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Mackinac Center Legal Foundation

… Sherry Loar is a home daycare provider in Petoskey, Michigan. With the Legal Foundation’s help, she managed to fight and win her case against the SEIU. Read her story. < 1 / 3 > “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing you guys were there, and I was not fighting this battle …

30 Years for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Our research helped usher in significant reforms

… policy research, we’ve also successfully litigated to protect Michigan families against government overreach. The most notable of these examples is the SEIU’s “dues skim,” which allowed this government union to literally steal money from some of our most needy residents. We exposed this racket and eventually …

Mackinac Center Heroes

Profiles of a few of the Michiganders we’ve helped over the years

… and Robert Haynes were caring for their disabled adult children when the SEIU unionized them against their will. Although the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation … state to pass legislation ending the dues skim, and voters rejecting an SEIU effort to reinstate it.

Michigan’s Largest Teachers Union Funds Leftist Activist Group

Michigan Education Association gave Progress Michigan $71,000 this year

… employee unions. They include Doug Pratt, the MEA’s public affairs director, Bob Allison, executive director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Michigan State Council, and Georgi-Ann Bargamian, a regional director of the United Auto Workers. The UAW represents thousands of Michigan state government …

How Right-to-Work and the End of the 'Dues Skim' Killed the SEIU in Michigan

Membership, revenue and political spending plummet

… choice about supporting the SEIU, they responded by opting out … Jennifer Granholm worked with the SEIU to “organize” home caregivers. … “government employees” so that the SEIU could claim to be representing … annually from Medicaid recipients. SEIU Healthcare-Michigan then tried … choice. If they believed the SEIU was doing a good job “representing” …

Unions Admit Forcing People to Pay Dues is Political

U.S. Supreme Court considers right-to-work for all

… Without those resources, the union movement was unable to mount a winning campaign for the Democratic candidate for president in Wisconsin. When the SEIU bankrolled a ballot proposal to continue the “dues skim” from home caregivers in Michigan, the president of the union said at the Democratic National …

Home Health Caregivers Might Find Relief from Union Coercion at Supreme Court

Mackinac Center joins groups to call an end to the union dues skim

… Mackinac Center and National Federation of Independent Business have signed on to an amicus brief authored by the Cato Institute in the case Hill v. SEIU. The plaintiff in is being represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and contends that Constitution forbids the act of forcing …

The Legislative Clock is Ticking

It’s time for free-market reformers to act

… tied revenue sharing to best practices, banned monopolistic union hiring practices, enacted significant collective bargaining reforms and banned the SEIU’s “dues skim” of day care providers. The Legislature kept up a good pace of reform in 2012, cutting the personal property tax on tools and equipment, …

The Legislative Clock is Ticking

It's time for free-market reformers to act

… tied revenue sharing to best practices, banned monopolistic union hiring practices, enacted significant collective bargaining reforms and banned the SEIU’s “dues skim” of day care providers. The Legislature kept up a good pace of reform in 2012, cutting the personal property tax on tools and equipment, …

Union Behind Michigan ‘Dues Skim’ Facing More Corruption Allegations

SEIU Healthcare Michigan has a history of problems

… the ongoing saga surrounding SEIU Healthcare Michigan. This union is not new to scandals. SEIU Healthcare Michigan secretly … forced to belong to the union, SEIU Healthcare Michigan membership … been breaking away from the SEIU and repeatedly alleging corruption … almost unanimous vote, claiming SEIU Healthcare Michigan was spending …

Time for Labor Unions to Collect their Own Dues

The on-going SEIU dues skim must end

… organizations — primarily the SEIU — still siphon an estimated … in private sector unionism, SEIU sought to regain ground by … government-administered aid program. SEIU entrapped workers any way it … children, decided to stand up to SEIU. The Legislature banned the practice but not before SEIU collected $34 million from …

Public School Union Members Protest Their Own Union

… Public Schools support staff members went to Lansing to conduct a protest against their own union recently. They are taking steps to separate from the SEIU Local 517M and represent themselves. One Taylor support staff union member explained their complaints in a video.

