Anti-labor group calls out SEIU for pattern of workplace misconduct: report

An anti-organized labor group is calling out the powerful Service Employees International Union over an alleged pattern of workplace misconduct that has led its membership to shrink by more than half over a 10-year period.

The Center for Union Facts released a report on Monday finding that union members have lost confidence in the organization following a series of sexual harassment allegations, corruption convictions and union-busting accusations.

The group rolled out a media campaign the same day, purchasing a TV commercial and a billboard in Times Square that read “Who’s America’s Worst Boss?”

The sign featured pictures of SEIU President Mary Kay Henry alongside comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres and pop star Lizzo — both of whom have had workplace complaints lodged against them.

Several male leaders at the union have received promotions in recent years despite being accused of harassment, according to the group’s report.

SEIU kept at least five of the men on their payroll, paid some legal fees and let an affiliate rehire a sixth man after an internal investigation found him responsible for a sexual assault claim, the group showed, citing court records and articles from the labor watchdog Payday Report.

A female employee at the SEIU Union of Healthcare Workers, Njoki Woods, also accused the union of retaliation in 2020, when it sued her for allegedly bringing a sexual assault allegation to light.

Woods appears to still be employed by the union, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The Center for Union Facts also drew attention to 15 federal and state corruption charges brought against SEIU since 2005, including counts theft, felony tax fraud, bribery and wire fraud.

Last year, for example, a former Washington, DC, union officer was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling $503,600 from SEIU for personal expenses such as travel, furniture, watches, clothing and video games.

The union has also been roiled in recent years by allegations of delaying contract negotiations and refusing to come to the bargaining table with members of local chapters and subordinate staff.

One worker accused an HR manager of an SEIU California chapter of driving her pickup truck through a picket line in 2022 as 130 of its members went on strike.

“She hit me and I practically rode her hood for 25 yards. I felt like I was running on ice,” Alex Sanchez of SEIU Local 2015 told The Real News Network. “If I would have taken a slip, she would have ran me over.” 

The staff union currently leading efforts to organize employees at Starbucks franchises nationwide also accused SEIU of trying to bust them amid pay negotiations — a claim the union has brought against the coffee chain.

Many union members have taken to the workplace review website Glassdoor.com to share their grievances, the report noted, with one sharing they felt “treated like trash.”

“I was routinely instructed to break the law as a course of my work, from trespassing to property destruction,” another said.

“Totally devoid of credible leadership, both senior staff and elected,” said a third.

Still ohers alleged racial discrimination in hiring practices.

Between 2009 and 2019, SEIU also lost more than 50% of its unionized employees, Splinter News first reported, which the Center for Union Fact attributed to its poor workplace culture and union-busting tactics.

“The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is one of the largest labor unions in the country, but could it also be one of the worst employers?” the group said in the executive summary of its report.

“A deep look at the SEIU reveals a union where employees are subject to union busting, sexual harassment, and a toxic workplace that provides little work-life balance.”

SEIU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.