AAUP membership is open to all faculty members, librarians, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students whether full-time, part-time, retired, or unemployed.
It is best for the UW Chapter if you join through us, rather than directly to national. Your dues mostly support the national office (and its extensive responsibilities), although AAUP-UW retains a small portion to support our local operations.
There are benefits of membership:
- Subscription to the journal, Academe
- Individual support for cases of violation of your rights as a faculty member
- Invitations to conferences, meetings, and other enriching activities
- Various insurances: professional liability, group life, long-term care, disability, etc, auto and home.
Joining is easy
Most UW members choose payroll deduction. To join AAUP using payroll deduction please complete the Google form. Alternatively, you may pay by check by indicating this on the form; send check to: AAUP-UW Chapter, Diane Morrison (Treasurer), 3724 Burke Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103.
At the 2026 Biennial Meeting of the AAUP, a resolution was passed to update the dues structure for collecting advocacy member dues.
Effective January 1, 2027, the new salary bands and rates take effect for Advocacy National dues rates according to the following bands:
2027 Advocacy Chapter Member Dues (UW is an advocacy chapter, not (yet!) a collective bargaining chapter)
Band 1: salary $40k or less, dues are $7.34/mo or $88/yr
Band 2 salary $40,001–$77k dues are $15.42/mo or $185/yr
Band 3 salary $77,001–$114k dues are $24.67/mo or $296/yr
Band 4 salary $114,001–$150k dues are $35/mo or $420/yr
Band 5 salary $150,001 and above dues are $37.50/mo or $450/yr
2027 Lifetime Membership Rates
1) ages 60–64 total fee $2,500
2) ages65–69 total fee $2,000
3) ages 70+ total fee $1,500
The rationale for these changes was included in the 2026 Membership Committee report and motions presented at the 2026 AAUP Biennial Meeting. The old salary-based dues model took effect January 2011 and had not been revisited in more than fifteen years. The dues structure introduced in 2011 was intended to make membership in the AAUP more affordable to individuals with low salaries. The nine salary band tiers first introduced in 2011 covered salaries up to $120k. They posed some challenges in 2026:
1. The bands did not yield a progressive dues rate structure for advocacy members, as the top bands paid a lower percentage of their salary than low-income earners;
2. The $10k or $20k parameter for each band seemed an arbitrary increment, given how cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), peer institution salary gauges, promotional raises, and other dynamics of salary compression/inversion complicate the relevance of a band to membership affordability;
3. The floor and ceiling bands of $30K or lower and $120K or higher respectively were overdue for adjustment.
4. The lifetime flat-fee dues rate established to take effect in 2012 also has not been revisited in fifteen years and were overdue for adjustment.
The Membership Committee recommended that the salary tiers be simplified by reducing them from nine to five bands and that both the floor and ceiling be increased. The threshold for the lowest dues rate was raised from those earning $30k to $40k annually. Further, the Membership Committee recommended that the salary bands periodically rise alongside the annual dues adjustment, and that the lifetime advocacy member rate be updated for inflation. The Membership Committee aimed for changes pursued to be revenue neutral to the association; the goal is to increase and sustain advocacy membership without incurring resource losses.
The new rates, described above, will phase in over the course of 2027 as memberships come up for renewal. That means that you will continue to pay the rate you paid in 2026 until your 12- month membership cycle restarts. You will be prompted to select your new salary band at that time.
If you have any questions about national dues, do not hesitate to email Muaz Ahmed (mahmed@aaup.org) or Danielle Aubert (daubert@aaup.org). Sincerely, Muaz Ahmed, AAUP Director of Finance & Controller Danielle Aubert, AAUP Secretary-Treasurer