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SEIU wins election, will extract dues from all 32,000 Home Help workers October 11, 2025
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has won an election to represent Michigan's Home Help workers. Here's the email they sent announcing their victory:
Ballots were mailed to 32,000 Home Help workers. As the email says, it was the largest union election - anywhere - in years. Only 5,527 ballots were returned. 4,025 were for the union, 1502 against. Here are the official results.
Only 4,025 voted to be represented by SEIU, yet all 32,000 will have 2.5% of their pay - not to exceed $55 a month - deducted from their pay. The pay rate currently is $15.88 per hour. (source)
If you are not familiar with the Home Help program, here is the Home Help Program Handbook.
I have published three stories about SEIU's campaign to unionize Home Help workers:
The campaign was a huge scam on Home Help workers, made possible by the Whitmer administration.
SEIU will collect millions of dollars in dues and Home Help workers will get nothing in return. SEIU cannot negotiate better pay rates because the rate is set by the legislature. The program is Medicaid funded. Democrats managed to get legislation passed (Public Act 144) that makes the director of the Department of Health and Human Services the employer of all Home Help workers...for purposes of collective bargaining only. The actual employer, as the program handbook says repeatedly, is the person receiving care.
The MDHHS director has no control over Home Help pay rates.
Although the union won the election and 2.5% dues will soon be deducted from caregiver pay, there is a way out. It won't be easy, however. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that public-sector employees cannot be required to pay union fees. But caregivers should not waste time contacting their MDHHS adult services worker. Public Act 144 says a request to cancel deductions must be directed to the labor organization (SEIU) and not to the department (MDHHS). Until we have better information, all we have is a mailing address:
Michigan Home Care Workers United 2888 W. Grand Blvd Suite 350 Detroit, MI 48202
This story will be read by a couple dozen Home Help workers at most. The entire 32,000 needs to know how to cancel deductions. MDHHS pays Home Help workers with a check mailed monthly. Including instructions for cancelling deductions with the check seems to be the only way to reach all of them. Will MDHHS do the right thing?
Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text me at 517-730-2638. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.
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