ABOUT THE SEIU

The Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) was founded in 1921 and is based in Washington, D.C. 

It has over $31,000,000 in assets. 

In 2018, the SEIU received $204,862,240 in revenue primarily through union dues transmitted from SEIU Locals (in the form of a per capita tax), but had $208,718,064 in expenses. Of the over $200MM in expenses last year, only $57,020,576 (27%) were spent on representational activities. 

To view the entire balance sheet filed in March 2019, see below.

The SEIU’s Constitution is over 65 pages long and contains rules members of the SEIU must follow. 

When employees join the SEIU, they actually enter into a “contract” with the SEIU, and the contract is enforceable in a court of law. If an SEIU member fails to obey these rules, the SEIU can bring them up on charges, place them on trial, and punish them through monetary fines or expulsion if the SEIU finds them guilty of violating the SEIU’s rules.

SEIU members are bound by the oath of loyalty to the SEIU. 

If SEIU members decide they are not happy with the SEIU and they don’t want the SEIU to represent them anymore, they could be punished by the SEIU if they try to decertify the union. 

SEIU  members also could be punished by the SEIU if they support any union other than the SEIU. 

Click here for a view of the SEIU’s Constitution here.

Each union sets its dues and can change them at any time. 

Often dues are a multiple of the worker’s hourly rate. This usually means that every time you get a wage increase, the union also gets an increase in the dues it collects. 

Currently, at a minimum, Local 32BJ dues are 2.5 times the hourly earnings rate of each employee, every month. 

See SEIU Constitution, Art. X, Sec. 3 (i). 

New members have to pay an initiation fee to Local 32BJ, which can range from $25 to $150. 

See Local 32BJ LM-2 Report. 

A member that misses one monthly dues payment is suspended from the SEIU, and in order to become a member in good standing must pay a reinstatement fine.

See SEIU Constitution, Art. XVI, Sec. 21-22.

Monthly union dues provide revenue to the union, and can be used to pay salaries and benefits of union officials and office employees, rent, office expenses, insurance, car leases, etc. for union staff. 

The SEIU also use the dues money it collects to organize other employees and to make political contributions to candidates the union’s leadership supports. 

Yes. 

Broadly, SEIU members are subject to penalty if, as determined by the SEIU, the member violates the SEIU Constitution or otherwise engages in conduct unbecoming a member of the Union. Beyond these broad provisions, the SEIU Constitution contains specific infractions for which a member is subject to penalty. 

Examples of specific infractions for which an SEIU member may be subject to penalty include: 

(1) crossing a picket line established by the SEIU or any of its affiliates

(2) disrupting union meetings

(3) violations of the oath of loyalty to the union

Whether an employee is guilty or innocent of a violation of the SEIU Constitution is decided by the Local Union Executive Board.

See SEIU Constitution, Art. XIX, Section 1(a) and Section (7).

No.

When the SEIU disciplines its members, it is considered an internal union matter, and Planned Companies would have no right to do anything.

With a union, management can’t directly deal with employees over their wages, benefits and other conditions at work. Instead, you would have to go to a “shop steward”, an employee elected by only those employees who choose to join the union and pay dues under the SEIU Constitution, to resolve your problems. At that point, the decision whether to pursue your problem, or to drop it, belongs to the SEIU. 

In SEIU contracts, a shop steward usually gets “super seniority” even though he or she might have been hired after other employees. This means that, in the event of a layoff, the union steward will be the last to be laid off, even if the steward was hired after other employees.