AFSCME Council 5 voted to increase the per cap (per person) rate for all AFSCME members and fee payers in Minnesota and this went into effect on January 1, 2015. Local 3800 voted in November to adjust the maximum dues and fee rate. Due to the time required for the international union to approve the constitutional language and for legally required notice periods, the Council 5 increase and local increase occurred separately, rather than in the same pay period.
Per the Local 3800 constitution, the Council 5 per cap increase automatically is passed on to members and fee payers. However, due to the formula in the Local 3800 constitution previously used to determine the maximum rate paid by members and fee payers, members and fee payers in the top half of the pay scale would not have seen an increase, though members and fee payers in the lower half of the pay scale would have seen an increase. At the November 2014 membership meeting, AFSCME 3800 members voted to increase the maximum rate paid by members and fee payers so that those in the higher end of the pay scales contribute an equal percentage of salary as those in the lower half of the pay scales. AFSCME 3800 members also voted for a small increase in the percentage paid by everybody, and the rate was changed from 1.67% to 1.75% of the biweekly gross pay, until the maximum rate is reached. Many people will see an increase of $2 or less per paycheck. The maximum increase will be approximately $6 per paycheck.
