Dues Issue - An International Perspective

Wed Sep 26 16:06:53 MDT 2007

 I belong to the Lone Writers SIG. The majority of members in that forum participate remotely. 

I've been a member for three years, and I've attended about six chapter meetings in that length of time. The last one had twelve attendees--including the excellent speaker and her husband.

In case you've missed the recent news flash. the Canadian dollar and the American dollar are at parity now for the first time in about 30 years. And the dollar has weakened against many foreign currencies.

If the organization has lost 10,000 members while raising dues substantially over the last six years--it is easy to recognize that there is a disconnect between the leadership and the members. Raising dues, differentiating? member categories,  and service levels will not solve what is ailing this organization.

Teresa Trujillo
Book Workshop/Mighty Designs
1501 E. Orangethorpe Avenue
Suite 130
Fullerton, California 92831
Phone (714) 525-0882
Fax (714) 879-7156
Cell (714) 926-8343

-----Original Message-----
From: Raquel Torres Carvajal <rtorresc at learn.senecac.on.ca>
To: stc-ac <stc-ac at lists.stc.org>
Sent: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 6:44 pm
Subject: [stc-ac] Dues Issue - An International Perspective

To all the Canadian and American members, I will tell you this in the 
controversy regarding the foreign "subsidy".

I am an INTERNATIONAL student who recently completed a post-graduate technical 
writing program in Canada. I joined the STC after being encouraged by my 
teachers and instructors. Seeing as though I live in Canada, I saved up and paid 
the required fee in Canada.

HOWEVER...

I want to share with all of you my personal perspective on this issue, which I 
believe is fairly representative of how a foreign member would react to the fee 
issue.

First, you must recognize that there are very big differences between enjoying 
the benefits of the STC in North America, and being a member abroad. Secondly, 
and to put it blunty, the STC has too much to gain by encouraging international 
members to join, and few will probably do it if the fees are prohibitively high. 
Please, take a moment to read the reasons below and you might understand the 
perspectives of an "international" prospective member that I am providing you.

1. International members have less opportunities to participate in STC-related 
activities.

Despite the theory that "if you join the same organization you should pay the 
same fees," we must acknowledge there are big differences between participating 
"locally" and participating "remotely". Foreign members are not going to be able 
to attend the usual conferences, groups, speakers, and special events, which are 
usually (if not always) held in North American locations. Its one thing to spend 
300 and fly from Canada for a conference, and another one to spend 3000 and fly 
from Singapore. Furthermore, for many foreign members English will not be their 
first language, and they will have to work harder to contribute submissions, 
participate in contests, scholarships and competitions, and overcome the 
language barrier. In general, the language barrier will already make the content 
less accessible without having the fees making it look even less appealing.

2. Purchasing power is not the same everywhere. 50 US/CAD dollars are the 
equivalent of 100,000 Colombian pesos, 550 Mexican pesos, 5,800 Japanese Yen. 
Etc. 

I don't think I need to explain the outcome if a foreign member has to choose 
between paying their semester's books, their kid's braces, their company's 
uniform, or joining the STC. If the STC could get their recruiting organized, 
they could attempt to offer their international memberships to universities, 
corporations, and institutions, which may be able to afford the standard rates, 
instead of going after individuals. 

3. Some of the most ground-breaking Technical Communication advances, 
technologies, and processes are being developed outside North America.

I don't mean to put down or belittle the amazing advances that North America 
provides for the Technical Writing profession; however, some of the most 
exciting developments and implementations of Technical Writing are ocurring in 
Europe, Asia, and South America. STC will lose out on the richness of these 
topics by discouraging foreign members to share their expertise. I invite you 
all to take a look at Mexico's use of XML and content management in their 
nationwide e-educational system, or Asia's amazing leaps in automated 
translation technology. You will find that reduced fees may be well worth the 
price for knowledge of these technologies.

4. The STC needs to wake up and smell the competition. 

Technical Communicators have to hone their skills in many areas, and we are not 
competing solely against other Technical Writing professional associations, but 
also numerous computing, technology, and writing-related groups. If I had 50.00 
bucks, I might decide to join, say, an XML, computing, HTML, Open Source, 
Translation, content management, or any number of competing professional 
associations instead of the STC. This is not to mention the fact that other 
countries and languages have their own Technical Communication professional 
associations vying for the same buck.

So, in conclusion, this is a matter for members to discuss and decide. But try 
this little mental exercise. Would you pay XX.00 of dollars to join a Technical 
Communication group based in Europe, Asia, or South America, in a language 
different than your own, whose reputation you could not personally verify, whose 
meetings you may or not be able to attend, and who may or may not value your 
contributions as a professional????
THEN
decide on the fees.

Raquel Torres
Montreal, Canada

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