Membership Contact or the Treasurer, needs to take those lists and track the amounts received (current period and year to date) to make sure that they

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are accurate. The main goal is to detect errors early so that they can be fixed before the end of the year.

At the end of the membership year, your local association needs to have paid to IEA the total of the IEA dues, NEA dues and FCPE that is shown on your final IEA membership roster. If you haven’t collected this amount from your members, your local is still expected to pay it. So if your employer forgets to withhold dues from a member and you don’t catch this, at the end of the year either your local will have to pay their dues out of your treasury, or you will have to contact the member and ask them for a check. Neither is a desirable outcome.

The other categories of tactics can be used regardless of your relationship with your employer. If you are unable to get information about departing members in other ways, these may be the only methods available to you. Or you may use them just to make sure that an occasional “drop” does not fall through the cracks. Also, there are other good reasons to attend Board meetings, read Board minutes, and have a good Building Rep/AR system, over and above the identification of new members.


Human ResourcesI have built a relationship with our HR dept. and am in constant contact to keep records up to date. (407 members)

We have a membership officer that contacts HR throughout the year to update records. (281 members)

At the end of the year, I contact HR and they send me a list of who is retiring, taking a leave or sabbatical, resigning or reduced in force. (406 members)

As part of our request to HR we also request planned retirements and other employees who have left the college. (295 members)

Our HR department has the notification of a member's last day of work as a part of the employment debriefing process with each outgoing member. This information is automatically sent to the membership chair. (105 members)

Accounting/Business OfficeI get an updated roster from the business office at the beginning of each school year. (106 members)

Our school payroll person contacts me whenever a member leaves. (35 members)

I work with our district business administration building to ensure ending employee dates, etc. We collect dues via paycheck Oct-Feb... which seems to be a time frame employees are not leaving. If people want to pay in full up front- they need to hand it in by October 1st. (56 members)

Our bookkeeper notifies me and lets the member know they will continue to have dues deducted until the member notifies me. I then notify the bookkeeper when that contact has been made and to stop deductions. If the teacher leaves, I am notified as soon as that occurs thru email. (28 members)

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Payroll notifies me immediately because they need to know the correct dues to deduct from the last paycheck. This communication happens with the payroll secretary about a week before their last paycheck. (1,257 members)

At the beginning of the year, I meet with the payroll person to go through the membership roster. In the middle of the year, she contacts me. (147 members)

Like with new hires, I keep in contact with the individual who does payroll. She lets me know about resignations, leaves, etc. She also e-mails me an Excel spreadsheet with all union members and their union payroll deductions after each pay period. I cross-reference that to my records to note any differences. (154 members)

I work closely with the district employee in charge of payroll. She is a GREAT resource for keeping track of changes in staff. (103 members)

Principal/Administration/All OtherAgain, the association's executive committee has regular monthly meetings with the superintendent. (108 members)

Our President meets with the HR department and other administrators on a weekly basis, so she has become the major link between membership and the departing employees. (419 members)

The school board secretary sends me a report of hires and resignations. This is every month. (69 members)

The Executive Director is cc'd on termination approvals and passes them on to me. (444 members)

Again, my name was added to the daily email updates which my local presidents receive from the district with the names of individuals who have been termed or have resigned. I would suggest to other local membership chairs: talk to someone at your district, or your local officers, and try to enlist their help in obtaining this info for you. If there is an internal procedure in place at the district where emails are sent from one department to another with info on new hires and terminations, try to get your name added to that distribution list. It took us a few years to get this procedure set up for me. It didn't happen overnight, but we kept working at it until we got it done. We had to work through various people who had some influence with the district in order to make it happen. Don't give up--this info is so very important, and so very helpful for you to do your job more quickly and correctly. (1,398 members)

The Superintendent's office gives us a list of retirees and people leaving the district. (135 members)

Email District Secretary after each Board Meeting to verify any new or leaving member. (148 members)

Payroll Deduction ListI ask questions, check our deductions roster against our IEA roster. (198 members)

We double-check the dues roster list and make necessary changes. We are also a small district so we pretty much know everyone. (66 members)

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I always check the member roster from Payroll when they send dues check to me. If a name is missing and/or dues amount change, I call Payroll and they let me know if the employee is ill, out of leave of absence, or quit. I then watch the payroll information or how many checks dues were not collected and deduct association dues and amount left is deducted from our total IEA/NEA bill. (24 members)

Governing BoardI check the monthly board minutes the day after board meetings. (67 members)

I receive board docs, and complete an excel sheet. I send the spreadsheet to our local IEA staff and to the IEA Membership contact. Board docs aren't always correct, and board meetings don't happen as often as we have members come and go. (1,897 members)

We try to have a member present at school board meetings. (16 members)

I follow the actions of school board on hiring, resignations, reduction in force, etc. (41 members)

Members leaving and the dates are in the Board Personnel Transactions each month. Then I notify IEA with the next roster check-in that I do. (713 members)

I receive the district/board minutes that have new hires, resignations, and retirements. I print off the pages I need and keep it in a binder. (522 members)

MemberI have all returning members sign up at the beginning of the year. They have to let me know by September 30 if they aren't returning. If I haven't heard from them, then I contact them. (46 members)

CombinationThis is difficult too. We rely on the building reps to alert us to people leaving or we make note when it is mentioned at board meetings. Again, probably the best way is for the district bookkeeper to alert us. (128 members)

1. Email from Building Reps.2. Exits are itemized in BOE notes. (399 members)

The reps from each building are in charge of notifying me. The accountant in the DO is also great about letting me know. (83 members)

I am on an e-mail list that gets notification when a member resigns or retires. This is not always consistent. As a backup, we continue to compare our payroll deductions (our treasurer receives this from our district office twice a month). If we see a member drops of a payroll, and I have not received word, then I contact the payroll department via email to get clarification about why they fell off of payroll. (2,040 members)

