Last week,
SEIU-UHW sent its annual "LM-2" report to the U.S. Department of Labor with
details about its membership, finances, and staff salaries.
Here’s what
jumps out from a quick read.
SEIU-UHW’s total membership plummeted sharply during 2015, with the union
losing 52,000 members – or almost 40% of its membership. SEIU-UHW’s membership
declined from 140,886 to 88,694 members by the end of 2015.
That's
because last June, SEIU President Mary Kay
Henry and the SEIU International Executive Board ordered SEIU-UHW to
transfer more than 50,000 long-term care members to Los Angeles-based SEIU
Local 2015, headed by Henry's ally Laphonza
Butler.
Despite this dramatic decline in membership, however, SEIU-UHW is rolling in the dough thanks to a dues
increase that SEIU-UHW President Dave
Regan pushed onto the union's members. The increase has left workers paying
as much as $144 in union dues per month.
So how much
money did SEIU-UHW make last year?
The union reported
a profit of $16.6 million – which translates into a profit margin of more than 14%. To put that into
perspective, it’s higher than Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola.
For-profit unionism? How "21st century," right?
What does SEIU-UHW do with the profits?
According to
last week's filing, Regan is stockpiling massive amounts of cash in the
union's bank account. SEIU-UHW's "cash" jumped from $34.8 million on
January 1, 2015 to $51.4 million by the end of the year, according to financial
disclosures. See an excerpt below from the union's 2015 LM-2 form.
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| SEIU-UHW's DOL Form LM-2 for 2015 |
Meanwhile, a
number of SEIU-UHW officials are cashing in on the gravy train.
In 2015, Regan
pocketed a $30,000 pay increase that boosted his annual pay by 14% to $243,734.
Regan's "Deputy
Chief of Staff," Triana Silton,
got a $30,000 pay increase that boosted her take-home pay to $132,052.
Other over-paid
officials at SEIU-UHW include...
Dave
Kieffer (Director of Government Relations): $204,345
Steve
Trossman (Director of Public Affairs): $173,029
Myriam
Escamilla (Hospital Division Director): $175,260
David
Miller (Special Assistant to the President): $166,340
Why do SEIU-UHW's staff and officers earn so much?
Unlike unions like the National Union of Healthcare Workers, SEIU-UHW doesn't have a constitution that blocks the union's president and staff from earning more than the union's members.
Stay tuned. More to follow.
