New Member Organizing Program: Fiscal Year 2023-24

AFTNJ Higher Education
New Member Organizing Program
Fiscal Year 2023-24

Submitted by: Susanna Tardi, Ph.D
Executive Vice President

Revised: June 19, 2023

1.  Any higher education local/chapter that submits an organizing plan in narrative form to the division’s Executive Vice President and shall receive $500 for submitting an organizing plan, if the plan is approved. This is a one-time-only grant. Locals who revise their plans will not receive a second grant. If you are not sure if your local/chapter has applied and received this one-time grant, contact Krista Sweeney at the AFTNJ office to find out: (732) 661-9393.

2.  Based on the new member recruitment specifications below, AFTNJ shall reimburse locals/chapters for the recruitment expenses expended by the respective local/chapter on a matching basis.

Maximum New Member Reimbursement

Number of new members                                  Matching reimbursement

       1-10                                                                   up to $2,500

      11 or more                                                      up to $3,000 *

* The reimbursement figures assume that every local/chapter will apply for the maximum reimbursement. If this is not the case, and some locals have good membership recruitment success rates and can substantiate expenditures beyond the maximum match, the division will reconsider maximum reimbursement. This will be determined at the end of the reimbursement cycle.

3.  Any local/chapter requesting new member matching reimbursement is required to submit the following in order to the Higher Education Executive Vice President (tardis@aft-local-1796.org):

• A completed Organizing Membership Recruitment Reimbursement Application Form
• Worksheet indicating all organizing expenditures paid by the respective chapter/local
• Receipts to prove organizing expenditures paid by the respective chapter/local.
• Total number of new members and copies of the new member cards*

• Chapters/locals may submit for organizing reimbursement at any time between July 1, 2023, and June 15, 2024. Organizing reimbursement requests outside of that timeframe will not be eligible for reimbursement. Applications for reimbursement after June 15, 2024, will not be accepted.
• Reimbursement applications must be submitted in a Word document with all required documentation provided in one single email.

4.  No local/chapter is permitted to “double dip.” If you are reimbursed for organizing/recruiting from another source, that amount of money must be deducted from the amount expended.

5.  Recruitment expenses can include stipends for organizers/recruiters who are not members of the local/chapter executive board; recruitment lunches, dinners, snacks, not part of  regularly scheduled union meetings; recruitment giveaways; and media costs.

* Instructions for Collating Union Membership Cards in a Singular PDF File

1.  Scan each membership card as it is received, and save in a dedicated folder in your hard drive. Use the member names as the file names.

2.   Keep a written log of each new member’s name, along with the date when their card was received.

3.   In Microsoft File Explorer, select each file (membership card scan) that you would like to include in your PDF. To select multiple files, click on the first file, then hold down Ctrl button to select additional files.

4.  Once all of the files are selected/highlighted, right click and select Combine Files in Acrobat.

5.  Click Combine.
This will place all of your scanned files in one individual PDF file. Save as a new file.