What are the types of GAGE membership?

(A) Full members are graduate students who are currently employed by Georgetown University in a position specified in our Collective Bargaining Agreement. You receive a biweekly paycheck through GMS.

(B) Associate members are graduate students who are not currently employed by Georgetown University in a position specified in our Collective Bargaining Agreement. One common scenario is PhD students on fellowships who receive their stipend once per semester via reimbursement in their Student Account.

Full and Associate members have equal rights and privelges under the GAGE Constitution and Bylaws. The Collective Bargaining Agreement does not cover Associate members, although many of the benefits, like PhD stipends, health and dental policies, etc. have been extended to them.

What are agency fee payers?

Agency fee payers are graduate students who are currently employed by Georgetown University but have chosen to be non-members of GAGE. They waive their rights to participate in GAGE. Agency fee payers have the same protections and benefits under our contract, and are still obligated to comply with our contract. If a non-member graduate student assistant does not authorize the agency fee, they are fined $350 per semester.

How much are dues and fees?

Dues rates are set in our GAGE Bylaws.

Full members: Dues are 1.75% of each paycheck. Dues are automatically deducted from your biweekly paycheck. The deduction has the "Union Dues" label. Dues are only deducted when you are receiving a paycheck from Georgetown University.

Associate members: Dues are ~$12 per month. You need to set up Associate dues through our secure online payment portal. Please note that you need to also sign the GAGE membership form (option 1 button above), and you still need to check the "Check-Off Authorization" box. There are more details in the FAQ on the Associate Membership webpage.

Agency fee payers: Fees are 1.75% of each paycheck. Fees are automatically deducted from your biweekly paycheck. The deduction has the "Agency Fees" label. Fees are only deducted when you are receiving a paycheck from Georgetown University.

Why do we have dues and fees?

Dues and fees are the sole source of financial support for our union, and this makes us able to use our funds with complete independence from Georgetown University. With this freedom over how we use our funds, we boldly and fearlessly stand up for graduate student worker needs.

Through involvement with the Finance Committee and at General Membership Meetings, GAGE members have a direct, democratic say in our union’s budget.

Finally, our contract includes compensation and benefits increases that more than offset the cost of dues. For example, in our first contract in 2020, we won increases of 12% - 14.5% for PhD stipends and up to 44.4% for hourly positions.