WPI-GWU Membership Form

It is a condition of employment that all WPI graduate workers (both Salary or Hourly) covered by the contract choose to either sign up as a union member and pay dues or decline membership and pay an agency fee. This form allows you to fulfill this obligation.

As WPI-GWU is covered under a Union Security Clause, it is our duty to inform you of your Beck Rights under Supreme Court Ruling CWA v. Beck. For all details on the Beck Notice, please see the notice below.

Membership Authorization

Count me in the majority! By filling out this form, I accept membership in WPI-GWU-UAW. As a member, I have the right to attend membership meetings, vote to elect Union officers, and otherwise participate in the governance of the Union. I hereby authorize and direct Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to deduct from my earnings- and to transmit to the WPI Graduate Workers Union — International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (WPI-GWU)- dues in the amount established in accordance with the UAW constitution and Local Union bylaws (currently 2% of my gross pay) and a one-time $20 initiation fee. This authorization is voluntary on my part and shall remain in effect while I am employed by WPI unless and until I revoke it by notifying the Union of my decision to revoke.

Voluntary Contributions to UAW V-CAP

Political action has played a key role in establishing our Union and winning improvements in our working conditions at WPI. Through voluntary contributions to VCAP, we help elect pro-worker and pro-education candidates who can influence state and federal decisions on key issues, like research funding, which impact our daily lives at WPI . If you’re eligible to vote in U.S. elections, please contribute!

Agency Fee Authorization

By filling out this form I decline membership in WPI-GWU-UAW. I hereby authorize and direct Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to deduct from my earnings - and to transmit to the WPI Graduate Workers Union — International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (WPI-GWU)- the required “fair share” fees in the amount established in accordance with the UAW constitution and Local Union bylaws (currently 2% of gross salary and equivalent to dues). WPI-GWU-UAW will notify WPI of this authorization. This authorization is voluntary on my part and shall remain in effect while I am employed by WPI unless and until I revoke it by notifying the Union of my decision to revoke.

So long as I am not a member, I will not have the right to vote or otherwise participate in Union decisions.  I understand that, if I elect to join the Union, I must revoke this authorization and agree to pay full dues.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits WPI from releasing most student record information to any requesting third party, absent the student’s prior written consent. Failure of WPI to comply with FERPA may result in a violation of federal law.

Consistent with FERPA and pursuant to Article 35 (“Union Access and Rights”) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between WPI and the WPI- GWU-UAW, dated September 1, 2023, this Authorization pertains to the following limited information that is otherwise protected from release to third parties by FEPRA:

•visa status
•race
•ethnicity
•gender
•appointment start and end dates
•employing department or program
•pay rate
•bi-weekly stipend

While your completion of this form is required prior to the commencement of work, the decision of whether to authorize disclosure of the above-listed information to the GWU is voluntary and solely the decision of the individual GWU member.
 

By signing below, you understand you may revoke this Authorization upon providing written notice to Talent@wpi.edu. I further understand that until this revocation is made, this Authorization shall remain in effect.

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By filling out this form, I agree and affirm that my signed name below is my electronic signature and is legally binding – just the same as a pen-and-paper signature.