At the end of the school year, my building reps let me know if anyone not returning the next year. At our monthly board meetings, we receive a staff update that includes info for anyone submitting a resignation. Building reps keep me posted during the year. (122 members)

Monthly reminders at (Local association) meetings. Contact with unit office to compare rosters. Building Reps giving notice to membership chair. (329 members)

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I talk and share a membership roster with the unit secretary and we work together on adds and drops. I also watch the monthly board meeting to see any dismissals or hires that affect the current year's roster. (100 members)

The district makes known any employee leaving midyear and not planning to return to the district. At the beginning of the year, a sign-up sheet is given to each building rep to confirm whether an employee will rejoin the union for that school year. (68 members)

Every month, building reps turn in a report that details changes in their buildings staff. I also contact the HR department regularly for staff updates. (276 members)

HR usually notifies me of resignations. To double check, I compare the IEA, payroll and our roster. Try to do this at least every other month. Takes about an hour, but it keeps all rosters up to date. (662 members)

I rely on the School Board meeting minutes and also I have people in most schools that will let me know if someone leaves. I also compare the IEA roster to the bi-weekly union dues listing to make sure it matches. If a name does not appear, I email the district office to find out the status of the member. Sometimes a person has gone on a leave of absence and other times the person has left the district. (219 members)

I send the roster around to all the buildings in the district and hope that the building reps will be able to identify for me who's gone. But I also cross-check the roster against the spreadsheet I make. The spreadsheet starts with a list of all employees that I get from the district office. I then use the spreadsheet to track who's paid dues. If someone isn't on the district list and doesn't pay dues, then I know to track down the building reps and see if the person has left. (297 members)

According to our contract, we are to be notified within 2 weeks of changes in the roster. We also rely on word of mouth and send emails to HR/personnel if we need clarification. At the beginning of a school year, we have to compare new and old rosters to see who has not returned. (66 members)

I pay close attention to the school board agenda and minutes (and attend board meetings, if possible). I also keep in close contact with the human resources secretary at the district office, and the union president informs me if any teacher has been terminated for disciplinary reasons through the course of the school year. The human resources secretary shares the retiree list with me at the beginning of each school year. (436 members)

Both my Human Resources Administrative Assistant and Payroll Department notify me when an employee resigns, retires, terminated, etc. My payroll Department also notifies me of the dollar amount that the employee contributed. (589 members)

At the start of the school year it is done by roster. During the school year this is more difficult with a less communicative HR department. Membership chair has to send reminders to all building reps every few months to ask for any changes during the school year. (501 members)

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Members email when they are cancelling their membership, building reps notify us of members that are leaving the district, and we get a list of retiring members from HR. (437 members)

I am usually not notified. I find out through BOE meeting minutes which are very untimely. Usually I figure out someone has left when I notice they are no longer having dues deducted. Then it is up to me to hunt for answers to see if they really left the district, went on a Leave of Absence, etc. There is a big hole when the district hires someone on contract. Once the contract is up, I have no idea they've left (I do not keep track of contracted hires, length of contract, etc.) I usually find out who has left the district in the fall once school has started and I find out who isn't having dues deducted. Definitely not a good way to do it but a lot of times that is my only reference. (2,312 members)

When a member leaves during the school year, fair share or member dues stop. As soon as a name leaves the bimonthly transmittal, I email HR and ask about the employee. HR always responds within 1 day and gives me the date they terminated so I can update my records. I then email the local office and the regional office of the date terminated and the total amount of dues paid in for the year. Union members who leave during the summer, are not listed on the roster I receive from HR around the 1st of August, and I get their termination date at that time. (91 members)

I get a monthly personnel report (from the district office) of all staff members joining and leaving our district, but often that comes well after the fact. I have to rely on the building representatives to let me know; I also get a list of dues deductions for our members about a week before we get paid. I check that list twice/month to see if any names have dropped off or have been added on, then I e-mail Human Resources for more info or with questions. (109 members)

I check the monthly board meeting minutes. I ask at each and every union meeting. I monitor my own building myself. (263 members)

With the help of my local presidents, I was able to have my name added to the list of people who receive daily updates (Smart Notifications) on terminations through a program used by the district. These notifications give me the person's full name, district ID number, address, phone, hire date, and position title. This has really been invaluable to helping me keep current. I would encourage anyone who processes membership to look into what procedures their district has in place for tracking terminations, and if there is any type of internal notification process, perhaps you can be added to the e-list of people being notified of new hires. For retirements, I depend on my local presidents to notify me, and then I process them. My large local has a retirement party in May each year, so I can get the names of all retirees directly from their invitation. (377 members)

Our school board makes personnel decisions for non-tenured teachers at its March meeting. I get a copy of those notes so I know which newer teachers are not returning. I know who the retirees are so they can be removed. Otherwise I wait until I receive the master list of teachers for the upcoming school year, which I get in early August and then usually have to ask our Human Resources Department what happened to someone. They are helpful with who is on a leave of some kind or has resigned last minute. (292 members)

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Question 3“It is also important to notify IEA as to the reason that a member is leaving your association. The IEA takes different actions depending on whether a member drops their membership due to death, retirement, leave of absence, etc. How do you determine this information and communicate it to IEA as soon as possible?”

The principal reason for asking this question was to see how locals were getting this information about departing members. The second half of the question (how do you communicate the information to IEA) was included just to see if anyone had innovative ways of doing so. Unfortunately, of the 157 responses to this question, many of them answered the second half of the question, but not the first. We realize that this was due to how the question was phrased.