SEIU Sues Its Own Members for Banquet Hall They Paid For

Taylor school employees decertify, so union retaliates

… decade-old merger between the SEIU’s Taylor and Lansing affiliates. … merger. Because of the merger, SEIU Local 517M of Lansing is technically … nearly 400 signatures to the SEIU headquarters in Washington, … “We had planned on staying SEIU — just dissolve the merger,” … and represent ourselves.” SEIU Local 517M did not respond …

Worker Freedom Won Tuesday

… initiative pushed by unions to keep groups like the Freedom Foundation from contacting home health care workers to inform them of their rights to leave the SEIU. The measure succeeded  by a vote of 72 percent to 28 percent, which will mean that it will be harder for home health care workers to learn about their …

Michigan Pushes Back Against Feds on Labor Regulations

NLRB ruling could end franchising 'as we know it'

… “Their latest gambit would undo decades of precedent in the franchise industry and do irreparable harm to one of the bedrocks of small business.” The SEIU national office didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Labor Union Protests Outside Mackinac Center Office

… Executive Vice President Michael Reitz said in a statement to the media that the SEIU protest was a fitting nod to First Amendment protections, which the Friedrichs … Friedrichs case,” Reitz said. Reitz went on to remind the media that the SEIU took over $34 million from home health care workers, many of them simply …

Unions are Super PACS

Former Democratic Party Chairman admits double-standard

… according to a POLITICO analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission and Internal Revenue Service. Bob Allison, the executive director of the SEIU Michigan State Council, did not respond to an email offering him the opportunity to comment. Doug Pratt, the director of public affairs for the Michigan …

Union Activists Protest Opposition to Coerced Union Dues

U.S. Supreme Court to consider case next week

… Service Employees International Union (SEIU). From 2005 to 2013, the SEIU had a dues skimming scheme by which … by sending its press release on behalf of SEIU Michigan. “We’re protesting the Mackinac … home-based caregivers on behalf of an SEIU affiliate in 2013, its membership dropped …

Mackinac Center Subject of SEIU Protest

Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association at issue

… protest has been planned in front of its Midland office at 4 pm today by the SEIU of Michigan in connection to Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, … they want to support, which is the central issue in the Friedrichs case. SEIU was involved in skimming tens of millions of dollars from individuals with …

Endnotes

… http://perma.cc/Y7EJ-B2ZV. 16 Paul Pringle, “SEIU Official Steps aside in Inquiry,” … “Congress Scrutinizes L.A. Local of SEIU,” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 29, … http://perma.cc/48T7-BAHC. 18 Paul Pringle, “SEIU Alleges Misuse of Funds,” Los … Richard Winton, “Former Leader of SEIU Local Is Indicted,” Los Angeles … and Hailey Branson-Potts, “Ex-SEIU Local Exec Convicted of Stealing …

Detailed Reporting of Receipts and Disbursements in the LM-2

… dollar debts in order to free up cash to spend. The SEIU, one of the nation’s largest unions, appears to … In 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported: An SEIU spokeswoman says the union works on a four-year … recent presidential election year, reveals that SEIU was the top spender among unions on political activities …

Los Angeles Times SEIU Investigation

… in Hawaii.[18] Freeman was also alleged to have failed to provide documentation to support the legitimacy of a second trip to Hawaii.[19] After the SEIU conducted its own investigation, it banned Freeman for life and sought repayment from him of more than $1 million to cover his misappropriations.[20] …

Study: They Spend Millions, but Minimal Transparency Required for Government Union Finances

… union of Steffke’s local, the AFT, is one of the top 10 labor organizations in political spending nationally, with a tally of $21,457,153 in 2012. (The SEIU tops the list, spending nearly $113,820,009 that year on political activity and lobbying.) Steffke would also like to know how much local member dues …

SEIU Affiliate’s Revenue Cut in Half After 'Dues Skim' Ended

SEIU Healthcare Michigan dues collection went from $11.3 million to $5.4 million

… enabled the exploitation ended. SEIU Healthcare Michigan reported … back to the mid-2000s when SEIU moved to grab a share of the … of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, SEIU was allowed to carry out the … into the union's coffers. SEIU Healthcare Michigan's required … after dues and fees, most of SEIU Healthcare Michigan's remaining …

