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Union Dues

The SF 1187, Request for Payroll Deductions for Labor Organization Dues, or another appropriate form must be completed by the employee and the union/association to authorize dues deduction when:

  • The employee is a member of a labor organization that holds exclusive recognition (memorandum of understanding established with the Agency) for employees in the unit in which employed.
  • The employee is a supervisor or management official and is a member of a supervisory or managerial association and the Agency has agreed in writing with the association to deduct for payment of fees to maintain membership.
  • The employee is a member of a professional association or organization and the Agency has agreed in writing with the association or organization to deduct for payment of dues.

Do not enter more than two union/local or association records for an employee.

  • Prior Pay Period Adjustment field must be blank except if dues have been deducted in error or if the cancellation was entered prior to the first full pay period following March 1 or September 1 and not processed.
  • A new authorization must be processed after a cancellation; do not process a change.
  • The Effective Pay Period and Pay Period Year fields must be at least 1 year later than the effective pay period/pay period year of the authorization.
  • Either a dues dollar amount or percent based on the union deduction indicator must be entered in the TMGT Table 010.
  • A deduction amount for union dues that require special handling for processing should not be entered. Special calculations are performed based on certain criteria.
  • The national amount for USDA, Foreign Agricultural Services and Office of Operations, is based on a percentage of basic pay; the cheaper amount is based on a flat dollar amount.

Before beginning, the following information is needed:

  • Form SF 1187 to authorize the establishment of a union dues deduction, change in dues, or change between locals deductions.
  • Form SF 1188, Cancellation of Payroll Deduction for Labor Organization Dues, or other appropriate forms required to cancel payroll deductions for labor organization dues. An allotment for the payment of dues may be revoked by the employee only after receipt of a written request (SF 1188) and is administratively controlled by the employee’s Agency.

Parking Fees

Some document types are also used to enter data for the Smithsonian Institute employees who are obligated to pay parking fees to the Harvard Parking Office, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Employees should complete the appropriate form and submit it to their personnel office for processing.

These actions are entered in EmpowHR as a Document Type 086, Labor Dues Auth, using Union Code 15 and Local Code 0001.

Cancellations are entered as Document Type 085, Dues Cancel.

Changes in Bargaining Units

PPS will automatically stop (cancel) membership dues for:

  1. A bargaining unit employee, who is reassigned or promoted to a non-bargaining unit position, is ineligible for inclusion in a bargaining unit. PPS will automatically cancel membership dues for employees placed in a non-bargaining unit position with the process of the following:
    1. Promotion
    2. Reassignment
    3. Position Change
    4. Conversion
    5. Change to a lower grade
  2. A bargaining unit employee, who is in bargaining unit position and temporarily placed in a non-bargaining unit position, will have his/her membership dues held (stored). PPS will hold (store) the membership dues authorization until one of the following occurs:
    1. A change to lower grade is processed returning the employee to the bargaining unit position. PPS will automatically reinstate the membership dues.
    2. A change to lower grade is processed and the employee moves from the non-bargaining unit to another non-bargaining unit position. PPS will not reinstate the membership dues; they will be canceled and not stored.
    3. A promotion is processed for the non-bargaining unit position. PPS will not reactivate the membership dues; they will be canceled and not stored.

These automatic cancellations and reinstatements are effective no earlier than the end of the processing effective pay period (deductions will start or stop the following pay period).

If any of the above actions are processed late, PPS will only stop or start the membership dues. An AD-343, Payroll Action Request, must be submitted to the Payroll/Personnel Operations Section at NFC to adjust the membership dues.

This section shows how to: change dues, change between locals, and cancel eligible employees’ payments of dues to labor organizations and associations. Employees who wish to exercise the option available to them of having payments of dues to labor organization, professional association, or other organizations deducted from their salary on a regular basis should submit the appropriate form to their personnel office.

Employee Union Dues Mass Change

Document Type 083, Emply Org Mass, is used to enter information from the SF 1187, Request of Payroll Deductions for Labor Organization Dues, or the appropriate form when the union/association dues deduction is changing for more than one employee.

Dues Change Between Locals in National Lab Organization

Document Type 084, Local Dues Chg, is used when an employee with established union/association dues allotment transfers to another Agency within the same Department or a different labor organization/association within the same Agency.

If an employee is reassigned or transferred to a location represented by a different local or chapter of the same labor organization and the employee continues to hold a bargaining union position, the employee may change the membership dues deduction to show the new local/chapter and the amount of the membership dues.

Cancellation/Revocation of Employee Union Dues

Document Type 085, Dues Cancel, is used to enter information from the SF 1188, Revocation of Voluntary Authorization for Allotment of Compensation for Payment of Employee Organization Dues, or another appropriate form when the employee is no longer eligible or wants to voluntarily stop being a member.

Revocations of Membership Dues

An allotment for the payment of dues may be revoked by the employee only after a written request (an SF 1188 or another appropriate form) is submitted by the employee to the Agency personnel office.

Certain labor organizations designate when an employee may revoke labor organization withholding; other organizations permit revocation at any time.

Cancellation of Membership Dues

To cancel membership dues, the employee should submit an SF 1188, or another appropriate form, to their personnel office.

An allotment for the payment of dues to a labor organization is to be canceled when the employee is:

  • Reassigned to a location not represented by the labor organization or professional association to which he/she is having dues withheld.
  • No longer a member in good standing.
  • Reassigned or transferred to a bargaining unit represented by a different local of the same labor organization and the employee does not wish to continue dues withholding.

A cancellation is effective immediately or in the pay period in which it was entered.