Another fairly large group indicated that they didn’t know that they were supposed to communicate their members’ reasons for leaving to IEA. This is a concern that needs to be addressed with future trainings, because it’s important that IEA is aware of the reasons for all members’ departures. In some cases (e.g. death), future communication from IEA/NEA will be suppressed, while in others (e.g. retirement, long-term leaves of absence) the member will be contacted to let him/her know of various options that are available to them.

As far as how the reason-for-leaving information is obtained, the feedback can be summarized as follows. Note: A large number of responders listed more than one method.

Information received directly from the employer (48). Responses were subdivided into “HR Department” (18), Accounting/Business Office (10) and Principal/Administration/All Other (20). In many cases, it was noted that the membership contact did not receive the information automatically; they found out about the departure by other means (gossip/word of mouth) and then had to contact the employer to determine the reason for leaving.

Governing board- Minutes/Meeting attendance (13)


Local association president (7)

Member (8)

Many locals responded that they were so small that everyone was aware of why members were leaving.

In many cases, there seems to be more of an ad hoc process of finding out members’ reasons for leaving, unlike the procedures used to find out when they are hired and when they leave. Some membership contacts find out about departures through various means and then have to ask around to find the reason. Some have processes in place for some types of departures (e.g. retirements) but not others. So if you don’t have a solid process in place for finding out why your members are leaving, we suggest that you look through the responses below and work toward developing procedures that ensure that you are automatically notified of the reasons for your members’ departures.

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Human ResourcesI would know if a member is retiring but other than that I would have to ask HR dept. (61 members)

Members leaving and the reasons/dates are in the Board Personnel Transactions each month. Then I notify IEA with the next roster check-in that I do. (713 members)

The HR department categorizes the reason why the member leaves and I pass on that information to my IEA contact. (127 members)

Accounting/Business OfficeI ask Payroll. Sometimes Payroll will put a note on the check stub why dues were not collected. (24 members)

Principal/Administration/All OtherAll of this information is on report board secretary sends to me monthly. (69 members)

Anytime a member has left, I email the district office and ask why. (219 members)

I rely on the district's unit office to supply this. I always have to ask for this information, it is never just emailed to me first. (271 members)

Governing BoardMonthly BOE report states reason for leaving. (257 members)

Building Rep/ARSend the roster around to the buildings and hope that the building reps write in correct information. (297 members)

The liaisons at each of the buildings will report this information either to the membership chair or the president. If it is not communicated during the school week, it is brought up during the executive session meetings. This is unfortunately a tough part of the membership chair's job because the dates/details may be murky or unclear. If there is a leave of absence, there may be other circumstances that also come into play that the membership chair may not be made aware of due to privacy issues. (79 members)

Local PresidentOur President meets with the HR department and other administrators on a weekly basis, so she has become the major link between membership and the departing employees and why they are leaving the organization. (419 members)

MemberI ask the member if I don't know. (198 members)

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I make direct contact with the affected employee and then contact IEA for advice. (68 members)

If we hear someone is leaving, one of the officers asks that person directly. (81 members)

CombinationAgain I communicate with the unit secretary as well as read the board reports. (100 members)

Board or building rep. Information and let IEA know through regional office. (101 members)

Death and retirement are pretty easy for me to find out, but Leaves of Absences are picked up from BOE meeting minutes which is not timely. Once members return from a Leave of Absence it is hit or miss if I receive that information at all. (2,312 members)

HR or the building reps will usually let me know. (282 members)

I ask the members and/or building rep the reason for leaving. (437 members)

I ask when the information is given to me. Retirements are typically given to me the previous year, Deaths are immediate notification, non-rehires are at the end of the year, and resignations fluctuate all year long. (263 members)

I contact one of the union reps from the building the member was in and check board minutes from the board of Ed meeting. (230 members)

I get the information from either payroll or from the union president if a member was terminated due to conduct. (1,257 members)

I usually receive lists of retirees in the spring, from my locals. Deaths are generally reported to me via email from local officers or sometimes building reps. LOA's are more tricky--many times I find those as a result of submitting the first dues draw. When I receive the first dues register, I compare it to what I submitted for the first draw. There are always missing names on the register--in other words, I requested dues deductions but I'm not seeing the names on the register. I then email the payroll dept. and ask why those names are missing. That's when I learn about a lot of the leaves of absence. (1,398 members)

I'm notified of deaths and terminations through the Smart Notifications system at the District. I learn of retirements through local presidents, and most notifications of leaves of absence reach me through building reps. Alternately, I can email the payroll dept. at the District to inquire about a specific individual, and they will tell me if the person left, the date, and why. (377 members)

Retirees are easy to identify. People on leave are identified by our Human Resources Dept. I watch the School Board minutes to see if any teachers resign, but then I don't always know where they are headed. I also schmooz with a lot of teachers to find out where a colleague may have gone. (292 members)

This information is given to me by the Personnel Director and the employee who is leaving. (129 members)

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We have monthly meetings with our administration where we discuss staff changes such as these. For those leaving at the end of the year, building reps keep me informed and I indicate that via email during the summer, or on the continuous roster during our membership drive in August. (122 members)

When I find out someone has left--and that isn't always right away, I ask the business office or administrative secretary. It pays to stay in their good graces. (39 members)

Word of mouth. Checking with our Administration Center Person. Watching the dues deduction register sheet I receive from our district. Then I contact the person directly. (47 members)

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Question 4“Depending on the length of and reason for the LOA [leave of absence], a member may have choices as to how to handle their IEA-NEA membership. These can include: Reserve membership, dropping/rejoining, etc. How do you make sure that the IEA is aware of the LOA, and that the member's membership is handled correctly during the leave?”

A leave of absence (LOA) is a situation in which a member stops performing the education-related work that qualifies him/her for membership in IEA and NEA, with the intent of eventually returning to his/her qualifying work. If this is not the case, then the situation is treated as a termination and not as an LOA.