Labor Union Caught in Dues Skim Fails to File Annual Report with Federal Government

SEIU Healthcare Michigan reported losing 80 percent of its members after dues skim ended

Last year when SEIU Healthcare Michigan reported losing more … U.S. Department of Labor. “For SEIU Healthcare Michigan, their … late they are in violation.” SEIU Healthcare Michigan’s reported … more than $34 million to the SEIU. In 2014 the union waited … entirely without the dues skim. SEIU Healthcare Michigan now apparently …

Court of Claims Tosses MEA's Right-to-Work Lawsuit

State Capitol was closed when union protesters pushed past guards, impeded medical workers

… conscience on the job." ~~~~~ See also: VIDEOS: Union Right-to-Work Protest Goes Violent Most of the Arrested Anti Right-to-Work Protesters Have SEIU 'Dues Skim' Connections 'We'll Be at Your Daughter's Soccer Game'

CapCon Interview with Founding Editor Ken Braun and Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman

On its fifth year anniversary, a history lesson

… of the shine came off the program and it was eventually scaled back substantially. I think it’s also fair to say that we wouldn’t have ended the SEIU’s unconscionable skimming of so-called dues dollars from Medicaid recipients without CapCon reporter Jack Spencer’s work. That union quietly stole $6 …

The Best of the Best: CapCon's Top 10 Stories of 2014

Police seize property; religious discrimination in school contracts; Obamacare piles on disabled family’s burdens

… be forced to pay property tax on their business tools and equipment. 10. SEIU Membership Drops 80 Percent After Dues Skim Ends Once they were free to choose for themselves whether to pay dues money to the SEIU union, most home-based caregivers in Michigan quickly bailed. About 44,000 …

Two Wins for Freedom from Union Coercion in 2014

The end of the dues skim and the busting of the 'August Window'

… what later became known as the SEIU dues skim. It was a scheme … forced unionization and the SEIU maneuvering to keep it going. … of the millions of dollars SEIU was taking from home-based … to outlaw the dues skim. The SEIU went to court to keep it alive … of 2013 – but only after the SEIU had extracted more than $34 …

Top 25 of 2014

Our most popular offerings of the year

… Obamacare Making Sense of the Complicated Ballot Language for Proposal 1 SEIU Membership Drops 80 Percent After Dues Skim Ends Legislators Block Low-Cost … Haven’t Paid Dues; Some Teachers Say Union Intentionally Misled Members SEIU Allowed to Keep Millions in ‘Dues’ Money it Siphoned Away from Medicaid …

What Heroes Might You and I Meet in 2015?

… his principles, Adam told us. And how about Robert and Patricia Haynes, the Clinton Township couple who first exposed what came to be known as the SEIU “dues skim”? Their willingness to come forward back in 2012 helped us figure out the skim, which helped us submit arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court …

For the Record

… semester at the University of California – Berkeley. Under her leadership, Michigan led the nation in job loss with a decline of 576,900 positions. The SEIU is urging home caregivers in Michigan to join some fast food protesters in going on strike. The vast majority of these workers look after family or …

Endnotes

… “Corporate Campaigns” (Competitive Enterprise Institute, April 30, 2012), http://goo.gl/wjUhgR (accessed July 10, 2014). 25 F. Vincent Vernuccio, “SEIU Intimidation Manual Exposed!” (Competitive Enterprise Institute, Sept. 17, 2011), http://goo.gl/ GzSQqw (accessed July 10, 2014). 26 Ibid. 27 Steven …

Centered on Workers vs. Worker Centers

… worker center engages in regulatory pressure or reputational attacks, which in some cases venture into personal criticisms of company officers. A 2011 SEIU “Contract Campaign Manual” instructed workers how to successfully put pressure on a business, saying “outside pressure can involve jeopardizing relationships …

Unionization for the 21st Century: What It Is and What It Is Not

… general counsel for the Service Employees International Union) and Catherine Fisk of the University of California-Irvine School of Law (and member of the SEIU Ethics Review Board) recently wrote in the Los Angeles Times: Requiring unions to offer free representation to workers who do not want a union in …

