SEIU 'Skim Tracker' Stops Ticking

The SEIU "skim tracker" has finally stopped.

The scrolling money ticker had been calculating the amount of money the Service Employees International Union was taking from home-based caregivers because of a forced unionization scheme that was orchestrated in 2005 when Jennifer Granholm was governor.

As of today, March 1, Michigan's home-based caregivers no longer are unionized. The contract between the union and the dummy employer used for the scheme officially ended Feb. 28.

According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, the February Medicaid checks it sends to home-based caregivers will be mailed on March 4. These are the checks the SEIU was taken money from. The checks mailed in March are expected to be the last ones from which union dues will be deducted.

"It has been a long, winding and courageous battle," said Pat Wright, senior legal analyst at Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "I'm glad to see that justice is finally being reached.” 

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation has filed a legal action with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission to try and get about $3 million returned to home-based caregivers. That case is ongoing.

As a result of the scheme, the SEIU took more than $34 million, mostly from unsuspecting workers who are taking care of family and friends in their own homes.

The skim tracker won’t be removed until the end of the dues skim can be fully verified in April.