Membership is the lifeblood of AFGE and of Local 17. Our dues are currently $18.25 per pay period, whereas most AFGE locals are in the $21-$22 range. Despite these modest dues, we have consistently offered some of the most successful employee representation across the entire Department.
Most of our member dues go to AFGE national headquarters and the AFGE National VA Council for their organizational, lobbying, and legal efforts (such as pushing for a 2021 cost-of-living increase for Federal employees and fighting the prior President’s illegal Executive Orders) as well as getting hundreds of VACO employees re-coded into the Bargaining Unit. The remainder is retained by Local 17 for arbitration fees, training our officers and stewards, various events, and administrative items such as direct mail for required notices to our members. Rather than pay tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees, we save money by litigating our own cases.
Won’t you help us? Our Local cannot survive without YOU! Please fill out an E-Dues Membership Form.