Union Dues Payroll Deduction Authorization Form: Fill & Download for Free

The paperwork you signed undoubtedly authorized some form of “check off” — deductions from your paycheck to go to the Union — in this case, the Teamsters. If you are having payroll deductions, whether you were told or not, you could opt to be a Union member and pay full dues, or be a “core objector,” where you do not going the Union, and only pay the portion of dues that goes to contract representation, enforcement and negotiations.It’s not mandatory, or permissible, for there to be a requirement that you join the union in order to work at a place. In about half the states in the country, a fee — often called the Agency Fee — can be charged to those deciding not to join the union. This fee helps pay for the services provided to all the workers covered by the contract, to make sure they are represented fairly and adequately, and that contract negotiations are sufficiently funded.Thank about the power, and deep pockets, UPS has. Would you want an inadequately funded union representing you against a corporate power that big?As far as whether you want to be represented by a Union at UPS, you would be crazy not to. Delivery services are fiercely competitive. Without the Teamsters, you’d be squeezed like a fresh-cut lemon at a lemonade stand.

Original Question: Do the police in the US get benefits like the military?Today there is something like 18,000 law enforcement agencies, and perhaps a million peace officers of various flavors throughout the US, including full-time, part-time, reserve, auxiliary, Federal/State/local (county/city/township)/tribal/special jurisdiction (port authority/airport/harbor/railroad/etc.), corrections, fish and game, park rangers, special investigators, constables, bailiffs, military police, and more, as defined by each jurisdiction.[1]There is no “standard” set of benefits, like there is for the US armed forces.Some Agencies, especially at the Federal level, or State level like the California Highway Patrol, or in high-cost areas like San Francisco, LA, etc., have excellent pay, benefits, and retirement plans.Others…a moderate package of pay, benefits, and pension plans.And others again…not so much.As public safety agencies, all of them are subject to the whims of the budget process for their governmental patron, whether that is the Feds, a State, a tribal nation, a local entity, or a multi-role organization like railroad or harbor or port authority police.Often, but not always, those agencies with unions have better pay and benefits, although sometimes the unions themselves offer some of those benefits, rather than the Agency, so some of the better pay achieved by the unions is plowed right back into union dues and premiums for various benefits offered by their union rather than by the Agency. So it depends.A sampling of various “benefits” among US law enforcement agencies (hereafter “Agencies”) might include:[2]Paid wages/salaries (and possibly overtime).Accrual of paid time off (PTO) for vacation, sick leave, perhaps other special types of leave.Ability to contribute to some sort of typically pre-tax medical, dependent, or elder-care reimbursement plans.Toll-road, ferry, or other transportation stipend or reimbursement program.A very, very few public safety agencies offer some sort of “commissary-like” privilege, with what amounts to a private grocery store with subsidized low prices, or even discounts written into law or a contract with private businesses…but it might happen, especially when a union uses leverage to include such a discount in the bargaining agreement (or the union offers such a benefit to members…regardless of Agency).[3]Virtually all public safety agencies in the US have some sort of state-required Workmen’s Compensation laws and rules in place, to cover “on the job” injuries in the line of duty — in addition to whatever medical coverage is offered HMO’s, PPO’s, usually some choices from poor and cheap coverage up to gold standard coverage that costs a big chunk of the pay check. A severe enough injury/illness caused in the line of duty might result in a disability retirement under the state’s disability laws, or some version of a public safety disability pension, depending on how the specific state, Agency, union, etc., have it set up and the nature of the career-ending injury/illness.[4]Most Agencies (or the unions that represent the rank and file, often up to Sergeant-level) offer some sort of dental and vision benefit (at varying costs and levels of coverage).A certain amount of term life insurance (often about one year’s wages) is usually included as a standard benefit by the Agency, and most Agencies (or unions) will provide supplemental group insurance for the member and perhaps their family members at group rates, if the member wishes to purchase it.Most Agencies offer at least a small gym, or perhaps cover or partially defray the cost of gym memberships, to encourage physical fitness; some will offer an annual stipend for meeting some form of physical fitness testing standard.