Dues and Membership - Ontario Nurses' Association · Dues and Membership Most Frequently Asked Questions-2016 Dues Processing and Membership Updates Submitted with the Dues Q: What

Dues and Membership Most Frequently Asked Questions-2016

ONTARIO NURSES’ ASSOCIATION

Dues and

Membership

Most Frequently Asked Questions & Answers 2016

ONA is the union representing 62,000 front-line RNs and allied health professionals and more than 14,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in Ontario hospitals, long-term care

facilities, public health, the community, industry and clinics.

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Ontario Nurses’ Association © 2016

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Dues Processing and Membership Updates Submitted with the Dues

Q: What is the normal turnaround time for the dues? A: In accordance with the security clause of the central collective agreement, employers

must submit the dues by the end of the month following the month of deduction. Most dues are processed within three weeks of the cut-off date for the employer to submit. For example, January dues should be submitted by the employer by the end of February. The processors have until the third week of March to process them.

Q: When are status updates processed? A: Any updates for leaves of absence (LOAs), terminations, retirees, etc., within the dues

list are processed with the dues. For example, member Mary Smith goes on maternity leave effective January 15, 2016 (noted on the January dues list); this would be entered with the January dues by the third week in March.

Q: Are all dues processed within the three-week turnaround? A: Dues may not be processed within this timeframe if they are not received or

issues/questions exist with the dues submissions (may include holds pending grievance/arbitration settlements). Follow-up calls are made to the employer when clarification is needed to process or for outstanding dues following the employer cut-off date.

Q: Are there electronic options for employers to submit the dues payments and

lists? A: Yes. There are two cost-effective options that many of our employers are using.

Payments can be made by direct deposit and ONA also has an electronic template for the submission of dues lists (e-dues). Note the e-dues option requires a signed Letter of Understanding (LOU) to protect our interests. Please have employers contact our Dues and Membership Team Intake at [email protected]. We will be happy to help them implement either option.

Updates to Membership Information

Q: How can I update my members’ information? A: Member records can be updated by the following means:

On ONA’s website at www.ona.org.

Email: [email protected].

Email, phone or fax direct to the Dues Processor assigned to your Local. See Local/Dues Processor contact sheet.

Mail in status change form to the Dues and Membership Services Team in the Toronto office.

Mail in marked up Membership Information Report (MIR)/Dues Remittance Report (DRR); please clearly identify the nature of the update and effective date.

Ecopy of Membership Change Form, email direct to the Dues Processor assigned to your Local. See Local/Processor contact sheet.

ONA ID or Social Insurance Number as a unique identifier must be provided with each update.

Q: What is the timeframe to have updates entered into the database? A: Currently we have a three- to five-day turnaround for processing updates. The time

may be extended if the required information is not provided (for example, member

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ona.org/



name with either ONA ID or social insurance number).

Q: What is a "bona fide" member? A: A bona fide member is a member who has completed, signed and submitted an Application For Membership Form. This process is only required once in the lifetime of the member. Their membership entitlements are held or lost based the activity at each job. See “What is a member with entitlements” for additional information. Q: When are membership cards issued? A: Once we have processed the application for membership form (3-5 days from receipt), the member will be mailed a temporary proof of membership letter and new member information kit. The lifetime permanent membership card should be produced and received by the member within 6-8 weeks. Please ensure all information including Social Insurance Number (SIN) is provided on the application form to prevent any delays in processing. The inclusion of SIN on the application form is critical as a unique identifier to prevent duplication of records in our system, the processing of dues payments and accurate support of membership entitlements and benefits. It is collected, stored and used in accordance with our strict and secure privacy policies and practices. Q: What is a "member with entitlements"? A: A member will hold entitlements if they are bona fide (completed the application for membership form once in their lifetime), hold an active job within the Bargaining Unit and have paid dues in the previous 12 months or be on an approved/recorded leave of absence. Entitlements include attending meetings, running for office, voting in elections, ONA mailings.

Q: What if I am aware of a member who lost her/his entitlements but was on LOA or is grieving a termination?

A: When a member has lost her/his entitlements due to missing LOA information or is grieving her/his termination, you will need to connect with the Dues Processor assigned to your Local. Provide the member ID/LOA type and dates. We will re-instate the entitlements and add the LOA information or grievance information for ongoing entitlement protection.

