APWU Member Leaving The Craft (not In Window Period) 1187S Joint Dues Booklet

User Manual: 1187S

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Union Members
Transferring Crafts
Among
American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO
National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
Avoiding Unintended Multiple Dues Withholding
A Handbook for Organizers, Local Officers, and Members
American Postal Workers Union
NOTE: Information provided in this document is subject to
change without notice, to accommodate changes in
law, USPS Employee Labor Relations Manual, national
union constitutions, or internal union policies.
Table of Contents
Objective 1
Reciprocal Agreement 2
Chapter 1 American Postal Workers Union (APWU)Procedures 3
Chapter 2 National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Procedures 6
Chapter 3 National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) Procedures 10
Chapter 4 National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) Procedures 14
Appendix A Sample PS Form 1223-B, Earnings Statement (Pay Stub)
Appendix B Sample Form 1187, Authorization for Deduction of Union Dues,
Used by APWU
Appendix C Sample Form 1187, Authorization for Deduction of Union Dues,
Used by NALC
Appendix D Sample Form 1187, Authorization for Deduction of Union Dues,
Used by NPMHU
Appendix E Sample Form 1187, Authorization for Deduction of Union Dues,
Used by NRLCA
Appendix F Sample Form 1186, Cancellation of Dues Withholding Authorization,
Used by APWU only
Appendix G Sample Form 1188 – Cancellation of Dues Withholding
Authorization, Used by APWU, NALC, NPMHU & NRLCA
1
Objective
The objective of this handbook is to assist union
members and officers in the proper processing of
membership dues forms and to help avoid the
unintended payment of multiple dues when a member
changes from one craft to another craft that is
represented by a different union.
* * * * * * * *
Employees should keep copies of all forms
and correspondence and confirm correct
deductions by reviewing their bi-weekly pay stubs.
Any errors in dues withheld should be brought to
the immediate attention of the employee’s
personnel office and/or union representative.
* * * * * * * *
In reading through this document you will find
the procedures used by each union to be different.
When joining a union, turn to the chapter for that union
and follow the procedures. In addition, if you are
canceling your membership as a result of changing
crafts, you should go to the chapter of the union you
are leaving and follow the procedures for cancellation
of dues for that union.
2
Reciprocal Agreement
Among
American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO
National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
In the interest of relieving our members of multiple dues obligations
among and within the four postal unions, the unions resolve as follows:
Each of the four postal unions agrees that whenever one of its members
transfers either voluntarily or involuntarily to a position within the bargaining
unit of one of the other postal unions, and joins the union representing that
bargaining unit, each will grant the member a release, upon request (and in
accordance with the procedures established in this agreement) from his or
her union membership outside of his or her anniversary window period. The
procedures outlined in this booklet have been established to facilitate
transferring of membership.
________________________________________________ 12/04/03
Robert L. Tunstall, Secretary-Treasurer Date
American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
________________________________________________ 12/04/03
Jane E. Broendel, Secretary-Treasurer Date
National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO
________________________________________________ 12/04/03
Mark Gardner, Secretary-Treasurer Date
National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO
_________________________________________________ 12/04/03
Clifford D. Dailing, Secretary-Treasurer Date
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
3
Chapter 1
American Postal Workers Union
(APWU)Procedures
APWU Background
The American Postal Workers Union is recognized as the collective
bargaining agent for USPS employees in the clerk, motor vehicle services,
and maintenance crafts. In addition, the APWU represents workers employed
in support services: information systems/accounting service centers, mail
equipment shops, material distribution centers, and operating services
facilities. USPS employees can ask their shop steward or local officer for a
Form 1187 to join APWU. If you work in a very small office that does not have
union officials, to obtain a form 1187 to join APWU, you may contact APWU’s
Director of Organization, 1300 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005, (202)
842 – 4228, or you may print three copies of the form from APWU’s web page
at www.APWU.org (click on Departments and Divisions, then click on
Organization, then go to Organizing Information and Forms).
Application of the Reciprocal Agreement
When an individual is hired by the US Postal Service and becomes a
union member in one of the crafts represented by the American Postal
Workers Union, and later transfers to the mail handler craft, rural carrier craft,
the city carrier craft, or vice-versa, the reciprocal agreement comes into play.
The member may request to terminate his or her APWU membership by
showing proof that he or she has joined the union of the gaining craft. The
major difference between our procedure and the other postal unions is that
APWU National Headquarters processes it own 1187s, 1186s and 1188s.
