Illinois union struggles to keep members after Supreme Court rul

[Valin]

Washington Examiner:

Sean Higgins

4/15/16

 

The Supreme Court's 2014 ruling in Harris v. Quinn has been a body blow to the labor organization at the heart of that case, SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana.

 

New Labor Department filings show that it has lost 8,000 dues-paying members and $4 million in revenue since the justices' decision, which held that that state-subsidized homecare providers could no longer be forced to support the union. Without that power, it is losing its grip over its members.

 

The federal filings show that the union went from 64,000 dues-paying members in 2014 to 56,000 at the end of last year. Over the same period, membership dues declined from $37 million to $32 million. Overall, the union's revenue fell from $44 million to $40 million.

 

The situation may get worse for the union, whose contract to represent the state-funded home careworkers expired last year. It has not been able to negotiate a new contract with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, who is proposing to cut state spending across the board to address an estimated $6.9 billion budget deficit.

 

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