If a member goes without payment for greater than 12 months and is not on an LOA or is without active employment within the Bargaining Unit in an ONA facility, the member will lose their entitlements. Entitlements will automatically resume with the provision of dues payments, new Bargaining Unit job information or LOA updates.

Q: What updates remove members from my report and when? A: If a member status is updated to Terminated, Retired, Out of the Bargaining Unit

or Deceased, they are instantly removed from the MIR/MIRE. She/he will continue to show on the DRR until all payments for the member have been processed. Deceased members will automatically have their address information suppressed to prevent future mailings.

Q: Why are membership updates important? A: Updates are critical to maintain accurate information to support or remove entitlements.

LOA and terminations being grieved are updates that will protect a member’s entitlements. Without these updates being recorded, a member will lose her/his


entitlements once she/he has a greater than 12-month gap in dues payments.

Terminations, Retirements, Deceased and Out of the Bargaining Unit updates ensure former members no longer hold membership entitlements. If we are not provided with these updates, a non-member may hold entitlements during the 12-month gap in dues payments.

Q: What should I do if my updates are not reflected on future reports? A: If updates are submitted in time for a specific report but are not showing on the report,

it is important this issue is raised with the Manager, Membership Records. Please keep copies of all submissions to us. We will require specifics such as which member, type of update, when, how and to whom it was submitted. We will investigate any issue and report back on the results. Under our best practices related to the Privacy Act, we keep copies of all updates received.

Dues & Membership Reports ONA Membership Applications Processed "Date" Q: What is the ONA Membership Applications Processed "Date" report/listing? A: This is a running list of the Membership Application forms we have received from your Local.

Q: When are these reports run?

A: This report is targeted to be run on approximately the 15th of each month.

Q: How current is the information? A: It is a running list that will include applications received in the current year up to the end of the month prior to the month it was sent. (EG the listing sent mid-June will include applications received and process up to the end of May).

Q: Who gets this report? A: It is sent to the Local Secretary, Secretary-Treasurers and copied to the Local Coordinator.

Q: What do I do with these reports? A: The listing should be compared against the Local copies of the applications that you

have submitted to ONA to ensure all have been received and processed. If you feel any have been missed you should contact us to question it. Some Locals also utilize this list to reach out to their new members and encourage them to become active in their Local and Bargaining Unit.

Q: What if I have sent in Membership Application forms in the previous month and I am not seeing them included on the list? A: If you submitted applications for previously bona fide members they will not show on this list. There may be delays if there is missing information. We will be happy to look into any questions that arise from your review. If an application was not received, we can update the record from the Local copy-you do not need to have the member complete another one.


Membership Information Report (MIR) & Membership Information Reports Excel (MIRE)

Q: What is the Membership Information Report Excel (MIRE)? A: The MIRE is an electronic report developed in Excel allowing the leadership much more

flexibility to filter the report in order to isolate records that meet a specific need. The report contains a master list for all members and three reduced lists to separate members with invalid address info, members who are non-bona-fide (need to complete the application form) and members who may lose their entitlements within the next few months as they have a greater than nine-month gap in dues without an LOA on record).

Q: What if I don’t know how to filter in Excel? A: We have created a screenshot guide and tips for additional filtering of the MIRE. If

you need a copy or some direct support, please contact Dues and Membership Team Intake at 416 964-8833, press 0, and ext. 2200, or toll-free 1-800-387-5580, press 0, ext. 2200.

Q: Are there differences between the MIR and MIRE? A: Yes. In addition to the membership information contained on the MIR, the MIRE

also provides the member’s alternate ONA mailing ID, e-mail and phone number.

Q: When are these reports run? A: They are run four times a year (three runs are targeted just prior to Provincial

Coordinators Meetings (PCMs), with the other being a mail-out or email run – March, June, September and late November or early December).

Q: How current is the information? A: Information on these reports is current as of the data in our system three to four

days prior to the run date.

Q: Who gets these reports? A: These reports are sent to the Local Coordinator and Local Secretary for distribution at

the Local (depending on the Local/Bargaining Unit structure and processes for sharing and updating information).

Q: What do I do with these reports? A: They should be reviewed for accuracy and updates submitted to the Dues and

Membership Services Team. They should be used to assist in maintenance of your members’ entitlements and a current copy should be referenced to support the determination of membership entitlements. As the information can become dated quite quickly we suggest you request a current copy (within 2 weeks of intended use) to support Union business (E.G meeting/election etc.). A current copy can be requested as needed from Dues and Membership Services Intake-extension 2200 in the Toronto office.