Each union has a different procedure for implementing the reciprocal
agreement.
A. Processing the 1187 for the New Member Leaving the NALC,
NRLCA or the NPMHU and Joining the APWU
APWU requires the use of Standard Form 1187 (Authorization for
Deduction of Dues) to initiate membership dues withholding. New members
who are transferring membership from the National Postal Mail Handlers
Union (NPMHU), the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), or the
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) to APWU as a result of a
change in craft, and who do not wish to continue membership in their
previous union, must:
Follow the cancellation process of the union you want to leave,
(see page 10 for NPMHU; page 6 for NALC, page 14 for NRLCA).
In addition, you must:
• Complete the top portion of the APWU Form1187.
• By hand in the margin write in large print, “Do not process until
[NALC, NPMHU, NRLCA] dues are terminated.”
• Return the form to your APWU representative.
Your union representative then completes the middle portion of the
1187, indicating the current amount of dues to be withheld biweekly, and
submits the form to the National Secretary-Treasurer of APWU, 1300 L
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.
B. Transferring to Another Union As A Result of A Change of Work
Assignments
.
There are three methods to use:
1. The method preferred by APWU:
Have your gaining local or Branch write to their National Secretary-
Treasurer requesting him or her to write to the APWU National
Secretary-Treasurer requesting cancellation of APWU dues withholding.
(You must also follow the process of the union you are joining.)
4
If you want to retain your APWU Health Plan you are
required to be a full dues paying member of APWU.
5
2. ou may fill out a Form 1186 or 1188 and send it to Secretary-Treasurer
3. he APWU Local President may write on the Local’s letterhead to er
)
In addition to following the above, the member’s responsibilities are
Y
of APWU, 1300 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005, along with a copy
of your completed Form 1187. (You must also follow the process of the
union you are joining.)
T
Secretary-Treasurer of APWU, 1300 L Street, NW, Washington, DC
20005, giving the name, Social Security Number, and Finance Numb
of the person, requesting termination of APWU dues due to a craft
change. (You must also follow the process of the union you are joining.
:
• To keep a copy of each document you turn in, for your personal
• our pay stub frequently to verify that the appropriate .
The National’s Administrative Functions
records.
To check y
dues are being withheld. APWU dues withholding code is UN W
:
APWU Headquarters will process your requests as soon as
• ational Secretary-Treasurer’s office will write a letter
•
practicable.
The APWU N
to its Local notifying it of the Pay Period in which the APWU dues
termination is requested, with a copy to the National Secretary-
Treasurer of the gaining union and a copy for the member, to be
transmitted by the APWU Local.
6
Chapter 2
National Association of Letter Carriers
(NALC) Procedures
I. Background
The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is the exclusive
bargaining agent for the 230,000 city letter carriers employed by the U.S.
Postal Service. All city letter carriers and other non-supervisory employees in
the Postal Service are eligible to join the NALC.
City carriers as well as all other USPS employees wishing to enroll in the
NALC Health Benefit Plan (NALCHBP) must become NALC members by
paying full union dues.
II. Dues deductions
The NALC utilizes the services of the U. S. Postal Service to process Form
1187 (Authorization for Deduction of Dues) and Form 1188 (Cancellation of
Dues Deductions). On specific pay periods only, NALC Headquarters
implements the increase and/or decrease of dues deductions by sending a
membership tape to the USPS Payroll Center in Eagan, Minnesota for
processing. Aside from processing Form 1187 and Form 1188, the USPS is
not authorized to honor any request pertaining to changes in the dues
deduction of any member regarding any action on a member’s record unless
the request is in writing and signed by the National Secretary-Treasurer.
III. Application of the reciprocal agreement
The reciprocal agreement applies when:
7
1. A city carrier belonging to the NALC transfers to the mail handler craft,
rural carrier craft, or one of the other crafts represented by the American
Postal Workers Union,
or
2. A non-city letter carrier craft employee who is a member of one of the
other three postal unions transfers into the city carrier craft.
Since the reciprocal agreement supercedes the 1188, in neither of the two
cases does the employee have to complete Form 1188 or wait until his/her
anniversary date to withdraw from one union to join the union representing
his/her new craft.
IV. Special considerations
1. An NALC member who leaves the city carrier craft for another craft but
wishes to maintain his/her enrollment in the NALC Health Benefit Plan
(NALCHBP), must continue NALC membership and pay full union dues.
