The Latest from VEA

By Olivia Geho

No matter the political landscape, switching your dues payment to autopay ensures your membership continues and removes any risk caused by anti-union politicians attempting to eliminate payroll deduction.

Autopay simply means paying your union dues with a credit or debit card or bank draft. While union members have historically fought hard for the right to have their dues deducted from their paychecks, nowadays it is actually more advantageous to use autopay. Here are four reasons why:

1. If the federal government passes a law or if an executive order is enacted banning public sector workers from deducting their union dues from their paychecks, you will lose your union membership if you do not switch to autopay ahead of time.
2. When we use payroll deduction, we give up information to the school division. Right now, any school administrator can find out which employees are members or non-members simply by looking at the payroll deduction list. While we think everyone should take pride in their union membership, there are advantages to keeping our specific member roster and total membership numbers to ourselves.
3. In the past, members who paid their dues via credit or debit card or bank draft would be required to rejoin every year. This is no longer the case. With autopay, your membership will now be continuous, giving you more control over your membership.
4. Autopay is safe, simple, and secure. VEA does not store your credit or debit card information; instead, NEA keeps that data secure on dedicated servers.

The vast majority of VEA members currently pay their dues via payroll deduction, and if that option is eliminated, our membership numbers would drop significantly, leaving us to have to scramble to re-sign each member who lost that option. The more members we have, the more effective our collective action is, allowing us to do things like lobby for important steps forward, such as lifting the support cap (a recent General Assembly victory); like holding webinars to discuss best practices for protecting students and staff from ICE raids; and like hosting workshops to help the next generation of teachers pass the Praxis exam. Collectively, we’re much better at advocating for members or coordinating efforts across the state to save and improve public education.

The best defense is a good offense. That’s why being proactive to protect your membership by switching to autopay is a smart move.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I switch? Call VEA at 804-775-8307.
2. Can I use a debit card instead of a credit card? You can use either a credit or a debit card. It doesn’t matter which one you choose.
3. How long will it take to switch? In most cases, we are able to switch your payment method in less than 5 minutes.
4. Is there a deadline to switch? Right now, there is no hard deadline. We don’t know when or if payroll deduction will be eliminated at the federal level. However, we don’t want to be caught off guard. Make the switch today!
5. Does it cost more to use autopay? No! The dues amounts are the same no matter how you pay. There is no credit card fee for using autopay.
6. Still have questions? No problem: give us a call at 804-775-8307. We would be happy to talk to you about the switch.

Olivia Geho is a VEA digital communications and organizing specialist.