Obama Is Out of Order
The Court ruled 5-4 in Harris v. Quinn that SEIU cannot compel people who care for their loved ones to become union members. Nor can SEIU deduct member dues from the government checks of the people for whom they care.
“The practice has gone on for several years in a handful of states, creating a lucrative stream of cash for the powerful labor organization, which represents more than 2 million workers and takes in about $300 million per year,” according to one commentator.
If this sounds like a sleazy ACORN scam, there is a reason for that. Local 880 of SEIU was an affiliate of the now-defunct Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. The local, which was headed by ACORN insider Keith Kelleher, was absorbed into a larger collective bargaining unit a few years ago, as I detailed in my book Subversion Inc.
That bargaining unit was SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana (SEIU-HII) whose actions gave rise to the Supreme Court case.
The people forced to become SEIU members may now sue the union to get back the money that was stolen from them.
“The whole point of the decision was that the folks milked by the SEIU weren’t really public employees and should not be forced to pay union dues at all,” said Hans Bader, senior attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “So they should be able to sue for refund of their compelled union dues back as far as the statute of limitations will allow.”
“It could have a large effect,” he added.
In an era of declining union membership, home health aides had become a big part of SEIU’s base, making up about a fifth of the union’s total membership. . .The ruling applies to an estimated 26,000 home health care workers in the Land of Lincoln but it could eventually affect many more in other states.