2. A non-city carrier USPS craft employee belonging to another craft union
who joins the NALC to enroll in the NALC Health Benefit Plan is not covered
under the reciprocal agreement and must complete USPS Form 1188 in
accordance with Section 925.1(b) of the ELM to cancel his/her dues from the
union representing the other craft.
V. When a city carrier transfers to another craft
1. A city letter carrier transferring to another craft signs Form 1187 to join
the union representing the new craft and:
¾ informs the representative of the new craft that he/she was formerly a
city letter carrier, wishes to have his/her NALC dues canceled, and requests
that the representative of the new union write the NALC Secretary-Treasurer
stating that the employee has transferred crafts, has joined the union of the
gaining craft and requests cancellation of his/her NALC dues;
or
¾ asks the secretary of his/her NALC branch to write a letter to the NALC
National Secretary-Treasurer stating that the member has transferred crafts,
joined the new craft union and wishes to cancel NALC membership and dues
deductions.
8
2. Upon receipt by the Office of the NALC National Secretary-Treasurer of
either a letter from the gaining union or a letter from the secretary of the
NALC branch, the NALC Membership Department contacts the USPS and
requests the cancellation of the member’s NALC dues, specifying a particular
pay period for the cancellation to become effective.
3. Should the Office of the NALC National Secretary-Treasurer receive a
Form 1188 with a notation that the city carrier/NALC member is transferring to
another craft instead of either a letter from the gaining union or a letter from
the secretary of the NALC branch, the NALC Secretary-Treasurer writes to
the member (copy to the branch secretary) explaining that:
a) should the member wish to join the union representing his/her new
craft, the reciprocal agreement will apply and thus the specific steps must be
followed;
b) should the member not wish to join the union representing the new
craft, the reciprocal agreement does not apply and he/she must initiate the
cancellation by
¾ completing Form 1188 no earlier than 20 days and no later than
10 days before his/her anniversary date which is stated in the letter, and
¾ having the employing office date-stamp Form 1188, retain the top
two copies to be forwarded to the Servicing DDE/DR Site for processing and
send the third copy(Organizational copy) to NALC Headquarters’ Membership
Department via certified mail.
VI. When a non-city carrier craft employee transfers to the city carrier
craft
1. NALC stewards, branch secretaries and other officers should ask
members transferring into the city carrier craft from another craft
¾ to sign a Form 1187 indicating they wish to have dues deducted
for the NALC; and
¾ whether they belong to another craft union, and if so, which union
and whether they want to have dues deductions for the other union canceled.
2. When the new NALC member completes Form 1187 and indicates that
he/she wants to have dues deductions from the other union canceled, the
NALC representative either:
writes on the NALC headquarters’ copy of the form, “Transfer from APWU”,
“Transfer from NPMHU,” or “Transfer from NRLCA,” whichever was the losing
craft,
9
or
writes a letter to the Office of the NALC National Secretary-Treasurer
informing the national union that the incoming NALC member is transferring
from the APWU, NPMHU or NRLCA.
3. After the new NALC member has completed Form 1187, the NALC
representative files the Management Sectional Center copy of the form with
the employing office with a request to forward the Form 1187 to the servicing
DDE/DR Site for processing.
4. Upon receipt of the Headquarters copy of Form 1187 with the notation
and/or letter (see 2a and 2b above), The Office of the NALC National
Secretary-Treasurer writes the “losing” union, stating that employee is now a
city letter carrier belonging the NALC and has requested cancellation of dues
to the union representing his/her former craft.
5. A copy of the letter to the “losing” union is put in a pending file until
NALC headquarters receives (a) for employees leaving an APWU-
represented craft, a letter from the APWU stating the pay period the
employee’s dues are being canceled; or (b) for all other employees, a copy of
the “losing” union’s cancellation request to the USPS. Upon receipt of this
correspondence, the NALC Membership Department attaches the
correspondence to the copy of the outgoing letter for filing.
6. If the “losing” union fails to respond within two months, the Office of the
NALC National Secretary-Treasurer sends the “losing” union another letter
asking whether the new member’s dues deduction to the other union has
been canceled.
