SEIU Illinois spends just 3% of members’ money representing workers

The Illinois state affiliate of the Service Employees International Union collected over $3 million in dues from members in 2024. It spent just $57,000 of that representing them. Politics and overhead were the union’s priorities.

The Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council took in over $3 million in member dues in 2024 but just 3% of its spending was on representing workers.

Shouldn’t representing members be the main thing a union spends member money on?

The SEIU Illinois State Council is divided into local affiliates: SEIU Healthcare, SEIU Local 1 and SEIU Local 73. If a worker is a member of one of those locals, he or she is automatically a member of the state affiliate.

And while members pay dues to their local affiliates, they are also funding the SEIU Illinois State Council. The state council took in over $3 million in member dues in 2024.

So, if the SEIU Illinois State Council isn’t spending its members’ money on representation, how is it spending it?

On politics.

In fact, it spent nearly 26 times more on politics and contributions than it did on representing workers in 2024.

That could be why tens of thousands of workers represented by SEIU are choosing not to be members. Interested in opting out of the union? Here’s what you need to know.

Just 3% of SEIU Illinois State Council spending was on representing employees in 2024

The SEIU Illinois State Council’s most recent report shows it spent little last year on “representational activities,” which should be the main focus of a union. The U.S. Department of Labor defines representational activities as including the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement and the administration and enforcement of the resulting contract.

The SEIU Illinois State Council spent over $1.8 million in 2024. Of that, just over $57,000 was on representing members. That’s just 3% of its total spending.

But it spent nearly $1.2 million – or 65% of its total spending – on “political activities and lobbying.” The rest went to administration, overhead and other priorities set by the union’s bosses.

To put this in perspective, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance states at least 65% of a nonprofit’s total expenses should be used for program activities. The SEIU Illinois State Council has this backwards: 97% on politics and administration; just 3% on representing its members.

While the Wise Giving Alliance evaluates spending by charities, it stands to reason the SEIU Illinois State Council’s spending of just 3% on representation should be a cause for concern among members.

The SEIU Illinois State Council spent nearly 26 times more on politics and contributions than it did on representing workers

The SEIU Illinois State Council’s federal report revealed its true priorities were political action and funding outside entities.

It spent nearly $1.2 million on “political activities and lobbying.” The largest recipient was the SEIU Illinois Council PAC, the union’s political action committee, which received $568,500. From there, members have no say about the political causes and candidates that money supports.

But the union also spent nearly $279,000 in other contributions, gifts and grants, which can be political in nature. For example, it funneled $7,500 to Equality Illinois, an organization that works to defeat bills limiting girls’ sports to biological females, an issue that has been polarizing to many Illinoisans.

Altogether, the SEIU Illinois State Council spent nearly 26 times more on politics and contributions than it did on representing workers. That wasn’t a one-time political spending spree. The SEIU Illinois State Council routinely spends exponentially more on politics and contributions than it does on representing workers.

Regardless of a member’s personal leanings, SEIU’s politically motivated spending runs counter to the organization’s purpose of representing workers on core issues of wages and working conditions. And the extreme discrepancy between its political spending and its spending on workers reveals the best interest of members is at the bottom of the union’s priority list.

Tens of thousands of workers represented by SEIU have chosen not to be members of the union

State and local government workers represented by SEIU have a choice: they can opt out of the union and stop paying dues. And it appears tens of thousands of workers represented by SEIU are exercising that right.

The SEIU Illinois State Council claims to represent 150,000 members. Yet it’s most recent report to the U.S. Department of Labor states it has just under 125,000 members. That means more than 25,000 workers – or nearly 17% – have rejected union membership.

It’s no wonder. The SEIU Illinois State Council collected over $3 million in dues from workers in 2024 yet spent just $57,000 representing them.

Importantly, state and local government workers who opt out of union membership retain their jobs and all benefits negotiated by the union. That includes wage increases and other benefits.

Learn more about opting out of the union and obtain the relevant paperwork at LeaveMyUnion.com.