Frequently Asked Questions

VOICE, the VOICE of Organized Independent Childcare Educators, is Local 100A of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). VOICE was formed by family childcare providers in partnership with CSEA.    

VOICE brings together 7,500 registered family and licensed group family child care providers across the state of New York (outside of New York City).  VOICE has supported family child care providers in their work since 2002.  VOICE negotiated an Agreement with the Office of Children and Family Services that will make New York’s child care system work better for providers and the children and families they serve.

CCPT, Child Care Providers Together, is Local 100B of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). CCPT was formed by family child care providers in partnership with CSEA. CCPT brings together over 15,000 informal family child care providers across the state of New York (outside of New York City). CCPT negotiated an Agreement with the Office of Children and Family Services that will make New York’s child care system work better for providers and the children and families they serve.

The Civil Service Employee Association, with nearly 300,000 members in New York State, is a labor union of employees of New York State and its counties, municipalities, school districts, private sector companies and non-profit agencies and family child care providers. CSEA organizes for social and economic justice, effecting change through collective bargaining, political action and legislative advocacy.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing public service employee unions. AFSCME has organized over 200,000 family child care providers in over a dozen states across the country.  AFSCME hosts a national Independent Provider conference, where members gather to share their success stories and brainstorm solutions to challenges. AFSCME lobbyists in Washington, DC make sure our issues are front and center with our elected officials in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

If you serve children in families receiving child care subsidies, your dues will be 2% the reimbursement you receive from the county for the children you serve. To enjoy the rights and benefits of being a member, the minimum annual dues is $420.00. If 2% of your reimbursements over the course of a year do not meet the $420.00 minimum, you will need to pay the difference to be a member in good standing with full member privileges. The maximum annual dues rate is $690.00. The maximum dues rate will only apply if you receive at least $34,500 in payment from the county over the course of one year. CSEA’s dues structure is set up so that those who pay at the high end of the dues range are those who benefit most from our contracts. If you do not serve children receiving child care subsidies, the dues rate is $35.00 per month. You can pay dues monthly or annually by check, credit card, money order or PayPal.

Yes. For family childcare providers, dues are fully tax deductible and paid with pre-tax dollars. Family and group family provider incomes are subject to a 35% tax rate (15% self employment, 15% federal income tax, and 5% state income tax.). For example, if you did not pay $420 in dues, $147 in taxes would have to be paid on that income leaving a net income of $273 for you. Though the out of pocket cost of dues is $420, the actual cost of dues in this example is $273. You will then enjoy the benefits of union membership which far outweigh the cost of dues.

Our dues pays for the work of VOICE - CCPT / CSEA staff representatives with family child care providers across the state, and for assistance from CSEA legislative/political, legal, communications, research, health benefits and other departments. Our VOICE Local 100A and CCPT Local 100B will keep a substantial portion of the dues to pay for the cost of running a statewide organization – conference calls, mailings, member trainings and meetings, and more. Once our VOICE and CCPT regional chapters are established, our dues will be used to support the functions of the chapter. Other portions of the dues will go to AFSCME to pay for staff and support programs.

At the national level the answer is No. AFSCME has a political action committee called PEOPLE. VOICE members may donate to PEOPLE on a voluntary basis. PEOPLE funds, NOT dues, are used to help elect candidates who support issues important to our members. At the state level, 3% of dues goes to the CSEA Political Action Fund. These funds are used for lobbying for legislation and campaign support of candidates supportive of our issues and concerns at the state and local levels of government.

No. The Executive Order under which VOICE and CCPT were organized and recognized has a no-strike clause. As members, we decide the agenda of our union. While generally strikes are rare, they are exceedingly rare with CSEA because the vast majority of CSEA members do not have the right to strike under New York State law.

Agency fee is the same as "fair share" fee. For VOICE – CCPT / CSEA providers there are agency shop provisions by law.  This means people who choose not to join the union must pay a fee equal to the amount VOICE –CCPT/CSEA members pay in dues.  In return, CSEA represents these fee payers and negotiates a contract in their behalf. Agency fee payers don't, however, enjoy all the privileges of membership. They do not, for example, vote for union officers or vote to accept or reject their contract. They are also not eligible to take part in CSEA-sponsored programs and member only benefits.