[5]Most Agencies offer some form of annual clothing allowance to help defray the costs of dry cleaning, repairing, purchasing uniforms and accessories.[6]Some Agencies may offer an annual bonus, depending on their policies, State laws, budget allocations, various standards to be met, etc.[7]Most Agencies offer the use of a firearms training facility, whether attended by range coaches or on the officer’s own time, “shoot/don’t shoot” and simulation training, realistic “shoot house” training with paint balls or simunition, additional decisional training, and additional ammunition to practice beyond the quarterly (whatever the Agencies’ policies are…) qualification process.[8]Many Agencies offer some sort of AFLAC-like income loss insurance, where if a covered health event requires the use of sick leave, the income loss insurance will kick in whatever the covered amount on the schedule of coverage would be, although these policies must usually be paid for by the member.[9]Most Agencies offer some level of tuition reimbursement or educational assistance, especially for training and education that is directly related to their profession.[10]Various benefits available to survivors of officers killed or severely disabled in the line of duty.[11]Many of these benefits are voluntary, and are paid for through either payroll deductions, or through union dues/additional union deductions, depending.Many Agencies provide a “cafeteria-like” menu of benefit options, along with certain group rate discounts, and varying amounts of “cafeteria cash” in each paycheck, beyond their pay, to help purchase medical coverage and other benefits. This cafeteria cash is often pre-tax, along with some other benefit options that are purchased using pre-tax money, resulting in a somewhat lower taxable gross income. The tax rules and other regulations, and union contracts, governing these options are often very complex…And, many Agencies will either pay the entire employee’s share of pension contributions (typically only to defined benefit plans), or match employee contributions (especially for newer pension plans and those using defined contribution plans) up to a certain amount.For example, I worked for a public safety agency that paid my entire 9% of gross pay pension contribution, while also paying another 9% as the employer contribution into my pension plan. In the same county, even in neighboring cities, there were other Agencies that did not use the same method, and their public safety officers paid more or less of their paycheck into their pension fund because their Agencies didn’t pay all of the employee’s contributions like mine did; some of those Agencies required 5–7% contributions out of the employees’ pay…which effectively made a 9% increase in my paycheck and put 18% above each paycheck into a tax-deferred defined benefit pension plan. That’s a benefit, too, as public safety pensions are among the most generous pensions left in either the public or private sector, less the military, federal civil servants, and certain highly paid specialists and executives.CONCLUSION: US law enforcement officers receive a wide array of possible benefits, from very generous pay and sweeping benefits and pensions, down to bare bones paychecks with nothing more than the state-mandated Workmen’s Compensation and Agency-issued equipment. It just depends on which of the 18,000 public safety agencies is the employer.Footnotes[1] https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nsleed.pdf[2] City of L.A. Personnel Department[3] Benefits of FOP Membership - FOPConnect[4] https://www.poam.net/app/uploads/2018/08/Police-Officers-WC-Rights.pdf[5] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service[6] 9.050 - Clothing Allowance and Reimbursement for Personal Property[7] Benefits | Evansville Police Department[8] https://www.cji.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/failureofpolicefirearmstraining.pdf[9] https://www.aflac.com/us/en/docs/workforce/viewpoint_government_agency.pdf[10] Benefits - Police[11] https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/fs000270.pdf

Why do you think that comparison with other Western nations especially USA is relevant, and ignore other countries with dominant or formarly dominant traditions which are non-Christian?It would be misleading to imagine that the “level” of religiosity is the only, main or an important factor in any comparison of USA and NI.Religious activity in NI should be seen as an expression of tribal identity, and not as it appears to be in USA a conflict between authoritarian belief systems and secular humanism.In Europe as a whole, religious observance is slowly and irreversably declining.In Austria and Germany, there are payroll deduction systems which take money from those who might only be fourwheel Christians (going to church only for their christening, marraige and funeral). Opt outs are steadily reducing the numbers, putting the architectural heritage at risk.In UK, congregations