Meaning & use
union dues
Last updated
UK/ˈjuːniən ˌdjuːz/
US/ˈjuniən ˌduz/
Meaning
nounplural
Regular payments that workers make to their labor union to remain members and fund its activities.
Grammar: Always plural: union dues are deducted from my pay.
Patterns
- pay union dues
- union dues are deducted
Union dues are taken out of each paycheck automatically.
She pays $30 a month in union dues.
The members voted to raise union dues to build a strike fund.
Common combinations
- pay union dues
- All members must pay union dues.
- deduct union dues
- The employer deducts union dues from wages.
- raise union dues
- The union plans to raise dues next year.
- monthly union dues
- His monthly union dues are modest.
- refuse to pay dues
- Some workers refuse to pay union dues.
Synonyms and how they differ
- membership fees
- Membership fees is the general term for any club's charges, while union dues refers only to labor unions.
- subscription
- Subscription is used for magazines or clubs, and rarely for unions.
- levy
- Levy is a one-off charge on members for a special purpose, while dues are regular.
Word family
Commonly confused: union dues or due?
union dues vs due
Due means expected or owed, as in a payment due on Friday, while dues are membership fees.
Practice
Each month the factory deducts a small amount from every paycheck as ___.
Choose one answer.
Union dues are membership payments often deducted from pay. Tax returns are forms, and the others are not union payments.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “union dues”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.