The IEA and NEA bylaws don’t address the issue of whether the member will continue to be paid during the LOA. However, this may be significant for the local because if the member is not being paid but is still incurring a dues obligation, the local is responsible for paying this obligation. So the local will either have to collect the dues from the members somehow, or else (as some locals do) just pay the member’s dues out of the local treasury during the LOA.

The IEA and NEA bylaws provide three options for membership status during an LOA that will last more than six months:

MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS- LEAVE OF ABSENCE

NEA IEA IPACE NEA Member Serve in IEA or NEADues Dues Contribution IEA representation Benefits positions/delegations

Maintain active member status 100% 100% Yes Yes Yes YesReserve member status* 50% 10% Yes Yes Yes NoDrop IEA membership during leave 0% 0% No No No No

* Must be on LOA for at least six months

If a member is going on an LOA that is expected to last less than six months, the local membership contact should contact IEA Membership Processing to discuss the specific circumstances, and options.

There were relatively fewer responses to this survey question (137) than to most of the other questions. Of the responses, the majority of the feedback fell into one of these categories:

1. Doesn’t happen/Hasn’t happened while I have been here2. I call IEA3. I don’t know.

Many of the remaining responses seemed to indicate that the decision was limited to whether or not to stay on as an active member. The Reserve option was referred to by very few responders, although several referred to “options” which potentially could include Reserve membership.

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Because of the above, the most valuable ‘best practice” to come out of the survey results would be: Stay on top of the LOA situation, and talk to your local IEA office or Springfield membership contact about options. Besides this, some of the specific responses that you might find useful are listed below, along with the number of members represented by the local responding to the question. Also, the best practices associated with Questions 2 and 3 contain some references to LOAs.

Awareness of LeavesBoard meeting agenda/minutes for awareness; I usually consult Springfield for complicated situations so I know exactly what I can offer the member. (78 members)

By communicating with the district payroll specialist and coordinating with my IEA contact through email. (485 members)

Human Resources notifies myself & president. (128 members)

I rely on the board minutes and my union president. I then consult my membership processing handbook and email my membership contact at the IEA to double check. (271 members)

Education/Conversation with MemberA general meeting at the beginning of the year going over options. Then individual meetings as questions arise. (99 members)

Ask them what they want to do. (Common answer)

I usually ask the member if they receive any benefits that would be affected by being dropped from IEA. I also ask if they want to continue to pay for the term of their LOA. (317 members)

Individual Local SolutionsAs per our contract, if you are going on leave, there are leave dues that the member must pay in order for their teaching position to be held. They are currently the reserve dues + half of our local dues. We also do a semester leave as well. (913 members)

Depending on the length we do different things: First of all we only get paid once a month and dues are taken out Sept - May for the entire year. If the employee will be paid during the entire leave or receives some paycheck even if they have a few unpaid days - we don't do anything - the full amount of dues is taken from the employee and they remain a member. If the employee has time they will not be getting paid thus NOT receiving a paycheck for any month - our Union has voted to use our local dues to help those employees to keep them members and we cover the dues for the month they did not receive a paycheck up to four months. This way they stay members the entire time. Finally if they are taking a leave beyond four months, we drop them from membership and reinstate them the next year. (123 members)

If the person is on a short (3 or 4 weeks, etc.) LOA, I just leave them on the rolls. If they are going to be gone a long time, such as half a year or a full year, I contact them & ask if they are interested in a reserve membership. I check with them to find out if they carry any insurance through NEA which

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requires them to maintain membership. Long story short, I work to avoid cancelling memberships if at all possible. I view it as: each membership we keep intact brings in valuable dues dollars which help to fund all the programs and services IEA offers to members. The more we can grow membership, the more resources IEA can draw on to assist more members. It's a positive cycle of growth. (1,398 members)

Our business manager and I meet with them to discuss how they would like their dues handled. If the leave is short term, we still collect dues - the dues may just be taken out of future pays. (145 members)

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Question 5“One of the local membership contact's most important jobs is to make sure that the local association's IEA roster is kept up to date. Most of this work usually takes place in the fall, because of turnover between school years. What do you do to make sure that your roster updates are sent to IEA as soon as possible, and that they are processed correctly by IEA?”

The roster verification process follows an annual cycle: Beginning of the year/semester, interim reconciliations, and end of the year final verification.

At the beginning of the school year/semester, locals should obtain a list of the members of their bargaining unit from their employer. If the local does not have “Fair Share” bargained into their contract, this list may include staff who are eligible for IEA-NEA membership, but have not elected to apply. If the employer’s systems and procedures are working properly, this list should be an accurate reflection of your potential membership list.

The local will also receive a roster of members from IEA in August. This is normally the member list as of the end of the previous year, with any updates that the local has previously submitted (such as retirements).

The objective of the local membership contact at the beginning of the year/semester is to make sure that the IEA roster is updated as soon as possible. This ensures that the correct amount of dues is charged to the local, and that important communications are being sent to all members (and not to former members). A second objective is to make sure that the employer’s records are correct. Otherwise, the employer may not deduct dues from the right people.

Many locals also employ a third document: their own member roster listing in Excel, Word, or some other software. They update this list every time they are notified of a retirement, new hire, etc. There are several possible reasons for going to the trouble of maintaining this separate list. A couple of these are:

It can be used to double-check the lists received from the employer and the IEA.

Since a roster is only sent by Springfield a few times a year, if the local wants to keep an up-to-date member list, it may have to maintain its own list for communications purposes.

So a typical beginning-of-the-year reconciliation process might go something like this:

1. The employer list is compared to the local’s list. Discrepancies between the lists might fall into three categories:

a. Errors/Omissions on the part of the employer, which the employer should correct as soon as possible

b. Errors/Omissions on the local list, which the local should correct

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c. Potential members who have chosen not to join IEA-NEA. The local should maintain a separate list of these colleagues for future recruitment efforts.