Appointments: A Rarely Recognized Gubernatorial Power

Which can have major effects

… the 2012 election. This was the action that finally led to the end of the SEIU healthcare dues skim. Governors also make appointments to the Michigan … to which a governor makes appointments is extensive. ~~~~~ See also: SEIU Dues Skim Finally Grounds to a Halt

SEIU Allowed to Keep Millions in ‘Dues’ Money it Siphoned Away from Medicaid in Stealth Unionization, Court of Appeals Rules

‘Union has refused every opportunity to defend Granholm administration and itself in concocting this scheme’

… Court of Appeals granted the SEIU’s motion to dismiss the case, … than they requested. “The SEIU overpaid our clients to prevent … “It was pretty obvious the SEIU did not want the court to take … longer interested parties.” The SEIU sent checks to the MCLF on … was unconstitutional.  “The SEIU saw the writing on the wall …

Democrat Mark Schauer Receiving the Big Donations in Gubernatorial Race

But despite appearances, political race contributions reflect typical pattern

Though Michigan’s gubernatorial candidates differ on issues like right-to-work, the SEIU dues skim and government regulations, the apparent contrast between their campaign finance reports could come as a surprise to many. Lists of campaign contributions to former Congressman Mark Schauer, the Democratic …

SEIU: Go on strike against your family members

The SEIU represents hundreds of thousands of health care workers and is now encouraging them to march … Michigan, 75 percent of those home-care aid workers the SEIU is urging to strike are taking care of a relative … country were formerly forcibly unionized by the SEIU. That ended this summer when the U.S. Supreme Court …

MICHIGAN CAPITOL CONFIDENTIAL

Summer 2014 Edition

In this issue: SEIU Membership Drops 80 Percent After Dues Skim Ends Michigan Families Helped Harris v. Quinn Succeed The 89,000 Clean Energy Jobs Myth How To Tell What a Bill Actually Does Michigan Loses 40K Grads; Corporate Welfare Program Paid $127K Each To Keep 125 Of Them Beverly Hills Cop Daycare …

Supreme Court Ends ‘Dues Skim’ Nationwide

… decades-long membership slump. SEIU began organizing caregivers … arrangement was quite simple: SEIU would convince a state agency … of the Medicaid payments to SEIU in the form of union dues, … caregivers greatly enriched SEIU. We exposed a similar scheme … the program, but not before SEIU skimmed $34 million away from …

Harris v. Quinn

… Jennifer Granholm. The first to arrive was the SEIU, which sought the creation of a faux employer so … individuals. The home help unionization got the SEIU around $6 million a year, while the day care providers … seek a repayment of the dues money taken by the SEIU from home-based caregivers, an amount that exceeds …

Who needs a vacation anyway?

… partners at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to make our voices louder. We know in Michigan that when folks weren’t forced to pay the SEIU, 80 percent dropped off the union’s membership rolls. (Patrick Wright sums up our involvement in our feature article.) Summer brings in a new class …

Supreme Court Ruling Opens Door For Daycare Workers To Get Money Back

Unions took $4 million from Michigan daycare workers; class action lawsuit now possible

… its scheme in place than it took the SEIU with the home-based caregivers. The … Michigan Capitol Confidential of the SEIU Dues Skim Legal Foundation Seeks Return Of 'Dues Skim' Money SEIU Election Battle Hinges On Home-Based … Unionization Scheme Infighting At The SEIU How the Forced Unionization of Day …

Supreme Court Ends Dues Skim Nationwide

… Employees International Union (SEIU) that unionized these home-based … Quinn, and again involved the SEIU. Eight other states — California, … ended, the dues skim filled the SEIU’s coffers with approximately … caregivers. In Illinois, the SEIU’s skim took about $3.6 million … 4 in 2012, after which the SEIU was assessed a $199,000 fine …

Supreme Court Takes One Step Away from Forced Unionization

A blow to SEIU's recruitment scheme

… decades-long membership slump. SEIU began organizing caregivers … arrangement was quite simple: SEIU would convince a state agency … of the Medicaid payments to SEIU in the form of union dues, … caregivers greatly enriched SEIU. The Mackinac Center for Public … the program, but not before SEIU skimmed $34 million away from …