AFSCME Council 75 represents approximately 33,000 workers across Oregon.
For years, certified and registered family child care providers were required to pay union dues to AFSCME Local 132 (Oregon Child Care Providers Together, CCPT)/AFSCME Council 75 as a condition of employment and the state automatically deducted union dues from providers’ state paychecks.
However, because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2014 decision in Harris v. Quinn, family child care providers can now demand that AFSCME cease withholding union dues/fees from their state paychecks.
The court referred to the requirement for partial-public employees like family child care providers to pay union dues as a money-making “scheme” for the union and ruled that the mandatory dues requirement violated providers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association.
You can opt out of AFSCME dues by completing the form below and mailing it to the address provided.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: AFSCME has arbitrarily decided to only allow family child care providers to opt out during a 10-day period each year. The 10-day window is different for each provider and is based on the date you first signed an AFSCME membership form. If the union receives your opt-out form outside your window, it will ignore your request and continue deducting dues from your pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Certified and registered family child care providers who wish to opt out of paying dues to support AFSCME need to complete the form above and mail it to:
Executive Director, AFSCME 75
C/O Freedom Foundation
P.O. Box 18146
Salem, OR 97305
According to federal filings, the union’s dues in 2016 were $35 per month, or $420 of your pay each year.
Yes. Under state law, the union contract for certified and registered family child care providers is binding on all providers in the state, regardless of whether they want to be union represented and regardless of whether they choose to pay union dues. Opting out of paying dues will in no way affect your ability to serve state-paid clients or receive subsidy payments from the state.
Yes. AFSCME Local 132 has arranged to be the “exclusive bargaining representative” for all certified and registered family child care providers in the state, meaning that it is impossible for providers to get out of the terms of the contract, even if they cease paying dues. Your state subsidy rates and benefits will be the same whether you are a member of the union or not.
Article 13 of the contract even provides, “no provider, on account of membership or non-membership, shall be discriminated against, intimidated, restrained or coerced in or on account of the exercise of rights granted by the collective bargaining agreement.”
If you resign your union membership and stop paying dues, you will still be able to attend any training offered by non-union sources like the Department of Human Services and the Office of Child Care. However, it is possible that you may not be able to attend training provided by the union.
For more information about training and professional development opportunities, access the Oregon Registry Online or check with your local Child Care Resource and Referral program.
While the terms of AFSCME’s contract will still apply to you and your relationship with your client and the state will remain unchanged as a nonmember of AFSCME, you will no longer be able to participate in internal union affairs, such as attending union meetings, participating in contract ratification votes or voting for union officers.
AFSCME Local 132 does not function like a traditional union. It cannot represent providers in workplace disputes or grievances, because certified and registered family child care providers have an employer-employee relationship with their clients, not the state. The core of AFSCME’s activity involves negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the state once every few years. For practical purposes, the primary union for certified and registered family child care providers is AFSCME’s statewide affiliate, Council 75. AFSCME Local 132’s most recent Department of Labor filings are available here: 2021, 2020, 2019.
AFSCME Council 75
According to reports the union must file with the U.S. Department of Labor, AFSCME Council 75 collected $11.4 million from members in 2022.
- $2.1 million was paid towards supporting political candidates, activities, and lobbyist groups. This includes a $51,500 contribution to the campaign of controversial Democrat governor Tina Kotek.
- $21,290 was contributed to other unions and ideological nonprofit groups.
- $210,000 was spent on hotels, airfare and travel expenses.
- $878,641 was spent on lawyers and private consultants.
In 2022, AFSCME Council 75 paid 90 employees and officers, 32 of whom were paid six-figure last year. AFSCME Council 75 executive director Stacy Chamberlain received a salary of $181,015 last year.
AFSCME Council 75’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019.
AFSCME International
AFSCME collected $177 million from its members nationwide in 2022.
In that year alone:
- $60 million was spent by AFSCME on divisive political candidates, causes and lobbying. This included $200,000 paid to the far left organization Action for Liberation and $15,200 of campaign support for Stacey Abrams, a radical left political figure in Georgia.
- $3.6 million was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations. This includes $100,000 donated to the Center For American Progress Action Fund, a left-wing organization that promotes radical social and economic policies.
- $3.3 million was spent on airfare, hotels and travel for union staff.
- $976,875 was spent on attorneys and legal fees.
- $193,310 was spent on food and catering.
AFSCME paid 486 employees in 2022, 224 of whom were paid six figures. AFSCME’s international president, Lee Saunders, was paid $384,155.
AFSCME’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.