2. Once the local list is deemed to be complete and accurate, it is compared to the IEA roster. Discrepancies should be checked out and eliminated by either:

a. Correction of the local listb. Submission of the appropriate documentation to IEA: Enrollment forms, lists of “drops,”

etc.3. The local should request that IEA send an updated roster after the updates have been

processed. This is checked against the local list to make sure that all updates were received by IEA and processed correctly. NOTE: In many cases your local IEA office can also get you an updated member list, so you might want to check with them about this first.

In an interim reconciliation process, the local would ideally compare its member list to the employer’s every time that dues are deducted from its members. The employer should always provide the local with a detailed list (names and dollar amounts) any time that dues are withheld form members. This list would be compared to the local’s list of members, and discrepancies resolved promptly. This process would bring to light any cases in which members are hired or terminated without the local membership contact’s knowledge, or if the employer just makes an error in withholding dues. It may not be necessary to reconcile these lists on a line-by-line basis; if the total number of members is the same on both lists, that may be okay.

Depending on the local’s size and amount of turnover, the local list should also be compared to the IEA roster during the course of the year. In some cases, this might be done monthly; in others, only a couple of times may be all that is necessary. The IEA will send a roster periodically, or you can just request one from Springfield or your local IEA office. Again, it may work for you to just make sure that the total number of members is the same on both lists (taking into account full- and part-time status, if applicable).

Finally, after the year/semester is complete and all adds/drops have been processed by IEA, a final line-by-line reconciliation of all three lists should be completed. This is a final check to make sure that all of your members are accounted for; that your local has paid the correct amount of IEA-NEA dues; and that your beginning roster for the following year will be correct.

The above is representative of a verification procedure for a medium- to large-sized local. The membership contact for a small local may be able to just “eyeball” the employer list and the IEA roster to know if they are correct, and to spot discrepancies. At the other extreme, a very large local with a lot of staff turnover may have to employ a more sophisticated procedure involving electronic matching of rosters and lists. But the basic objectives and concepts apply to all locals.

The need for accurate and timely information from the employer can’t be overstressed. Hopefully, you have a good relationship and the employer sees that it’s in everyone’s best interests to provide you with the information that you need. If this is not the case, you may need to seek help from your local IEA

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office. Many locals’ contracts with their employer include lists of information that will be provided, and timeframes.

Many of the survey responses indicated that the locals were following some variation of the above procedures. A fairly typical response was:

I keep my personnel roster updated based on information collected from the business office. Additionally, I send paper rosters to all 6 of my buildings in September so I can have their dues selections in writing (this also identifies new/resigned members). Once my personal roster matches the one I receive from our business office I compare that to the IEA roster. I mail in the new member applications (these are filled out during new teacher orientation) and the IEA roster with changes sometime before the end of September/beginning of October.

There were also some other “best practice” responses provided, which are listed below.

Start early I normally start with the roster the day after summer meeting. (128 members)

I make updating that roster a priority at the beginning of the year and send it to IEA quickly. (27 members)

I process as many of those changes as possible over the summer, because I'm receiving them from the district over the summer. I email the spreadsheets to IEA's membership department listing all the drops, and the reason why. (1,398 members)

I try to process as many changes as possible over the summer months. I email them to Springfield. If the list is long, I send it as an Excel spreadsheet. I can normally find out about most retirements and terminations over the summer. I catch the remainder after the first due draw. I match the first dues register that comes back to me against the sheet that I submitted. I make a list of all the names I submitted, but do not appear on the dues register. I send that to Payroll and ask why there were no dues withheld. They will then inform me if the person left, when they left, and why they left. (377 members)

I try to take care of this as soon as possible when school starts in the fall. I have to have all dues information to the district bookkeeper by the first of September for our first payroll on the 15th. Our local treasurer and I double check the roster to make sure no errors are made. (66 members)

The fall is crazy! I make sure to update my rosters before school starts. Important to have accurate roster before processing all the new forms. With 700 member, organization is vital! I try to process new forms every week. Compare the 3 rosters. IEA, school union list, and our own list. Always know my IEA contact. Makes it easier if you can talk/email to a specific person. (662 members)

This year I met with building reps before school began to give them rosters and instructions, rather than waiting until mid-Sept. I give building reps only two weeks to gather all information and I try to get it to IEA within a week after checking over. (501 members)

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Get your updates to IEA ASAP Drop everyone you know is leaving as soon as school gets out. (399 members)

As soon as I am notified that somebody is hired or has left, I send in a change of membership request to IEA NEA. I make sure to note their member ID number, and the date they were fired or resigned. (263 members)

I am very precise with the information that I send to the IEA because I do not want to make more work for anyone. As soon as I receive the roster, I go through it and make the appropriate changes of those that I definitely am aware of. I then contact my finance manager to see if other changes occurred during the summer. I usually mail my roster back to the IEA within a week of originally receiving it. (142 members)

I send in retires or people who are leaving at the end of the year and then make drops at membership mania. Then it is easier once school starts for me. (50 members)

I try to compile all the data of employee changes over the summer to get the information to IEA in mid-September before the new year begins. (104 members)

Make sure that your updates are processed correctlyWhen I send info in to IEA, I ask for an email confirmation. I also keep a copy of any changes I make to the roster so that I can verify the info after it has been processed by IEA. (103 members)

During the year, I coordinate changes through email [or mail, if new member paperwork] with my IEA contact. I request an acknowledgment email to make sure the email was received. I also check the IEA lists sent to me throughout the year to make sure both match up. (485 members)

Let others help youEvery semester the local executive committee goes over the membership roster to see if there are any discrepancies. If there are, those are communicated to IEA immediately by the membership chair. (105 members)