Legend/Help Notes for the MIR and MIRE

Report Headers (MIR only)

Region: Regional assignment for this Bargaining Unit. Local: Local assignment for this Bargaining Unit.


Code: Unique alpha/numeric code manually assigned to the Bargaining Unit. Employer ID: Unique auto generated ID for this Bargaining Unit. Sector: Health care sector assigned to this Bargaining Unit. Employer Last Paid: Last completed dues month for this Bargaining Unit.

Contents (MIR & MIRE-unless specified in notes below)

Member Name/Address: Based on the data available at the time this report is run. ID: Unique ONA member ID. When providing updates, please identify the ID to insure the integrity of the record being updated. Valid Address: Indicates if the preceding address is valid. If “No,” this indicates we do not have any address info (blank) or the address on the report has had mail returned from the post office, therefore please confirm address information and update us with the current address. Address Last Updated: Will identify the last time we updated the address; this includes minor updates (e.g. apt #, postal code) as well as updates to the valid status. If the address is valid, then the date would indicate when we inputted this address information. If the address is not valid, then this date would indicate when mail was returned and the status was updated to invalid. Please note the tracking of these dates was implemented in late 2003, changes/updates made prior to this will not display the date. E-mail/Phone number (MIRE)- Will be included if provided by the member. Bona fide: Indicates members’ bona fide status at the time the report is run. A bona fide status of “yes” indicates the member has completed the Application Form for Membership, the first step in obtaining membership entitlements. A bona fide status of “no” indicates the member has never completed the application process. Entitled: Will identify if the member currently holds entitlements or not. An entitled member is one who is bona fide (application completed) and has paid dues in the previous 12 months or is on a recorded LOA. Entitled Date: Will record the date of changes to the entitlements. All member jobs will start with a date of January 1, 2012. The date will be updated to reflect the calendar date the entitlements changed (either became entitled or lost entitlements). Gap: The number in this column represents the current level of gap in payments for this member. Gaps that exceed 12 months without LOA will result in loss of entitlements. Registration Number: Registration # (if provided). Last Dues Paid (MIR): Month/year of last payment for this member. See LOA, bona fide and gap columns to avoid members losing their entitlements in error due to a greater than 12-month gap in payments (last paid for employer versus member) without LOA status. Please note gaps in payments may also be attributed to payroll errors with deducting dues; please follow up (with the Local processor, member and payroll) if you are aware the individual(s) are working yet do not appear to be paying. LOA Status/Date: Indicates the type and start date of leave of absences. Please note

LOA information will protect a member’s entitlements. FT/PT/C/U Status: FT=Full Time, PT=Part Time, C=Casual, U=Unknown. Please note these status updates are based on the monthly dues submissions from the employer (if provided) and not all employers currently identify casual status. If you feel the status is incorrect, please connect with the Dues Processor assigned to your Local so we can review the employer submission with you.

Counts

Total Member: Total number of members in this Bargaining Unit. Total Bona fide Members: Total number of bona fide members (completed the


application process) in this Bargaining Unit. Total Entitled Members: Total number of entitled members in this Bargaining Unit.

Dues Remittance Reports (DRRs)

Q: When are DRRs run? A: DRRs are run monthly (usually will incorporate four weeks of dues processing).

Q: How current is the dues information in this report? A: We will print a report for all dues processed within the four-week time frame. If there

are issues or holds with the dues, you may not get a report for all Bargaining Units in a run. You may also receive multiple reports for a Bargaining Unit if an issue was resolved and the dues were caught up in the four weeks timeframe.

The reports payments and status updates are specific to the dues month keyed (identified at the top of the report). For example, the DRR mailed out in January would be predominately for the dues month of November (with some late October or early December included).

New hires under the not-remitted section of the report are uniquely identified with an * (asterisk) as they may not have been hired at the time of the dues month.

Q: Who receives the DRR? A: The report is sent to the Local Treasurer for all Bargaining Units within the Local and

to the Bargaining Unit President for their health agency. In the absence of Local Treasurer and or Bargaining Unit President, their copy is sent to the Local Coordinator.

Q: What do I do with my DRR? A: DRRs should be reviewed for accuracy and updates submitted to the Dues and

Membership Services Team. The DRR can be used to maintain your members’ entitlements. Included below is a legend for the DRR to assist you with this review.

