At its 2008 convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, SEIU approved Constitutional Amendment 317. Among other things, this amendment to Article XV of SEIU’s constitution imposes a financial penalty on union locals that fail to meet fundraising targets for SEIU’s political action committee.1
In other words, if union members don’t want to contribute their money to support SEIU’s political agenda, SEIU will simply take it. The “local union funds” referred to here are, after all, generated from workers’ dues. However, this provision of the SEIU constitution may be in violation of U.S. law.2
Why would SEIU’s leadership risk violating federal law to pry workers’ money out of their unwilling hands? It may be that the vast amounts of money SEIU has pledged to spend on politics requires such draconian tactics.3
SEIU has even set as aside a $10 million retribution fund for the 2010 cycle, to be used to launch primary campaigns against any member of Congress who fails to back SEIU’s agenda.4 SEIU members have to hope that the Department of Justice defends their rights, since SEIU’s leadership doesn’t mind flouting the law to violate them.
1Constitutional Amendments and Resolutions Adopted at the 2008 SEIU Convention, SEIU, 2008
22 U.S.C. § 441b(b)(3)(A)
3Emily Cadei and Karoun Demirjian, “Labor’s High Hopes Matched By Money,” Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 9/27/08
4SEIU press release, 5/8/08