I ask our building reps to take a copy of the roster sent right before school and have each member initial after they look for corrections. Then I sit down and send corrections to IEA (61 members)

Human resources and I create a matrix of all staff members and cross check it and then I cross check it with the roster from IEA. (119 members)

I have each building reps. from each school in my district help with process. I provide a packet with clear instructions on what to do and timelines. (282 members)

I meet with the Business Dept. rep at the beginning of the school year. (106 members)

I review the roster at our initial union board meeting. The central office payroll person works closely with me and is invaluable to us. (263 members)

I send a copy of the previous year's roster to each of the buildings in our district. Each building has its members check the roster for accuracy. I create the final roster based on the roster copies that are sent

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back to me. I also request a copy of the union roster from our district bookkeeper who is in charge of taking dues out of paychecks. Once I have both rosters, I check them against each other for accuracy. (79 members)

I send the list around to the different buildings in the district. And then I nag. Lots and lots of nagging. After it's processed I check the new roster from IEA against my spreadsheet. (297 members)

I start updating our roster in August. I receive help from our executive members in each building and our district office. I have everyone helping me check over the roster for accuracy. Our local has improved our team effort and support over the years. (126 members)

I work with a partner to read through the Continuous Roster and the Fall billing rosters to make changes. I always have them in before the yearly deadline at the end of October. (713 members)

Rosters are reviewed by the President, VP and Secretary/Treasurer. Monthly bills are also reviewed by all three positions. (14 members)

The treasurer and myself as membership officer goes over the list we receive from the membership meeting in August each year at IEA Office in Matteson, compare it to the last list that dues were taken out and from my list that I created by schools,that list each person with their title, school,& shift they work. I update this every time there are changes and double check it off to be sure not to miss anyone. So we work well together - we do this at least 2- 3 times during the school year. (169 members)

Technical solutionsI have a Word document that lists all of the member's names and their school building. I also show new member's names in italics on my list. If members pay their dues in full, I put their name in bold on my list. Once I learn that members have left the district, I cross out their name on the continuing roster along with the reason for leaving. After I send in the continuing roster, I write retired/resigned names on the transmittal forms for the remainder of the year. I remove those members from my Word document as well. I also contact our payroll department when we have new or dropped members. (86 members)

I obtain a copy of our members names and their FTE's from an assistant at our BOE. I cross reference that list with the previous year's file I have saved in a spreadsheet. I color code new changes for the year including new hires and changes in FTS's. Then I delete names of those that have left the district or retired. (158 members)

I use GoogleForms and the spreadsheet that is generated from that form to manage the membership roster. (419 members)

Microsoft Excel is my friend here. It is so much easier to verify 1,000 + members in an easily searchable, changeable spreadsheet. I request a spreadsheet from IEA Membership Processing to be e-mailed to me whenever the printed roster is mailed. (1,176 members)

When I send in a large amount of changes, in the Fall, I request an updated Excel report (from IEA). I also request an updated Excel report at the beginning of second semester. (589 members)

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Question 6“Your members will occasionally change their demographic information such as their mailing and email addresses, phone numbers, and even their names. It is important that these changes be entered into the IEA's computer system as soon as possible, so that communications are not interrupted. How do you learn about these changes and get them to IEA in a timely manner?”

There were 143 responses to this question. By far the most common answer (64) was “We don’t.” For these locals, the only way that their members’ demographic information is kept current is if the members themselves make the changes via the IEA website. Some of the ways that locals encourage their members to make these changes are shown below.

A smaller group (25) checks all of their members’ demographic information annually (at the beginning of the year), and sends the resulting changes to IEA. Hopefully, these locals also encourage members to make their own changes on the IEA website during the balance of the year.

Of the locals that collect and submit demographic changes throughout the year, a variety of sources were cited: the members themselves (17), building reps (7), the employer (6), and word of mouth/gossip (7). Four locals responded that the only changes that they submit are for name changes; these were usually discovered when reconciling the employer’s dues withholding lists with the IEA roster.

As with other aspects of the local membership contact’s responsibilities, the best approach is probably either to implement one sure-fire way of getting members’ changes processed, or else to utilize two or more practices to ensure that nothing slips through. Here are some ideas from your colleagues, for your consideration (sizes of locals in parentheses).

Remind members to process their updates through the IEA website3 times a year I ask members to update personal info. (47 members)

This up to the member to provide this information. At our local monthly meeting this is on the agenda as a reminder for our members. (16 members)

At our beginning of the year meeting, I ask the members to contact me if they have had any changes. They then meet up with me (usually at the end of the meeting) to change their information. (155 members)

I send an email to the staff at the start of each school year, requesting information such as moves and name changes. At this point, I have sent out that email enough times that members begin emailing me the info whenever the change occurs. (444 members)

I tell them to use the IEA website and change it themselves. I send out of bulletin at the beginning of the year with dues information and I explain the website. (58 members)

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Employer data I contact the HR department every couple of months to see if anyone has had a name change or an address change. (108 members)

Through an employee list provided at beginning of school year by employer (81 members)

I find out about changes when a mailing goes out and some members mail comes back undeliverable. At that time, I email HR and the employee to get the new information. Usually I get a response from HR in about a week and I forward it to the local and regional union office. (91 members)

We receive a list of all faculty members' addresses in an email from the district office, and check this against our continuous roster at the beginning of the year. (23 members)

Name changesI handle the name changes only. Again this is discovered through good detective work by comparing staff rosters by building to the IEA roster. When I find a name on a building roster that is not on the IEA or new hire roster, then I begin to check first names. At that point I email my district office contact and confirm if there was a name change. If there was, then I indicate the change on the next form going to Springfield. (219 members)

