To join, you must first meet the membership eligibility requirements of your Local. Upon meeting the criteria for membership, interested individuals must then complete and submit a SF 1187 to your Local President or Treasurer.  There are 3 ways to do this.

1. Complete and submit the form on-line;
2. Download and print the form from the website, complete the form, and hand deliver or mail the form to the union office, the President, or the Treasurer; or
3. Pick-up a form from the union office or from other union members, complete the form, and hand deliver or mail the form to the union office, the President, or the Treasurer. Upon receipt of a completed form, the Treasurer or the President approves the application, which is then forwarded to the U.S. EPA Human Resource Officer in your location.  The Human Resources Officer enters the information into the Headquarters payroll computer system and files the application after sending a hard copy to Headquarters for verification.  

The National Union office also receives a copy of the form and processes it. The National Union Office assigns each member a number and transmits a membership card. Each member will receive a membership card in the mail which may take a while.

Membership coverage and representation as a dues-paying member begins informally once the Local receives the SF1187. However, official coverage begins on the first day that the payroll deductions start. Members must have their union ID number to access member areas of the AFGE National and Local web pages. A member in good standing is any person who has fulfilled membership eligibility requirements and who has neither voluntarily withdrawn from membership nor has been expelled or suspended in accordance with the provisions found in the constitution and in the by-laws. (Source: Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended)