Unless you’re already a member of the Editors Guild, you won’t be expected to become a dues-paying member of the organization until after we have negotiated and voted to ratify our first union contract at VICE.

Union dues are the regular payments members make to support the organization’s administrative costs. Editors Guild members pay dues on a quarterly basis and on a sliding scale; those working in higher-paid classifications pay more than those working in lower-paid classifications.

Someone whose contractual scale rate has her earning an annualized income of $60,000, for example, would pay about $150 per quarter in dues. Someone whose contractual scale has her earning an annualized income of $200,000 would pay about $366 per quarter in dues. More detail about the formula used to calculate members' dues is available here on this page.

Unlike other forms of representation that you can purchase -- by hiring an agent or hiring a lawyer to represent you, for example -- union representation does not operate on a fee-for-service model. Although dues are necessary to fund the organization’s staff, facilities, and projects, members are not simply hiring the union to act on their behalf.

The strength that we have derives not from the monies members pay, but instead from the solidarity members show. When the Guild negotiates a strong contract for a group of employees, the strength of that contract chiefly comes not from the expertise of a professional negotiator -- although the Guild does indeed employ experienced and talented negotiators on its staff -- but instead from the leverage the crew generates through its cohesion and commitment. Dues keep the lights on, but it’s solidarity that powers the union.