SEIU 775

Not at present, unfortunately. The applicable laws governing union membership requirements for individual providers in Washington state have been quite fluid in recent years.

• Prior to 2014, IPs in Washington could legally be required to financially support SEIU 775 as a condition of employment.
• In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Harris v. Quinn that it was unconstitutional for “partial” or “quasi-public” employees to be required to pay union dues/fees. The court referred to the requirement for partial-public employees like IPs to pay union dues as a money-making “scheme” for the union and ruled that the mandatory dues requirement violated providers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. The decision applied to IPs in Washington, allowing many thousands to cancel their union membership and cease all financial support for SEIU 775.
• In 2018, however, SEIU 775 persuaded state lawmakers in Olympia to pass legislation, Senate Bill 6199, requiring the state Department of Social and Health Services to hire a private company to take over management of the IP workforce in Washington. The union’s reasoning was that turning IPs into “employees” of a private company would eliminate their First Amendment protections against compelled union payments and allow the union to reimpose mandatory fee payments.
• After years of delays, the state selected CDWA as the private company to run the IP system. Sure enough, the first union contract negotiated between SEIU 775 and CDWA requires IPs to pay union fees as a condition of employment (see Article 4).

According to SEIU 775’s federal filings, the union’s dues are 3.2% of gross wages. In 2024, the average member paid around $1,000 in dues.

No. Although you may be required to pay an agency fee to the union, you cannot be fired for refusing formally join the union as a member or choosing to pay the reduced agency fee instead of full dues.

No. Health insurance is offered through the SEIU Healthcare NW Health Benefits Trust, not SEIU 775. Health benefits are funded by the employer, not your union dues. You are eligible to purchase insurance through the Trust even if you are not formally a member of SEIU 775. Even though it has “SEIU” in the title, the Trust is a different entity than SEIU 775 the union. According to its website, the trust is “a nonprofit entity that operates independently of SEIU and participating employers.”

No. Just like health insurance, retirement benefits are paid for by the employer, not your membership dues.

Yes. By law, all of IPs required training and continuing education is provided by the SEIU Training Partnership. Even though it has “SEIU” in the title, the Partnership is a separate organization from SEIU 775 the union. As with health insurance, the employer — not SEIU 775 — funds the Training Partnership. Your access to necessary training and continuing education through the Training Partnership will be unaffected if you cancel your SEIU 775 membership.

While the terms of SEIU 775’s contract will still apply to you and your relationship with your client and employer will remain unchanged as a nonmember of SEIU 775, you will no longer be able to participate in internal union affairs, such as attending union meetings, participating in contract ratification votes or voting for union officers.

SEIU 775

In 2024, SEIU 775 collected $54.2 million in dues and fees from its members, according to reports the union must file with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

In 2024 alone:

• $8 million went to the SEIU headquarters in Washington, D.C., to support its massive political, economic and social agenda. SEIU regularly supports a host of controversial organizations like the pro-abortion Progressive Caucus Action Fund, which received $100,000 from the SEIU headquarters in 2024.
• $9.8 million was spent by SEIU 775 on political activity and lobbying.
• $2.9 million was spent on hotels, airfare, travel expenses, and entertainment venues. This includes a $151,000 expenditure at the Westin Seattle, a 4-star hotel.
• $1.8 million was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations.
• $1.3 million was spent on attorneys and private consultants, including $35,000 for a “microaggressions workshop.”
• $606,000 was spent on food and catering, including a $529,000 expenditure for catering from a Las Vegas restaurant.
• The union also spent $13,200 for a “mobile billboard” and $5,125 for a florist.

SEIU 775 paid 235 officers and employees in 2024, 50 of whom were paid six figures. In 2024, SEIU 775 Secretary Treasurer Adam Glickman received $236,220.

Among other assets, SEIU 775 purchased its own office building in downtown Seattle, valued at $13.2 million in 2020. Additionally, at the end of 2022, the union also has a stockpile of $37.7 million in spare cash.

Altogether, SEIU 775 estimates that more than one-third of the dues it collects from members go towards politics and other activity unrelated to representing caregivers.

SEIU 775’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020.

A portion of the dues paid by SEIU 775 members goes to support the SEIU Washington State Council.

SEIU Washington State Council

The SEIU Washington State Council collected $590,000 from its local affiliates in 2024.

In that same year:

• $82,587 was spent by the State Council on political activity and lobbying. Because it made major political contributions for years and failed to register and report as a political action committee as required by law, the Council was charged to pay up to $250,000 in penalties and fees in 2019.
• $268,388 was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations.

SEIU WA State Council’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020.

Lastly, a portion of the dues paid by SEIU 775 members also go to support the national SEIU headquarters in Washington, D.C.

SEIU National Headquarters

The SEIU national headquarters collected $260 million from its affiliates in 2024. In that year alone, SEIU spent at least:

• $53.2 million on divisive political candidates, causes and lobbying.
• $2.6 million on contributions to largely ideological organizations like the Women’s March, Inc. and GLSEN, an LGBTQ+ activist group.
• $26.2 million on private attorneys and consultants.
• $22.4 million on airfare, hotels, conferences and travel.
• $4.3 million on food and catering.
• $112,797 on florists and a nail salon.
• $38,690 on DJs.

SEIU national headquarters paid 583 employees in 2024, 345 of whom were paid six figures. SEIU’s International President, April Verrett, was paid $301,513.

SEIU National Headquarters’ most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020.