are declining in strength and number, but reduced reserves and property sales are proportionately managed in long established processes. This has been experienced on a far bigger scale and for longer in Scotland where there was from 1843 to 1850 an excess provision of churches when the largest church had split.The seceders joined with existing remnants and merged back with the main body in 1929, usually preferring the post- 1843 building to the historic parish church. Division and union often left over a fragment which was ripe for some later merger.The disruption was, in my view, the most important event in Scottish history, but it is not taught in schools because of the embarrasment of teaching it in Catholic schools which would have little interest.That the Labour party’s <1950’s plan for a Home Rule parliament has come into existence is due to the persistence of the first First Minister who promoted the idea for half a century, persuading four fifths of the people of Scotland, and the UK Westinster parliament.He was an admirer of Dr Thomas Chalmers, who acted as convenor and secretary of the group which drafted the Moderators statement in 1843. I purchased from Donald’s estate the complete works of Dr Chalmers. There is work to be done on it.So the Disruption and other splits is why many town crossings can have a church on two or three corners. If I had had the money and a use for them I could have bought half a dozen church building sites on this island of 5,000 people. Two conversions to housing and two partial or complete demolitions have taken place in the last decade. That’s something else on which Scotland leads the world.UK churches lose members at 1% to 2% a year. Within that overall result small evangelical churches get slightly larger. That also happens in NI.Other religious groups with cultural links to ex-Empire countries are forming enthusiastically, but the normal patteren is that in two generations they will adopt the ways of the host population in two generations, regarding reproduction an all other aspects of sex.Which neatly leads to the recent Irish vote on abortion.The Catholic church in Ireland has lost any right to be heard on matters relating to sex, because of decades of child abuse. They might think they have something to say on morality, but would be well advised to shut up for a generation or two.The people who engaged in the abuse need help for their problem.Those who covered it up deserve to be punished.If you worked for a commercial organisation and lost a significant part of your market share, do you think your boss would have a critical word or two for you?Any senior cleric who put the percieved short term interest of the church in covering up abuse higher than the interests of victims and the long term interest of the church and imagined that it would never be found out, was not very bright.In European countries, people in positions of power and authority who are both stupid and immoral are often criticised for their failings.So Catholicism in Ireland is due to take a knock. As the past power of the church has declined so too will the ‘levels of religiosity’ on the opposing side. For the protestant DUP in the north, their support for the Conservative UK government has already been financially beneficial to NI, but if Brexit turns out to be at the worst end of the range of predictions, or if the land border solution is unpopular or unworkable, the DUP may be damaged by association with the Conservatives, just as the LibDems were after the coalition.‘Levels of religiosity’ go up and they go down, but a blow such as the child abuse scandal can prompt a near terminal collapse.A 1% decline, year on year, on any activity can sometimes come to a point where there is an almost total collapse because the infrastructure cannot be supported. Think what would happen in a sport which steadily lost income, supporters and clubs. However gradual it was, there would come a point where competition between clubs would become ineffective, predictable and boring.It is not inconceivable that in my grandchildren’s lifetime, religion ceases to be an important aspect of life in European countries. Christianity has been there a long time, but look how far it has fallen already.In America, it is more powerful but its strength, and how it uses it, has attracted a range of oppponents, critics and satirists.In UK, about 40 years ago I noticed a significant direction post on the route. Journalists and brooadcasters left off taking the pronouncements of religious leaders as a serious piece of news requiring a respectful tone, and treated them much the same as a Trade Union, charity or trade association.Some on the far left feel strongly about the place of Bishops in the House of Lords, and want to see an elected house. If I tried, I could think of 40 worse features in the UK constitution none of which would be remedied by election and I would sooner see the alcoholics and the subsidised bar removed than the bishops, but that is less likely to happen.