I keep track of the name changes by doing the twice a month checks with payroll. Members are encouraged to update their email and address and phone number on their own. (913 members)

I receive name changes from the district and I send that information in on rosters at the same time I indicate LOA, resignations, etc. I do promote the fact that members can make demographic information changes themselves on the website, however I know that very few members take advantage of this. The only time I make changes on demographic information (other than name changes) is on the beginning of the year on the continuous roster. (2,040 members)

I try to encourage members to make their changes on the IEA site. I usually find out about name changes when I am checking the roster to the dues list received from payroll. (522 members)

MiscellaneousI have every member fill out an address/email/phone form at the beginning of the school year with notification of dues amounts. (42 members)

On the dues authorization form that we have every returning member fill out all of those changes have boxes to check and clarify. (233 members)Send out an electronic survey to all membership asking if they have changes and if they do to enter them, I then send them in with the roster update (142 members)

We go person to person every fall. If things change during the year it is up to the member to make those changes. (63 members)

We have building reps that report to us about our members that have changes or deaths in their families. (31 members)

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Eclectic approachA copy of the IEA roster is given to each building rep and members must sign off on any changes or corrections at the beginning of the year. (68 members)

At the beginning of the school year, I try to get an update from employees on personal information. I also utilize personnel records to confirm whatever information they give me. If any changes occur throughout the year, I rely on my building reps to keep me informed of changes to members. (104 members)

I am sent this information from members'themselves or from someone from our administration office. I send out an email about 4 times a year reminding members to let me know any changes so I can get it taken care of. I send out the email then it amazes me how many I receive back with changes. I take care of it immediately. I always remind members they can change this information on their own but they mainly just email me. (458 members)

I learn about them in a number of ways--the members email me, the building reps email me, and when we print our voting rosters we list home emails next to the member's name. We leave a blank line next to it so if there is an update, the member can notify us when they vote in the fall and again in the spring. This helps us keep home email addresses very current. (485 members)

I send out emails to staff and print out building rosters and give it to the reps to make sure it is correct or corrections are made on it. Throughout the school year, I send emails to building reps to remind the members if there is any change with addresses, phone numbers and name changes to go to the IEA MY Profile and update is ASAP. (399 members)

Our local association is introduced to all members at a district-wide, back to school, luncheon. We ask that any current employee that has any such changes contact me. We also provide a form for each employee to complete for payroll deduct options for dues. This form also asks for any changes to address, phone, e-mail, and name. (129 members)

Reps are in charge of this. I also send out an occasional e-mail to our members asking them to update me on this information. (83 members)

Sometimes our members will go to the IEA website and enter their own changes. Often I receive building changes, home email and cell phone number changes from lists we send out to the building reps. The reps pass them around and collect changes from members. Also, we include that info on the voting rosters I create, so each spring and fall during elections, members who come to vote can update their home email address and cell number on the voting roster. I then take that info and enter it into the Access database I maintain, as well as into IMS. (377 members)

Usually members contact me. I send out an email at the beginning of each school year to all members asking if anyone moved, change name, new phone or new email. I also have building reps check with members in their building. I plan to try using Google Forms this coming school year. (230 members)

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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).

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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 eachAs of November 1, the IEA has not processed the addition of one of the membersSo 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

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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.

SpreadsheetI 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)

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Employer ListingI 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 EmployerI 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

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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 MembersI 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)

CombinationI 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

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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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Question 8“How does your local [IEA] office help you to do your job?”

There were 144 responses to this question. The vast majority were pretty non-specific; the more common included:

Answer questions 64Trainings (most referred to the annual Membership Mania training) 27No contact/Contact Springfield instead 28Forms 14“Communicate/Assist with changes” 7Assist with processing info 6

The vast majority expressed satisfaction with the services provided by the local IEA office, although there were a few who felt that they did not get the service that they needed.

So for the most part, the respondents receive little from their local offices other than technical support and an annual training. There was no feedback requesting other services or wishing that other services were available, although the question didn’t really ask for this information.

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Question 9“Your relationship with the business office is crucial. A good relationship means that the accounting office helps you to do your job. A bad relationship means that they work against you. What has your local done to make sure that a good relationship is in place, and that your contract includes provisions to support your work? The latter can include language on dues payment dates, reports that you require, timely notification of member hires/terminations, etc.”

This question generated many more detailed, and in some cases impassioned, answers than did the previous question concerning relationships with the local IEA office. The vast majority of the respondents indicated that their relationship with their employer’s business office was very good, although a few described a relationship that was “dysfunctional” or “we just get along.”

There were some good responses concerning contract language. Some people said that they didn’t need contract language because of their close relationship with the employer’s administration. We think that this is worth further discussion because over time people and relationships change. It might be better to work on contract language when the relationship is good, rather than address problems down the road when it may not be. But that’s a decision for each local and its IEA support staff.

Here are some of the detailed responses, grouped by topic. The size of the local is indicated in parentheses.

CommunicationAlways have open, positive communication. (19 members)

Communication is the most important aspect of the relationship between the membership chair and the bookkeeper at school in charge of payroll and deductions. At the start of every school year, I make the first contact and let the bookkeeper know what the annual dues are and what the deduction should be. I let her know the individuals who should be taken off our rosters, and I contact her to let her know when new members should be added. Our bookkeeper is fantastic about sending me a roster report when I request one. (79 members)

I agree good communication is key to getting the job done with little to no issues. Having everyone on board with this is key. You cannot have someone who wants to control everything, not letting others know what is going on. This can make for a very unhealthy and unproductive association. (130 members)

I figure out who the person in the office is who's likely to be the most helpful and I try to connect with that person. Then I have a go-to person. (297 members)

It is up to the membership contact to build a good relationship with the human resources secretary at the district office. When each person is treated with respect, there are no problems. Our district has no problem in this area. (436 members)

