To opt out of SEIU HCMI dues:
- Enter your information into the form below and click “submit.”
- On the resulting page, click the link to open your customized form. You will also receive an email with a link to your form.
- Print the form. If you check the appropriate box about needing a printed version, we’ll mail you a copy of the form.
- Sign and date the form.
- Mail the completed form to the address at the top of the form. We highly recommend sending it via certified mail and providing a copy to your payroll office.
SEIU Healthcare Michigan is the designated union representing over 17,000 healthcare workers throughout the state of Michigan.
The range of activities and causes which is funded by union dues is wide and often controversial. When the union is paying for causes and efforts which you oppose, then it is controlling your voice. Many are uncomfortable with this. A recent court decision reaffirmed that you have the final say about what causes you fund.
“States and public-sector unions may no longer extract [funds] from nonconsenting employees. . . . This procedure violates the First Amendment and cannot continue.” (Janus v. AFSCME, 2018).
Consequently, public employees may decline to pay these private organizations without losing their jobs or employer-provided benefits.
The best way to ensure the deductions stop is to submit a request to the union in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
You should receive some acknowledgement of your request from the union within a few weeks.
Because it has a financial interest in continuing to withhold dues from your pay, the union may contact you and attempt to persuade you to keep your membership. Their sales pitch may include untrue claims and scare tactics. It is a good idea to try to document any questionable claims made by union representatives. Do not be bullied! If you stand your ground, there is nothing the union can do to retaliate against you for opting out.
Monitor your paychecks to make sure the dues deductions stop. Contact the union if the deductions continue more than a couple paychecks after you submit your resignation request.
Some unions have tricked employees into signing membership forms with fine print waiving their right to resign except during a short annual window period. If the union claims you signed such a form and therefore cannot cancel the dues deductions from your pay, ask to be provided with documentation that you ever signed such an agreement.
According to federal filings, SEIU Healthcare Michigan charges dues that range from $330 to $660 per year. In 2022, the average member paid $628 in dues.
Yes. SEIU Healthcare Michigan has been empowered by the state to represent those in your workplace. Employees are not allowed to negotiate their own compensation or handle their own grievances with their employer, nor can they hire another person or entity to represent them.
In exchange for this unusual benefit, SEIU Healthcare Michigan is legally obligated to represent all employees in the workplace, including those who choose not to join the union as members.
Consequently, the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union and your employer will continue to set the terms and conditions of your employment and the union will continue to represent you in grievances, contract enforcement, discipline assistance or other proceedings governed by the collective bargaining agreement.
While the terms of the collective bargaining agreement will still govern your employment, as a nonmember, the union may choose to prevent you from participating in internal union affairs, such as attending union meetings or voting in union elections, including contract ratification votes. Unions also commonly withhold any special “members-only” deals or discounts the union has arranged for with businesses. You may no longer receive the union newsletter or similar publications.
People have many reasons for not wanting to support the union. Some simply do not believe the services the union provides are worth the dues it charges. Others may find the union’s one-size-fits-all agenda does not serve them well because they are new to the profession, have a specialty that is not acknowledged in bargaining, or they believe their effectiveness is undercompensated. Some resent the union’s role in enabling and defending underperforming employees. Many find the union’s political activity and use of dues to advance partisan causes, candidates and ideology distasteful. Still others believe that union officials are corrupt and unaccountable to their membership.
Unions representing public employees are not governed by the usual consumer protection or anti-trust laws, so abuses are common. Unions can charge whatever they wish. They can spend dues money on anything they want. Often, they do not have to disclose how dues money is spent to members. They can speak for employees without consulting or informing them. They can injure some members’ interests while advancing the interests of others. Unions even have the ability to prevent employees from getting help in their workplace from other sources. They are not governed by any obligation to provide quality service, and almost never have to seek approval of the people they represent in an election to continue as the exclusive representative.
Sometimes people have a faith-based objection to unions’ expenditures. To learn more about some of the major public unions’ expenditures in light of common faith beliefs, click here.
SEIU Healthcare Michigan
SEIU Healthcare MI collected $3.2 million in dues and fees from its members in 2022, according to reports the union must file with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
In 2022 alone:
- $719,269 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. For example, Planned Parenthood received $50,000 from the SEIU headquarters in 2019.
- $122,200 was spent by SEIU Healthcare MI on political activity and lobbying.
- $258,792 was spent on attorneys and private consultants.
SEIU Healthcare MI paid 23 officers and employees in 2022. Internal Organizer Serena Everett was paid $83,075.
As of December 2022, SEIU Healthcare MI has a cash stockpile of $315,401.
SEIU Healthcare MI’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.
A portion of the dues paid by SEIU Healthcare MI members goes to support SEIU Michigan, a statewide political arm of SEIU.
SEIU Michigan
According to reports it files with the U.S. Dept. of Labor, SEIU Michigan collected $183,293 in dues from its local unions in 2022. It also received an additional $1.4 million from the national SEIU affiliate.
In 2022 alone:
- $1.2 million was spent by SEIU Michigan on political activity and lobbying. This includes $100,000 donated to the Michigan Democratic Party.
- $20,571 was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations.
- $10,142 was spent on hosting a meeting at the Embassy Suites in Livonia, MI.
SEIU Michigan paid eight employees in 2022. SEIU Michigan executive director, Jennifer Root, received $126,031.
Also, SEIU Michigan has accumulated $919,337 in cash reserves, over $500,000 of which was stockpiled just in 2022.
SEIU Michigan’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.
A portion of the dues paid by SEIU Healthcare members also goes to support the SEIU international headquarters.
SEIU National Headquarters
According to federal filings which the union must submit to the US Department of Labor, SEIU national headquarters collected $239 million from its affiliates in 2022.
In that year alone:
- $63.5 million was spent on divisive political candidates, causes and lobbying.
- $4.5 million was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations.
- $6.3 million was spent on airfare, hotels and travel for union staff. SEIU’s hotel expenses included a $805,000 bill from the Hilton in Washington DC.
- $36 million was spent on private attorneys and consultants.
- $63,217 was spent on food and catering.
SEIU national headquarters paid 496 employees in 2022, 309 of whom were paid six figures. SEIU’s International President, Mary Kay Henry, was paid $289,587.
SEIU National Headquarters’ most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.