10
Chapter 3
National Postal Mail Handlers Union
(NPMHU) Procedures
I. OVERVIEW
The National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) serves as the exclusive
bargaining representative for more than 50,000 mail handlers employed by
the U.S. Postal Service. All persons employed in the mail handler craft are
eligible for regular membership in NPMHU; individuals employed in any other
craft of postal employees or in any other branch of the federal government
may become NPMHU associate members. Exclusive benefits of
membership, including participation in the Mail Handlers Health Benefit Plan
(MHBP) - which provides health insurance coverage under the Federal
Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) – are available to both regular
and associate members. Mail handlers craft employees wishing to participate
in the MHBP health plan must be regular members of NPMHU.
II. RECIPROCAL AGREEMENT
According to the terms of the Reciprocal Agreement, a United States Postal
Service employee who is a member of a postal union and transfers to a
position represented by another postal union, may terminate membership in
the current union by showing proof of joining the union of the gaining craft.
Cancellation procedures for each union may differ. So please reference each
union’s procedures on the following pages:
APWU, page 3; NALC, page 6; NRLCA, page 14
III. JOINING NPMHU
NPMHU requires the use of Standard Form 1187 (Authorization for Deduction
of Dues) to initiate membership dues withholding.
11
Employee/Union Representative Responsibilities (Non-Craft Change):
• The employee obtains Form SF 1187 (Authorization for Deduction of
Dues) from the NPMHU representative.
• The employee completes the top portion of the SF 1187 and returns the
form to the NPMHU representative; the union representative then
completes the middle portion, indicating the amount of dues to be
withheld biweekly, and submits the form to the representative of the
postal installation where the employee works.
• The postal installation representative completes the bottom portion of
the SF 1187; the date of processing at the postal installation will
become the member's dues anniversary date.
• The completed SF 1187 will then be forwarded by the postal installation
representative to the employee's DDE/DR site, and dues deductions
should commence the first full pay period following receipt at the
DDE/DR.
Employee/Union Representative Responsibilities (Craft Change)
Employees may join NPMHU at any time due to a change to the mail handler
craft.
• Employee completes SF 1187 as indicated above and submits to the
local NPMHU representative.
• In order to avoid double dues withholding to both NPMHU and to the
former union, employees wishing to cancel membership in the former
union must write on the top of their SF 1187: "DO NOT PROCESS
UNTIL [APWU, NALC or NRLCA] DUES DEDUCTION IS
TERMINATED". The local NPMHU representative should not submit
this form to the postal installation until termination of previous dues
withholding has been verified.
12
• To facilitate cancellation of the prior union's dues withholding, the
employee may:
1. Request that the NPMHU local union representative send a copy
of the 1187 with a letter that includes the employee’s name,
Social Security Number, Finance Number, and former union
affiliation to
National Secretary-Treasurer
National Postal Mail Handlers Union
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW; Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
The National Office will send a request to the National Secretary
Treasurer of the appropriate union requesting that dues
deductions for that member be terminated effective the first full
pay period after receipt. Please note, however, that cancellation
procedures for each union may differ and should be referenced
under the section for that union.
OR
2. Obtain a copy of PS Form 1188 (Cancellation of Organization
Dues from Payroll Withholdings) from the USPS installation, write
"CRAFT CHANGE" at the top and complete the top portion. This
form should be submitted with form 1187 to the NPMHU local
representative, who will give them to the local postal installation
representative with a brief letter requesting that they be processed
simultaneously.
Employees should keep copies of all forms and correspondence and confirm
correct deductions by reviewing their bi-weekly earning statements (the code
for NPMHU is UN H). Any errors in dues withheld should be brought to the
immediate attention of the employee's personnel office.
IV. CANCELLATION OF NPMHU DUES WITHHOLDING
Membership in the National Postal Mail Handlers Union is irrevocable for a
period of one year and automatically renews for successive periods of one
year. Dues withholding may be cancelled at any time during this period due
to a craft change (and upon obtaining membership in the postal union
representing the craft to which the individual has changed) or due to a
transfer to a non-bargaining unit position.
13
Voluntary terminations, other than the craft-change situation described above,
must take place during the window period prescribed on the PS Form 1188:
that is, not more than 20 days, and not less than 10 days, prior to the
member's dues anniversary date. The anniversary date is determined by the
processing date of the original SF 1187 at the employee’s postal installation.
Please note: To continue enrollment in the Mail Handlers Benefit Plan
(MHBP), a mail handler craft member must be a regular member of the
NPMHU -- paying the full dues amount required by the NPMHU Local
Union having jurisdiction over that member's postal facility. Workers in
other postal crafts and all non-bargaining unit employees in the USPS
must maintain their NPMHU associate membership to continue
enrollment in the MHBP.