Legend/Help Notes for the DRR

Report Headers: Included in the report headers are: the Bargaining Unit name, system ID, alpha/numeric code and Local number. The dues month and year indicates the dues month list on which the payments were submitted. Member Name: Member last name/first name at the time this report was printed. Member ID: Member ONA-assigned unique number. When providing us with any updates, please identify this number to ensure the integrity of the record being updated. Employee Number: Employer-assigned identifier. This will only be displayed when provided

by the employer and may be helpful to reference when dealing with the payroll department. Bona fide: Indicates members’ bona fide status at the time the report is run. A bona fide status of “yes” indicates the member has completed the Application Form for Membership, the first step to obtaining membership entitlements. A bona fide status of “no” indicates the member has never completed the application process. Entitled: Will identify if the member currently holds entitlements or not. An entitled member is one who is bona fide (application completed) and has paid dues in the previous 12 months or is on a recorded LOA.


Entitled Date: Will record the date of changes to the entitlements. All member jobs will start with a date of January 1, 2012. The date will be updated to reflect the calendar date the entitlements changed (either became entitled or lost entitlements). On Leave/Leave Date/Leave Type: This will provide you with the LOA information we have for your member at the time the report is run. Please note members included under the “Not Paid” should be reviewed for missing LOA information. Job Status: This provides you with the current job status at the time the report is run (FT=Full Time, PT = Part Time, CS = Casual, UN = Unknown). Please note these status updates are picked up based on the dues submissions from the employer. If you submit updates to the status they will only be reflected, when they match the information being provided on the monthly dues list. Casual status is not reflected on all dues submissions. Terminated: Terminated members will only reflect on the report if there were dues submission inputted after the termination status was noted. This will include members who are terminated, retired, deceased, out of the Bargaining Unit – they do not hold membership entitlements. Last Date Paid: Indicates the last dues month of submission. The last month paid will be the same as the month in the header when a submission was received. Under the “Not Remit” section, this last paid month may be later than the dues month in the header if the member paid in a month following, and those dues were completed at the time of the report run (e.g. multiple dues months for your Bargaining Unit were included in the run). Amount Paid: Indicates the amount remitted for each member in your Bargaining Unit. See payment description for further details. Amount: Indicates the total amount remitted on the dues submission. Payment Descriptions: Your report may contain groupings of members under separate payment description(s). It is important to review these payments and contact the Dues Processor and payroll if the employer is not handling members’ dues deductions correctly (every effort is made to select the appropriate description for the payment, however selections are based on the information available to us at the time of processing the dues). The following are the descriptions that you may notice on your report: 1. Incorrect Remittance: We believe the payment amount is not the expected amount for

the member(s) to pay (overpaid or underpaid). 2. Incorrect Remittance Adjustment: The employer is now correcting a previous

“Incorrect Remittance.” 3. Positive Arrears Adjustment: Payment is being applied to a previous dues month

and/or year. 4. Negative Arrears Adjustment: Payment is being removed from a previous dues

month and/or year. 5. Prior Year: This is for our internal controls to identify payments received after our year-

end close off. Dues received for a previous year before close off will appear as incorrect, positive or negative adjustments. .

Not Paid: This section provides you with a list of those members who were not included on the dues submission list(s) for the dues month in the header. This is an important section for review and to provide us with updates of LOAs, terminations and missing revenue. Any member with an “*” (asterisk) preceding her/his name may be a recent hire who should not have had deductions for the month in the header. Please note gaps in payments may also be attributed to payroll errors with deducting dues; please follow up with the Local Dues Processor, member and payroll if you are aware the individual(s) is/are working yet do not appear to be paying.


Important notation: Employers are expected to manage deductions across all pay periods to ensure all members who had earnings subject to deductions are picked up. If members are missed it may impact their coverage/benefits and membership entitlements that are dependent on dues (i.e. LEAP, Malpractice, critical illness, voting/attendance at meetings etc) and will put the member in an arrears situation. If you are aware of members being missed please contact the Dues Processor assigned to your Local-see Local/Processor assignment list.

Counts: This report will provide you with a number of different counts. These counts are based on the following criteria:

Members: Total number of members for this Bargaining Unit. Includes those paying or not

paying dues.

Entitled Members: Total number of members who hold membership entitlements.

Net Remitted: Total number of members who remitted any amount of payment for the dues

month in the header.

Not Remitted: Total number of members who did not remit any payment for the dues month

in the header.

FT/PT/CS/UN: Total number of members under each employment status. UN indicates the

status is not known.

