SEIU 775

To opt out of SEIU 775 dues:

Enter your information into the form below and click “submit.”
On the resulting page, click the link to open your customized form. You will also receive an email with a link to your form.
Print the form. If you check the appropriate box requesting a printed version, we’ll mail you a copy of the form.
Sign and date the form.
Mail the completed form to the address at the top of the form. We highly recommend sending it via certified mail.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 775 is the designated union for more than 40,000 long-term care workers providing in-home care, nursing home care, and residential services in Washington and Montana.

Beginning in 2003, state-paid individual provider home care aides were required to pay union dues to SEIU 775 as a condition of employment and the state automatically withheld union dues from IPs’ pay. However, because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2014 decision in Harris v. Quinn, individual provider home care aides can now demand that SEIU 775 cease withholding union dues/fees from their state paychecks.

The court referred to the requirement for partial-public employees like IPs to pay union dues as a money-making “scheme” for the union and ruled that the mandatory dues requirement violated providers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I have to do in order to get the SEIU to stop deducting dues from my Medicaid checks?

Individual providers who wish to opt out of paying dues to support SEIU 775 simply have to complete the form above and mail it to the union at the address provided. It’s a good idea to send the letter via certified mail or a similar service that provides you with proof of delivery.

How much are SEIU 775 dues?

According to federal filings, SEIU 775 collects 3.2% of members’ wages each year. In 2020, the average caregiver paid $878 in dues.

Will I still be able to be paid to serve Medicaid clients if I opt-out of paying dues to SEIU 775?

Yes. Under state law, the union contract for individual providers is binding on all providers in the state, regardless of whether they want to be union represented and regardless of whether they choose to pay union dues. Opting out of paying dues will in no way affect your ability to be paid by the state to work for Medicaid clients.

If I resign from the union and stop paying dues, will I lose my health insurance?

No. Health insurance is offered through the SEIU Healthcare NW Health Benefits Trust, not SEIU 775. As an individual provider, you are still eligible to purchase insurance through the Trust, even if you no longer pay union dues to SEIU 775. Even though it has “SEIU” in the title, the Trust is a different entity than SEIU 775 the union. According to its website, the trust is “a nonprofit entity that operates independently of SEIU and participating employers.” The state pays the Trust a fixed amount for every hour an IP works for “the purposes of offering individual health care insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance to members of the bargaining unit.”

Additionally, SEIU 775 secretary-treasurer Adam Glickman confirmed in an email to an IP that, “members do not lose health benefits or other collectively bargained benefits if they opt-out.”

Lastly, thousands of IPs have successfully opted out since the 2014 court ruling allowed them to do so. None have reported any difficulty keeping their health insurance after opting out.

Will I lose my retirement benefits if I opt out?

No. Just like health insurance, SEIU 775 and its membership dues do not provide IPs’ retirement. For every hour an IP works, the state pays $0.23 into a 401(k) style plan administered by a separate trust. The state will continue to make these payments on your behalf even if you resign from SEIU 775.

If I stop paying dues, will I still be able to get my required training and continuing education?

Yes. By law, all of IPs required training and continuing education is provided by the SEIU Training Partnership. Even though it has “SEIU” in the title, the Partnership is a separate organization from SEIU 775 the union. As with health insurance, the state, not SEIU 775, funds the Training Partnership. Specifically, the state is legally obligated to provide contributions to the Partnership that “are sufficient to fully pay for training that is legally required of IPs to maintain qualifications.” Your access to necessary training and continuing education through the Training Partnership will be unaffected if you cease paying dues to SEIU 775.

How will my relationship with the union change if I resign my membership in SEIU 775 and stop paying dues?

While the terms of SEIU 775’s contract will still apply to you and your relationship with your client and the state will remain unchanged as a nonmember of SEIU 775, you will no longer be able to participate in internal union affairs, such as attending union meetings, participating in contract ratification votes or voting for union officers.

How does SEIU 775 spend my dues money?

SEIU 775

SEIU 775 does not function like a traditional union. It cannot represent providers in workplace disputes or grievances because individual providers have an employer-employee relationship with their clients, not the state. The core of SEIU 775’s activity involves negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the state once every two years.

Despite its limited role, SEIU 775 pays more than 170 staff members and, in 2020, collected $38.2 million in dues and fees from its members, according to reports the union must file with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

In 2020 alone:

$6.5 million went to the SEIU headquarters in Washington, D.C., to support its massive political, economic and social agenda. SEIU regularly supports a host of controversial organizations like Planned Parenthood, which received $50,000 from the SEIU headquarters in 2019.
$2.8 million was spent by SEIU 775 on political activity and lobbying.
$1.2 million was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations.
$1.4 million was spent on attorneys and private consultants.
$96,666 was spent on hotel venues and travel for union staff.
$80,935 was spent on food and catering.

SEIU 775 paid 173 officers and employees in 2020, 18 of whom were paid six figures. SEIU 775 president Sterling Harders received $190,421.

SEIU 775 has purchased its own office building in downtown Seattle, valued at $13.2 million in 2020. The union also has a stockpile of $40.5 million in spare cash, $9.8 million of which was accumulated just this past year.

Altogether, SEIU 775 estimates that 43 percent of the dues it collects from members go towards politics and other activity unrelated to representing caregivers.

SEIU 775’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.

A portion of the dues paid by SEIU 775 members goes to support the SEIU Washington State Council.

SEIU Washington State Council

The SEIU Washington State Council collected $1.6 million from its local affiliates in 2020.

In 2020 alone:

$1.9 million was spent by the State Council on political activity and lobbying. After consistently failing to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions, the State Council was sued by the Attorney General in 2017 and, in 2019, faced $250,000 in penalties and fees.
$56,000 was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations.
$12,700 was spent on private attorneys.

SEIU Washington State Council paid nine officers and employees in 2020. The executive director, Joan Jones, was paid $93,500.

SEIU WA State Council’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.

Lastly, a portion of the dues paid by SEIU 775 members also goes to support the national SEIU headquarters in Washington, D.C.

SEIU National Headquarters

The SEIU national headquarters collected $255 million from its affiliates in 2020. In that year alone:

$60 million was spent on divisive political candidates, causes and lobbying.
$2.9 million was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations. This includes $410,000 donated to the Alliance for Global Justice, a left-wing, anti-capitalist organization that grew out of the Nicaragua Network, which supported the Communist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua.
$2.3 million was spent on airfare, hotels and travel for union staff. SEIU’s hotel expenses included a $398,000 bill from a 4-star resort in San Diego.
$26.5 million was spent on private attorneys and consultants.
$150,000 was spent on food and catering.

SEIU national headquarters paid 583 employees in 2020, 295 of whom were paid six figures. SEIU’s International President, Mary Kay Henry, was paid $297,126.

SEIU national headquarters’ most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.