President Barack Obama can take it to the bank. In 2012, the Service Employees International Union is expected to surpass the level of contributions it gave him in 2008. If SEIU were to send him only the dollars accumulated from Michigan's “home healthcare dues skim;” that would be enough.
About five years ago SEIU pulled off a covert “forced unionization” of 43,000 home caregivers in Michigan. That total has now reached 56,442. A dummy employer and unpublicized election were the key elements in the unionization. Continuation of the dues flow from the forced unionization is known as the “home healthcare dues skim.”
The SEIU has now received more than $29 million in dues from the ongoing “skim.” If the “skim” continues through October 2012, that amount will have reached nearly $33 million. This is more than enough for the union to top its 2008 contribution level — when the $27 million it gave Obama made the SEIU one of his biggest contributors.
Three months ago, the SEIU endorsed Obama's re-election bid. This came as no surprise; considering the multiple links between the SEIU and the 2008 Obama campaign. After the 2008 election, the union's support of Obama paid big political dividends.
Between the SEIU's November 2011 endorsement and the 2012 Election Day, its take from the “dues skim” will have increased by $6 million — unless it's stopped. Michigan House Bill 4003 was designed to stop it by outlawing the ”skim.”
Michigan's House of Representatives passed HB 4003 in June. However, the Senate has refused to pass the legislation.
“It's clear that the failure to stop this is just filling the coffers of the SEIU,” said Saginaw County Tea Party participant Sandra Kahn. “We can see that the bulk of the dues is used for political purposes. Even if the union contributes to those on both sides of the aisle, taking the money in this way results in the home health care workers unwittingly contributing to politicians.”
Randy McClure, of the Traverse Bay Area 912 Tea Party, said he finds it troubling that Republicans are allowing the “skim” to go forward.”
“I'm disappointed that our Republican administration and legislature hasn't put a stop to this,” McClure said. “This is something that just shouldn't be continuing.”
Zac Atlefogt, spokesman for SEIU Heathcare Michigan, did not return a phone call for comment. Senate Republican leadership also did not respond.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.