Home Caregivers, Alleging Fraud, Push to Decertify Union That Represents Them
ST. PAUL, Minn.—When the union representative came to her door last month, Mary Barton invited the cheerful young woman in because she seemed friendly, and it was raining.
But about two weeks ago, that visit to her home somehow led to $27.90 in union dues being deducted from Barton’s benefit check as a home caregiver to her disabled daughter.
“She never said anything about [union] membership, and she just said we would like your support,” Barton told The Daily Signal, describing the visit by the union rep who gave her name as Yuliya.
Now, Barton and her husband Mike are warning other caregivers in Minnesota’s Twin Cities region not to fall for the same tactics.
They support efforts by lawyers working with other caregivers to decertify the union, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union called SEIU Healthcare Minnesota.
Mary Barton is a personal care assistant for the couple’s 20-year-old disabled daughter, Catherine.
The Daily Signal is not using the family’s real names for this report because of their concern of being harassed by the union.
The Bartons live in a southern suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul that has been the focus of SEIU Healthcare’s efforts to recruit members from among personal care assistants, or PCAs as they …read more