Posts tagged SEIU 503
Commentary: Is bill a state-led worker’s board, or a gift to SEIU?
April 7, 2025 // A secret ballot election for unionization requires a certain percentage of the bargaining unit to sign so-called “showing of interest” cards. When an organization allegedly has resorted to forgery is tasked with gathering and submitting these cards, it calls the integrity of the process into question. SB 1138 and HB 3838 present themselves as measures to improve workforce standards for care providers, but they have but one purpose — growing SEIU 503’s membership and influence. By embedding the union into training programs, handing it access to personal contact information and placing itself in workforce oversight, SEIU is positioned to grow its ranks at the expense of worker autonomy.
Opting Out: Public Employees Speak Out
March 3, 2025 // Not only did the deductions continue after her promotion, but she also discovered that she was now being charged for contributions to SEIU 503’s political action committee (PAC) —something she never agreed to. At this point, it was no longer just about the money; it was about principle. She had explicitly opted out, but SEIU 503 ignored her request, gave her false information and then enrolled her in additional dues categories without her permission. To make matters worse, when she contacted her payroll department for help, they told her it wasn’t their problem and directed her back to SEIU 503 — without even providing contact information.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS ADVANCE SEIU BILL IN OREGON KNOWING IT WOULD STRIP CAREGIVERS OF THEIR RIGHTS
February 29, 2024 // Specifically, Oregon’s HB 4129 would require the state to contract with up to two private vendors to administer part of the state’s Medicaid-funded homecare program. By doing so, it would create a new employment model governed by private-sector labor law, under which caregivers would lose their protections under the Harris ruling. SEIU 503 is the union purporting to represent Medicaid-compensated homecare workers in Oregon, and it’s has taken a big hit since Harris.
Oregon state workers warn of possible strike in fight for raises
June 12, 2023 // The union that represents more than 22,000 state government employees on Thursday asked its members to commit to a potential strike as negotiations continue for a new contract. Service Employees International Union Local 503, which represents about half the state workforce, is behind that push and negotiating for a new contract for state workers. The union announced the move in a rally with more than 1,000 workers across from the state Capitol. Meanwhile, inside the Capitol, Republican senators on strike kept the Senate from working on Thursday, as they have since May 3. The union’s plan for workers to sign a “strike pledge” and commit to a possible walkout underscores unhappiness about unsatisfactory wages and raises as negotiations proceed for a new two-year contract to succeed the agreement that expires on June 30.
THREE LAWSUITS, ALL INVOLVING UNION FORGERY, APPEALED TO SUPREME COURT
December 22, 2022 // In all three cases, dues continued to be deducted from the plaintiffs’ paychecks long after they requested to opt out because the union claimed they had signed a membership form stipulating they could only leave during a two-week annual window. In fact, none of the workers had signed any such authorization and, when the unions were forced to provide documentation, each turned out to be a crude forgery. Zielinski v. SEIU 503, Wright v. SEIU 503, Cindy Ochoa,
9th Circuit forgery decisions allow unions to rule by deceit and undermine workers’ rights
October 18, 2022 // This September, the 9th Circuit decided two cases brought by the Freedom Foundation alleging government unions forged public employees’ signatures on membership agreements to continue deducting dues from their pay. Walking a legal tightrope, the three-judge panel managed to acknowledge the membership cards in question were forged while simultaneously concluding a union can’t be held responsible for dues illegally taken from a public employee’s paycheck because a union isn’t a government agency; rather, it is merely a private organization. And conversely, the state is also blameless, the court concluded, because the state is free to delegate to the union all responsibility for deciding who does and doesn’t pay dues. In other words, the 9th Circuit claimed the state has no duty to protect its employees’ First Amendment rights. Got all that? The union forged a worker’s name on a membership form, and the state blindly accepted it as genuine. But neither is at fault, and the worker is simply out of luck, according to the 9th Circuit.