Member Responsibilities:
• Member obtains copy of USPS Form 1188 from postal installation and
completes Part A.
• If terminating outside of the 20/10 day window, the employee must fulfill
the obligation to join the union representing the new craft and indicate
“CRAFT CHANGE” at the top of the form; a new job title may be noted
to reflect an employee's change to a job title outside of the bargaining
unit.
• Member submits form to postal installation for completion of Part B,
and sends only the 3rd copy (as indicated on the 1188 form) to the
NPMHU National Office by certified mail.
Chapter 4
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
(NRLCA) Procedures
The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, identified as the NRLCA, is
the recognized labor union that provides representation for all those
employed by the USPS within the rural craft. The NRLCA also provides
certain benefits of membership to active, retired and qualified former rural
carriers.
Application of the Reciprocal Agreement
Under the terms of the National Agreement between the USPS and NRLCA,
when an individual, that is hired by the USPS to work in the rural craft,
becomes a union member and later transfers to another craft identified in this
handbook, the reciprocal agreement comes into play. That individual would
follow the procedures outlined below under the section, Cancellation of Dues
Withholding Authorizations.
Membership by Dues Withholding
The NRLCA is one of the USPS labor organizations that has been approved
to participate in a dues withholding program for its qualified members. The
USPS ELM 923.a identifies the NRLCA dues withholding code as Code R.
Membership by dues withholding is offered to a rural craft employee who
holds either a career or a non-career position. NRLCA membership may also
be continued for an employee who has left the rural craft to accept a
permanent position in another craft. The individual who leaves the rural craft
for a permanent position in another craft but wishes to continue NRLCA
membership would be classified as an Associate member.
However, this does not apply to those who accept a permanent management
position. Rural craft members who transfer to a permanent management
position are excluded from Associate membership.
14
15
Dues Amounts
The NRLCA has different applicable dues amounts based upon the
classification of the individual. A career rural craft employee will normally pay
a rate of state and national dues that are higher than those of a non-career
employee.
The dues rate for an Associate member is the same as for a career rural craft
employee working in the same state in which the Associate member is
employed. This is important to know for those non-career rural craft members
who transfer to a career position in another craft.
Employee Eligibility
In order to initially be eligible for membership in the NRLCA, the individual
first must have been hired to serve as a career or non-career rural craft
employee. One cannot enroll as an Associate member without first having
been a rural craft employee. Then, the associate membership status must
continue immediately (without interruption) upon leaving the rural craft. One
cannot enroll as an associate member after having left the rural craft.
Authorization Forms
The NRLCA recognizes and accepts Standard Form (SF) 1187, Authorization
for Deduction of Dues, for employees wishing to join the NRLCA. That form
is to be completed by the member and then sent to the appropriate NRLCA
State Secretary for initial processing.
Multiple Dues Withholdings
The USPS ELM 924.22 provides that an eligible employee may have dues
deducted for up to three organizations at one time. A separate authorization
is required for each organization.
The submission of Standard Form (SF) 1187 for rural craft employee dues
does not transfer to another craft when the individual leaves the rural craft.
Rather, NRLCA dues deductions will continue unless the requirements
outlined in “Cancellation of Dues Withholding” described later are followed.
An employee who leaves the rural craft for another craft, but is enrolled in and
wishes to maintain enrollment in the Rural Carrier Benefit Plan (RCBP), which
is a closed plan, or other non-federal NRLCA sponsored insurance plans,
16
must continue NRLCA membership as an Associate member. If the
employee who is enrolled in any of the NRLCA sponsored insurance plans
chooses not to continue membership as an Associate, the NRLCA must notify
the insurance carrier to cancel the coverage. The individual will not be
allowed to re-enroll anytime in the future.
Submission of a Completed Dues Withholding Authorization Form
Initial processing of the (SF) 1187 is completed by the appropriate NRLCA
State Secretary who then sends the form to the NRLCA Headquarters for
further processing.
The USPS ELM 924.422 outlines that the NRLCA National Office is
responsible for entering the “date of delivery to employer” on the form. This
becomes the employee’s anniversary date.
Once this is completed, the NRLCA submits the (SF) 1187 to the servicing
distribution data entry/distribution reporting (DDE/DR) site of the USPS where
the member is employed.
The DDE/DR site is required to enter the “date of delivery to employer” as
identified by the union as the member’s anniversary date. The anniversary
date is not the date the form is processed by the USPS DDE/DR site.
