I got a letter about wanting more working dues from my check for the SECRC political program. Is that correct?
Absolutely not. The 4% that comes out of your working dues goes to fund Council operations. Currently, 2 cents per hour OUT OF THAT SAME 4% funds the Council's political program. To expand on the political success in putting carpenters to work, we are asking if, OUT OF THE SAME 4%, we can allocate 5 cents for political activity. This is only a redistribution of THE SAME 4% - nothing additional comes out of your check! Here's a copy of the letter you're referring to.
The money that comes out of my working dues that is earmarked for political purposes, does that apply to all elections?
No. All monies to the SECRC political program remain in the Council for state & local elections. None is used for federal races.
Can’t you just automatically increase the 2 cents to 5 cents for the Political Program?
NO. Election laws require you - the SECRC member - to give permission to fund the political program. A letter asking for that permission can be viewed and acted on by clicking here. Keep in mind, the SECRC political program directly benefitted 15 Local 223 members and 104 Local 256 members, all of whom went to work in 2021 on jobs that started out non-union but were turned union through political program efforts!We live in the South, where there are more Republicans than Democrats. Why do we only support Democrats as a Council?
We don't to that. It is the SECRC political policy to support ANY candidate who supports carpenter issues. That means we support individuals, NOT political parties. In fact, during the 2020 elections, the SECRC supported 17 Republicans and 20 Democrats. Of those whom we supported, 80% won!