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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cwa Staff Union

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 560935635
NY · NTEE J40
FY ending 2025-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Schulte, Executive Director / CEO ($19,873) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michael Schulte — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,500 total compensation of comparable organizations → $133,546 $19,873
$5,20310th
$7,59025th
$19,002Median
$71,42275th
$114,64090th
$19,873This org · 55th
p10$5,203
p25$7,590
p50$19,002
p75$71,422
p90$114,640
$19,873

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to NY cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
International Association Of Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transportation NY$203,574 President $126,371 $133,546 2023
Long Beach Schools Employees Associ NY$197,143 President $5,259 $5,558 2023
Professional Staff Association NY$192,325 President $7,800 $8,006 2024
American Federation Of Teachers NY$211,609 President $14,150 $14,524 2024
American Federation Of State County & NY$215,654 President $19,600 $20,119 2024
American Federation Of Teachers NY$184,706 President $18,292 $19,331 2023
Onondaga County Deputy Sheriff NY$220,670 President $12,527 $13,238 2023
Monroe County Sheriff Police Benevolent NY$226,620 Out-going President $4,231 $4,471 2023
Building & Construction Trades Council NY$227,078 President $6,000 $6,341 2023
The Steamfitting Industry Labor Management Cooperation Committee NY$161,422 Executive Administrator $70,808 $74,828 2023
Westchester & Putnam Plumbers & Steamfit NY$157,388 Trustee $112,619 $119,013 2023
Cheektowaga Central Teachers Association Benefit Trust NY$247,737 Fund Advisor $3,500 $3,500 2025
Laborers Local 754 NY$148,769 Trustee $54,706 $57,812 2023
International Association Of Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transportation NY$262,067 Local Chairman $108,021 $114,154 2023
Northeast District Council Of The Opcmia NY$139,071 Fund Administrator $60,518 $60,518 2025
Bridge And Tunnel Officers Benevolent NY$264,549 President $18,192 $18,673 2024
Iron Workers Local 60 Education NY$265,020 Business Manager $94,233 $99,583 2023
United Steelworkers Local Union 00420 NY$272,738 President $68,474 $70,286 2024
Orange County Boces Teachers' NY$286,094 President $5,000 $5,284 2023
Police Assoc Inc - Town Of Greenburgh NY$286,210 President $9,500 $10,039 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY cost of living and 2025 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to NY cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted70th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Michael Schulte) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (J40) + NY + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,873 is reasonable (approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.