Volume 3 / Issue 4
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Mission Statement To provide quality service to the REAP members with integrity and respect, understanding the member is the priority. |
Whether you own your own company, work for a company or just know OF a company, the one thing they all have in common is a budget. Each year, company owners determine their financial course of action for the following year. Will they invest in new technology, replace some aging equipment, or hire additional employees? Regardless of where improvements are made, to remain relevant in the workplace, upgrades are always needed, and money does matter!
Several large corporations include into their budgets, recruitment. When I hear recruitment, I think of young men and women choosing to become a member of our military. When I hear “recruitment” from a corporation, I have to wonder, “Recruitment for what?”
Corporations today are huge. Google, Microsoft, Oracle…Do you think the CEO’s of these companies know the names of their employees? Do you think they have a problem hiring people and retaining good employees? Do you think they budget for recruitment? Maybe, but my thought on that – Probably not. And why? Because these companies provide stability and they take care of their employees.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a large corporation, of sorts. They don’t have a factory. They don’t sell a product. I’ve never seen them advertised on the TV or radio, but yet in 2013, they had total receipts worth $313,500,627. Follow the link to the left and enter the file number, 000-137 at the top of the page and chose from any of the reports available. To view information about SEIU 721, enter file number 543-613.
Almost 19% of the revenue generated by SEIU International comes from SEIU 721…19%! SEIU 721 tout’s an active membership of 85,000 members – According to the 2013 LM-2 Report, it’s actually much less – 68,935 (Active) and 5,143 (Retired) for a total of 74,078. The LM-2 report also includes the 16,923 Fee Payers whose fees were included, but the amount is not specified. Because they have reported income of $59,047,009 to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average dues per member / per year is $797.10. If you are a member of SEIU 721 and have an hourly rate of $25.00 or more, it is with certainty…this will not be the average, this will be your annual dues amount!
So back to my original thought…recruitment. How much money should be spent on recruitment for new members? In 2011, SEIU 721 budgeted $7,298,000 for recruitment. SEIU refers to recruitment as “Organizing”. Either way you slice it, it means spending money to get new members and what happens when they’re
unsuccessful? Just right it off…the cost of doing business? Hardly! But who is accountable?
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REAP 19510 Van Buren Blvd. F3-197 Riverside, CA 92508 951-202-8058 / 951-858-6759 https://reap4us.org/ [email protected] |
And the existing members…How does SEIU 721 value their existing members? Is such a thing possible? How do you place a value on a member? When I think about member valuation, without hesitation, representation and negotiation are the two main factors that come to mind. In the same 2011 budget for SEIU 721, 3% of a roughly $53 million budget, or $1.59 million, is earmarked for representation. The difference between the Organizing of potential members and Representation of the existing members is 128%!
In 2012 when approximately 2000 Riverside County Employees were on a one day strike, LIUNA signed a sweetheart of a contract. The only problem with that is, this was our contract! SEIU could have had that contract if they weren’t so hell bent on going on strike to make a political statement! It then took employees represented by SEIU over two years to recover everything we lost. The recent step increases and COLA’s we will be receiving – this isn’t something that SEIU negotiated on your behalf either…This was done because of already existing language in an otherwise crappy contract.
So at some point the decision comes down to the employees represented by SEIU. Are you satisfied with the way things are going? Do the political views and opinions of SEIU align with yours? When you need to speak with someone at the call center, do you find yourself lost in an endless loop of confusion?
You do have an alternative and by reading our blog, you’ve found help. REAP can provide you with professional
representation, not employee stewards. REAP is not politically motivated. Our dues dollars need to remain in our
communities, not in Washington DC. REAP can answer the many questions you may have, particularly when it comes to decertifying SEIU. If we don’t have the answer, REAP contracts with professionals that will. REAP has a
completely transparent operation and we will show you how your dues money is spent.
Signing up on our site does not obligate you in any way. If the views of REAP align with yours or if you just have questions, send us an email [email protected]. One of our Executive Board members will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Thank you again for reading. There is just so much information that needs to be shared!
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Looking Towards the Future!