Current: Total number of payments for the dues month in the batch header. Payment

inclusion is based on amount of payment including Local portion of dues. Counts are

adjusted for negative amounts for a net current count.

Arrears: Total number of payments for a month and/or year other then the month/year

identified in the report header. Payment inclusion is based on amount of payment includes

Local portion of dues. Counts are adjusted for negative amounts for a net arrears count.

Dues Paying Count: The sum total of the current and arrears payments. Payment inclusion

is based on amount of payment, including Local portion of dues. Counts are adjusted for

negative amounts for a net dues paying count.

Dues Deduction Issues-Staff/Executive Lead on Resolution

Issue Lead Notes Cheque discrepancy Dues Processor

assigned to the Local

Processor will copy Local Treasurer on significant or ongoing issues.

Dues not received when expected

Dues Processor assigned to the Local

Processor will copy Local Treasurer if issue persists and LRO involvement may be needed.

Dues List – odd amounts, arrears, adjustments, missing info

Dues Processor assigned to the Local

Processor will copy Local Treasurer on significant issues.

Local levy not deducted for a Bargaining Unit(s)

Dues Processor assigned to the Local with support from the Treasurer if needed

Processor will copy Local Treasurer. Treasurer may need to provide additional copy of levy confirmation if requested by employer.


Change in Local levy during the year.

Local Treasurer Local Treasurer to notify ONA Toronto office and all employers of any changes to the levy effective following the initial yearly dues notification letters sent by the Toronto office.

Members not paying dues and no LOA

Bargaining Unit President (BUP) with support of the Dues Processor assigned to the Local

Bargaining Unit President or Treasurer when the Bargaining Unit President position is not filled. The Dues Processors also sends periodic status clean up requests to our payroll contacts for additional support. Note as some Bargaining Unit Presidents are forwarding their secure ONA sponsored accounts to a personal e-mail account we cannot copy the Bargaining Unit President and risk release of any member's personal information-any questions or requests for support should be sent to the Dues Processor assigned to your Local

Executive Booklet/Updates

Q: What are the Executive Booklets? A: The booklet is a complete Executive/Committee listing for each Local. The booklet

enables the Local Coordinator to review and provide updates to the members and or positions listed.

Q: When are they sent? A: The booklets are sent out once a year in late October/early November.

Q: Do I have to complete it? What if there have been no changes? A: All Locals are required to review and either submit updates or verify there are

no changes. Updates can be submitted within the booklet or on Executive Change forms. Each returned booklet will receive confirmation of receipt and a quality assurance listing of all Local and Bargaining Unit positions filled following the processing of each booklet. If there are no changes to the booklet information, please send an e-mail confirmation that no changes were made and we will consider your Local review completed.

Q: Who should I contact if I need support regarding how to make updates to the

booklet? A: The staff member responsible for executive/structural changes will be happy to provide

you with support. See current Local/Dues Processor assignment list for contact information.

Q: What if changes occur after the submission of the booklet? A: Changes that occur between booklet runs can be submitted on the electronic version

of the Executive change form, by hard copy mail in of the executive change form or through the secure executive section of ONA’s website.


Q: To whom do I submit changes? A: To the staff member responsible for executive/structural changes. See current

Local/Dues Processor assignment list for contact information.

Dues & Membership Contact Info - Local /Dues Processor Assignments

The following is a chart of Local/Dues Processor assignments. If you have any questions, updates regarding your Bargaining Units’ members please feel free to contact the Dues Processor assigned to your Local in the chart below.

Local # Processor Assigned Extension E-mail Account 1 Myuran Manikasingam 2412 [email protected]

2 Nick Gherman 2387 [email protected]

3 Minaxi Patel 2203 [email protected]


6 Bibi Hamid 2251 [email protected]





12 Raji Nirumalan 2386 [email protected]

13 Myuran Manikasingam 2412 [email protected]





















































Please note: Any changes or updates to your Local structure or executive, e.g. name changes, merges, closures, new individuals assuming executive positions/committees, etc., should all be forwarded to Gisella Falls at [email protected]. Phone 1-800-387-5580, press “0,” and ext. #2225.

Any general questions or concerns, please contact Jane Stapleton, Manager, Membership Records, at [email protected]. Phone 1-800-387-5580, press “0,” and ext. #2388.



Documents

Dues and Membership - Ontario Nurses' Association · Dues and Membership Most Frequently Asked Questions-2016 Dues Processing and Membership Updates Submitted with the Dues Q: What