For most that follow our blogs, it’s no secret that REAP shares the blunders SEIU makes, exposing them for the type of organization they are. Short in the ethics and morals category! There have been countless indictments against the leadership of SEIU, and 2015 is shaping up to be just as exciting as past years. In February, Dana Cope, SEIU International Executive Board Member and SEIU 2008 Executive Director, was popped for embezzling over $500,000.00 of dues monies. SEIU 2008 is also known as the State
Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC). I wonder if that’s what the COPE fund is?

Every labor organization is subject to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, as amended (LMRDA), the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) standards of conduct regulations, or the Foreign Service Act (FSA) must file a financial report, Form LM-2, LM-3, or LM-4, each year with the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) of the U.S. Department of Labor. The three forms vary in the level of financial details that must be reported. The filing requirements are determined by the total annual receipts of the union. The term “total annual receipts” means all
financial receipts of the labor organization during its fiscal year, regardless of the source, including receipts of any special funds as described in Section VIII (Funds To Be Reported) and as described in Section X (Labor Organizations
With Subsidiary Organizations). The Form LM-2 is required for labor organizations with $250,000 or more in total annual receipts.

SEIU 721 filed their LM2 as required by the Department of Labor. In a snapshot, SEIU 721 reported a profit of $82,615,695.00 and expenses of $89,408,766. Interesting! It was a slow Sunday morning so I decided I would take a look at how SEIU spends their member’s money. Now, please try to remember, I am not an accountant so my way of looking at this report may be somewhat skewed, but I do manage my own personal finances so it shouldn’t be too far off, right?

Schedule 11 of the LM2 report breaks down how much each Board Member is paid. Why? Why does SEIU 721 pay their board members? Didn’t they run on the slates to make a difference to the organization, or did they run just to get their ”cut” of the slush fund? A better term for this may be “Hush” money. Go along with the program and Bob Schoonover will be sure you get an additional $350.00 / month as your own personal mad money. If Local, State and Federal governments have term limits, why don’t unions? Maybe something to look at when
revising the International Bylaws.

Schedule 12 – This is what employees of SEIU 721 earn from dues dollars.

In 2014, SEIU 721’s payroll was $19,166,751 which is an increase of 2.90% from 2013. Over 29 employees earned in excess of $100k in 2014.

2013
2014

(25) – $100,000.00+
(29) – $100,000.00+

(32) – $90,000 – $99,999
(41) – $90,000 – $99,999

(65) – $80,000 – $89,999
(64) – $80,000 – $89,999

(43) – $70,000 – $79,999
(30) – $70,000 – $79,999

(22) – $60,000 – $59,999
(16) – $60,000 – $59,999

(61) – $59,999 and below
(71) – $59,999 and below

Schedule 13 – Membership numbers

Regular Members – 68,956,
Retired Members – 4,857, Agency Fee Payers – 13,572

REAP’s philosophy is the primary focus must be on the member. The interim Executive Board of REAP is of the belief that everything done by the Association must be done with the member in mind. After looking at some of the above expenses, do you think this is also SEIU 721’s belief? To help answer that question, SEIU 721 spent $18,578.00 on Shop Steward training! This is the guy/gal that is going to save your job! But when it came to courting the San Bernardino Public Employees Association, SEIU 721 spent over $1,000,000.00 on food and hotels…Hell, they spent more on the “Union” Picnic than they did on training their advocates…scary!

There has also been speculation as to when SEIU 721 will be raising the dues rate of the entire membership. It’s common knowledge the International wants every local to impose a ”percentage” dues rate based on gross salaries.

Local 503 in Oregon requires 1.7% + an additional $2.75/month

Local 668 in Pennsylvania demands 1.39% from members and .86% from Fee Payers

Members of Local 888 in Boston donate 1.6%

Local 925 in the State of Washington deduct 2% of the gross salary of their members.

Perhaps the most innovative comes from Local 284 in St. Paul, Minnesota –

Dues Formula – 2.4 x Hourly Rate of Pay x Number of Hours Worked per Week ÷ 40 + 15.99 = Monthly
Rate x Months worked per year ÷ Number of Deductions (x 85% if fair share) = Amount per Deduction (+ COPE Deduction if applicable)

Percentage Formula – 2.1% x Gross Wages up to 40 hours per week.(x 85% if Fair Share)
(+ COPE Deduction if applicable).

I’m sure there’s a math wizard reading this that could figure out what an employee earning $25.00 / hour would be paying in weekly dues…

On the very last page of the LM2 report is this;

General Information: ITEM 21: DUES ARE BASED ON A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS WAGES WHICHRANGES FROM 1% TO 1.5% OR BASED ON A FLAT RATE WHICH RANGES FROM $5.00 TO $98.00 PER MONTH.

LINE 3 OF SUMMARY SCHEDULE 14 AND LINE 5 OF SUMMARY SCHEDULE 15 INCLUDE AMOUNTS FOR
CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS IN EXCESS OF $5,000.”

If you’re curious to know what’s on Line 3 of Schedule 14 – $894,045.00. $0.00 on Line 5 of Schedule 15…and what job classification in SEIU 721 is paying $5.00/month.

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