I.                  FILING OBJECTIONS TO THE FAIR SHARE FEE DETERMINATION.

The APA’s fair share determination is based upon an audited determination of the chargeable expenditures in the preceding year.  The percentage of chargeable expenditures is then applied to the dues paid by members and that amount is the fair share fee for the period June 1 through May 31 of the next year.

All non-members will receive a notice containing the calculations described above.  Any non-member who wishes to object to the APA’s calculations of the chargeable or non-chargeable amounts must inform the APA of their objection within 30 days of the date of this notice.  The objection must be in writing directed to the president of the APA and must set forth the basis for the objection.

II.                 ESCROW ARRANGEMENTS.

The APA shall establish an interest bearing escrow account separate from all other associated funds in which to deposit fees as set forth below.  Upon request, the APA will furnish the terms of the escrow account to a non-member.

All fees of non-members received within 30 days of the notice of the fair share fee determination shall be escrowed until 30 days after the date of the notice.  Once the 30-day objection period has passed, the following procedures shall be used:

A.                 At the close of the 30-day period, all fees escrowed on behalf of non-members not filing objections shall be removed from escrow and remitted to the APA.  At this point, the only money remaining in the escrow account will be the fair share fees collected from non-members who have filed timely objections.

B.                 During the pendency of the objection procedure described in section III below, the APA shall continue to place in escrow all fair share fees collected from non-members who have filed timely objections.

III.               OBJECTION PROCEDURE.

Step 1.  Within 30 days after the close of the period for filing objections under section I of this procedure, the APA shall request a prompt hearing before an impartial arbitrator of all objections filed in a timely fashion.

Step 2.  The APA shall arrange with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for the selection of an arbitrator to conduct the hearing.  Selection of the arbitrator and conduct of the arbitration hearing shall be in accordance with AAA’s Rules for Impartial Determination of Union Fees.  The fee expenses of the arbitrator shall be paid for by the APA.  Objectors will be responsible for paying the cost of their own representation and their incidental Fair Share Fee Objection Procedure costs (e.g., including but not limited to, transcripts and document reproduction).  The cases of individual objectors shall be consolidated into one hearing consistent with AAA rules and applicable law.  In any arbitration hearing, the burden shall be on the APA to prove the propriety of the fair share fee determination.

IV.              ARBITRATOR’S AWARD.

After conducting a hearing pursuant to the AAA rules, the arbitrator shall issue a written decision based on the evidence, relevant provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and the law, determining whether the fair share fee was appropriately calculated and, if not, what the appropriate calculation should have been.  The arbitrator shall have no power to grant a remedy to any person who has not filed a timely objection.  The applicable escrow funds and the interest accrued thereon shall be disbursed pursuant to the award.  As of the date of the arbitrator’s decision and thereafter for the applicable time period, the fair share fee of all non-members who have filed a timely objection shall be adjusted to reflect the determination made by the arbitrator.  The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding with respect to the determination of the fair share fee, to the extent provided by law.

In any arbitration hearing, the burden shall be on the APA to prove the propriety of the fair share fee determination.