2025 Dues

Full-time (21+ hours/weekly) - $46.55/month

Part-time 1 (13 - 20 hours/weekly) - $34.95/month

Part-time 2 (<12 hours/weekly) - $23.27/month

If you want to become a member, but have a financial hardship, please contact us.

What are dues for?

Dues pay for a lot of things: union staff salaries, contract negotiation support, defending members and enforcing contracts, organizing, legal fees, lobbying services to win improved legislation, recertification elections, labor education for members, even this website.

Funding means access to resources we need to negotiate effective contracts, enforce those contracts, and improve wages and working conditions for ourselves and our colleagues.

Member dues are AFSCME Local 183’s sole source of funding. As members, we provide the resources for the operation of our own union, ensuring that it remains independent with no obligations to anyone but its members.

Why should I pay dues?

Union members see both direct and indirect benefits from their contributions. This is often referred to as “the Union Difference” or “Union Advantage.” Unions, Local 183 included, need funds to negotiate and enforce the contract that contains these benefits.

If it’s helpful to you, think of it like an investment. In 2025, the average full-time employee at the City of Iowa City would pay about 0.86% of their gross salary in union dues. The across-the-board wage increase for AFSCME bargaining unit members that took effect July 1 was 2.75%. Talk about a return.

Tangible benefits include:

• Higher pay - unionized workers make about 20% more than non-union workers.

• Better benefits - 95% of unionized workers have access to healthcare benefits as opposed to 68% of non-union workers; Defined benefit plans (pensions) are available to 79 percent of union workers and just 17 percent of nonunion workers.

• Greater access to paid leave - Almost all union workers—98%—in state and local government have paid sick days, compared with 86% of their nonunion peers.

Intangible benefits:

• Access to due process - Our Union contracts have provisions that require employers to have “just cause” (a documented, performance-related reason) for disciplining or dismissing a worker.

• Having someone in your corner - Unionized workers are permitted to have union representation with them in investigatory meetings with their employer. This is called Weingarten Rights. A union is also a community members can turn to for solidary, support, and advice.

• Work-life balance - Protected personal time contributes significantly to quality of life.