Confirmation of Dues Deductions
The amount of dues deducted and the union’s code can be found on the
employee’s earnings statement, Form 1223-A or Form 1223-B. The code
listed for rural craft members in UN R.
Procedures in Case of Error
If an erroneous dues amount is withheld, the employee is to follow normal
payroll inquiry procedures for questioning such deductions. The Eagan ASC
does not make a retroactive adjustment unless the Postal Service is
responsible for the error.
The NRLCA does not manage the withholding of dues at NRLCA National
Headquarters. This is done through the USPS. Once the USPS processes
(SF) 1187, the NRLCA only monitors what forms have been properly
submitted to them and what procedurally incorrect cancellations of dues were
processed by the USPS.
17
Cancellation of Dues Withholding Authorizations
A rural carrier employee who has not changed crafts and wishes to cancel
dues withholding in the NRLCA can only do so by obtaining and properly
submitting a USPS Form 1188 in accordance with the USPS ELM 925.
If a rural craft employee, career or non-career, has left the rural craft to accept
a craft position in the APWU, NALC or NPMHU and does not desire to
continue membership in the NRLCA as an Associate member, that employee
needs to:
(1) Provide evidence of having joined the gaining craft’s union. A letter
from the gaining union’s branch or national office confirming that a
properly completed (SF) Form 1187 has been submitted to them will
suffice.
(2) Provide a brief letter to the attention of the NRLCA Secretary-Treasurer
notifying of the craft change and of the employee’s desire not to
continue as an NRLCA Associate member.
(3) Provide a copy of the latest Form 50 showing the official personnel
action of the craft change.
(4) Mail the above listed items all together to:
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
Secretary-Treasurer
Attn: Membership Dept, Room DWC
1630 Duke St, 4th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22314
When the NRLCA has received the properly submitted request for
cancellation of NRLCA dues withholding, the NRLCA Secretary-Treasurer will
send a request on the individual’s behalf to the appropriate DDE/DR site
requesting cancellation of dues withholding for the NRLCA Code R
organization. A courtesy copy of the NRLCA request will be sent to the
individual and to the gaining union’s National Secretary-Treasurer.
Normally, when the DDE/DR site receives the cancellation request, the
termination of dues will become effective the first full pay period after the
request is processed by the USPS.
Any individual not desiring to provide the above required information to cancel
NRLCA dues withholding would need to follow the instructions for submitting
USPS Form 1188 as outlined in USPS ELM 925.
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Effective Member Dates
Once the properly submitted (SF) 1187 by the rural craft employee is
accepted by the local or state elected or appointed union official, the rights of
membership begin even though dues deductions may not start until several
weeks later. With this in mind, dues deductions may continue until the
DDE/DR site processes the cancellation request from the NRLCA. The
determining factor of membership, when an authorized (SF) 1187 has been
filed, is identified by dates rather than when dues are deducted or stopped.
If after a reasonable period of time of the DDE/DR site being notified by the
NRLCA to cancel dues withholding and the deductions do not cease, the
employee needs to follow the “procedures in case of error” as previously
outlined.
Since the NRLCA has no direct control of exactly when dues deductions start
and stop, any refund provisions would be handled by qualified adjustments
through the USPS payroll data center.
Member’s Responsibilities
The NRLCA member leaving the rural craft must remember that dues and
membership are not transferred to a gaining craft union. Therefore, it is the
responsibility of the member to notify the NRLCA National Secretary-
Treasurer’s office of his/her desire to discontinue rural dues deductions and
membership as previously outlined.
Further, the member is responsible for notifying the gaining craft that they
have a completed dues withholding authorization on file with the NRLCA and
that they wish to either continue or discontinue that authorization.
The employee should also review and understand the unions’ dues deduction
codes shown on the employee earning statement.
All inquires to the attention of the NRLCA Membership Department must be in
writing and will be responded to in writing. Under no circumstances will any
member’s personal information be discussed or given over the telephone.
19
Acknowledgements
The NRLCA has compiled these procedures governing its approved dues
withholding program. The above procedures identify the submission of
authorization and cancellation requirements for dues deductions in the
NRLCA.
Some of the described procedures are required as outlined in Chapter 9 of
the USPS ELM. Others are required because of language in the NRLCA
Constitution and Bylaws. The remaining procedures are directed under the
NRLCA National Board’s policy.

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