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Our central office payroll person is invaluable, like the secretary or the maintenance person in a school, she is instrumental in the smooth running of our membership and updating of our rosters. I have spent hours with her over the years. I typically send her flowers at least once a year from our local since she is so helpful. They are much appreciated and the communication continues to grow. (263 members)

We only have one section of contract language that pertains to dues deductions and it relates to state law. Personally, I have developed a good relationship with the business office and we work very efficiently to get things organized. If I gave any advice to a membership coordinator it would be work on this relationship. The membership coordinator and the business office both have a job to do, you might as well embrace that and make it a good relationship. I use my sense of humor and the business people haven't told me to can it, so it must be working. This can be tedious and all of you know it. Embrace your mutual suffering. (That's probably not the best word but it's the best I can think of right now.) (292 members)

InteractionI know a sister local (ESPs) that has the bookkeeper send a letter with EVERY pay period that states members added, dropped, etc., along with the amount of the deposit. I audit their books, and have seen these letters in the treasurer's records, and that seems to work very well. It's a matter of training the business office to give you what you need. I would recommend communication every pay period. Good practice. (78 members)

Communication! Get a dues payment report every pay check. (467 members)

Dues payment dates are set in the contract. The secretary sends me a deduction list each month after payday so I can match my excel document. I also watch my board meeting minutes for the hires and dismissals. At the beginning of school at the new teacher meeting I attend to pass out paperwork. (100 members)

From the beginning when I started this work I realized a good working relationship with the District's payroll department was critical. In the beginning, we set up meetings here in the office and had all the individuals I would be working with come here so we could meet each other and talk about what we needed from each other to do our work well, and what the best ways were to communicate with each other. I am constantly in touch with them. I make sure to always thank them whenever they assist me with something. And this may sound corny, but I always send a gift at holiday time. You'd be surprised how people remember that the rest of the year, and will then go out of their way to help you in the future. A small investment that has never failed to pay off in the long run. (377 members)

I am required to submit our payroll deduction information within 10 days of the beginning of the school year so that the first payroll deduction in September can be processed. [the bookkeeper] and I meet to go over the spreadsheet so that she can process the check at the end of the month in Sept. She emails me if she has questions after that. We have monthly association-admin council meetings and language in our contract to keep updated on membership changes. We are actually honoring [the bookkeeper] at our Friends and Advocate banquet this month because of all of her help and prompt payments each month. (122 members)

I share my membership roster with the district office each time I receive it so that they can assure that the correct amount is withdrawn and that they have the correct members on their payroll. We have a great relationship. (50 members)

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Our employer's office has been wonderful to work with. We know each other on a first name basis. We do have basic contract language for setting up for the withdrawal of dues. We compare our reports, and call each other to meet to make any corrections, when needed. Going in to introduce myself to the office personnel was very beneficial. (129 members)

The business office and I meet at the beginning of each school year to discuss the best way to communicate additions and deletions. (437 members)

Treat each other with respect, answer emails in a timely fashion, and I thank our payroll person every time I email her and that I value all the hard work she does. (913 members)

We have a wonderful relationship. I appreciate what the HR secretary works with me and I let her know that with personal notes and little gifts of gratitude. I have built this relationship over 16 years of membership chair. (407 members)

We have a wonderful working relationship with our district. The Payroll department sends a pdf receipt each payday with dues taken from members. Members leaving and the reasons/dates are in the Board Personnel Transactions each month provided by HR. (713 members)

Contract provisionsI have a good relationship with my contact person at the district office, although there have been times when the business office has decided to change things that affect our dues without asking us first. We did have to have language changed in our last contract negotiation to help prevent this from happening in the future. (219 members)

I have worked with several different people in the office over the years, and we have always had a good relationship. We have a section in our contract titled Association Rights that spells out many of the guidelines and procedures. (66 members)

Our contract contains language that covers dues payment dates, fair share information, and the date we will receive a seniority report each year. We do not have any specific language regarding timely notification of member hires/terminations. We use the procedures previously mentioned to handle this area. It is very important to have a good working relationship with the people in the business office. They can be a very useful resource. (104 members)

Our contract has language specifying that the college must share information related to membership changes, revisions, etc; I also have a positive relationship with the payroll folks that handle the dues withholding process. (295 members)

Our contract has provisions for meeting times, communicating with members. (27 members)

They provide information when I ask for and they provide copies of checks when I ask. Last accounting personnel gave me information without asking for. Our contract spells out when IEA/NEA dues are taken out and when local dues are taken. (61 members)

We have contract language that lays out new hire processing. (282 members)

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Question 10“Some members work for more than one employer with an IEA contract. It is important that these members are assigned to a 'primary local' where they pay IEA-NEA dues, but are also tracked at their other jobs so that we know that they are members of the other bargaining units. While this is normally seen with part-time college adjunct faculty members, occasionally a K-12 member will teach or work as an ESP at two different schools. If you have members that fit this description, how do you make sure that the IEA tracks them correctly?”

This question was asked with the knowledge that it pertains to relatively few locals, and this was borne out by the responses. We didn’t receive answers (at least in any detail) from the locals where we know this is a big issue. The consensus of those who did respond was that if the situation arises, be sure to contact IEA Membership Processing to see how to deal with it.

Members who work for two or more IEA employers can generate all kinds of issues, including governance, elections, dues payment, duplications of membership, etc. When one or more of the involved locals has Fair Share, it gets even more convoluted. So if you work in a local where it is a possibility that your new members (or new Fair Share feepayers) may work for another IEA employer, it’s important to ask them if (now or in the past) they have worked somewhere where they were an IEA member or had IEA dues/Fair Share fees withheld. If so, you need to work with Membership Processing to see how the person should be set up at your local.

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