California union caught forging signatures

Samuel Han
December 11, 2017

Last week, I received a disturbing call. An IHSS provider heard about the opportunity to opt out and promptly told her union (SEIU 2015) she wanted out.

If only the story ended there.

Representatives from SEIU 2015 informed her she couldn’t. She had signed the union membership card, she was told, and had to remain a dues paying member until the 15-day window of her anniversary date of membership.

There’s only one problem. She never signed a card.

When she complained, the union responded by showing her a membership card with her signature.

Except it wasn’t hers. The signature was forged.

Thankfully, she has spoken with several attorneys and is ready to file a claim in small claims court against SEIU 2015.

Her story is unfortunately not unique.

When a caregiver wants out of the union, it’s up to him or her to notify the union and request to opt out. SEIU 2015 gets around this by collecting signature cards from members when they join.

They’ll call and harass these members until they sign.

And if they don’t, well, forgery is always an option. It certainly was for SEIU 2015.

The Freedom Foundation has invested significant resources into its litigation and legal counsel. We have a team of attorneys who handle cases like these across Washington, Oregon and now California. In California, we recently won a case for a homecare provider who wanted to opt out of her union. The union ended up settling her case and gave back her dues and her freedom.

You can read more of her story here

If you or someone you know have experienced a similar problem, let us know—we are happy to help. If you just want to opt out of your union, you can go to OptOutToday.com.

- California, Labor

Samuel Han

California Director

Samuel Han is the California director at the Freedom Foundation. He directly oversees the Freedom Foundation’s newest expansion into California with the goal of holding local and state governments accountable to citizens and not beholden to the interests of public-sector unions. He previously worked as the district director for a conservative Assembly member in the heart of Orange County. Sam was instrumental in leading the district outreach operation, which received high marks from the California Republican Assembly Caucus. Sam was also recognized by The Korea Times in its 44th commemorative issue as a “Future Leader in Politics” and has been quoted in several major publications regarding his views on local government, including National Public Radio, World Magazine, and the Korean Times. Sam is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, with a degree in management science. He has also completed a Business Certificate Program from the Harvard Business School and was an MBA Fellow at UCLA. He and his wife reside in Fullerton, Calif., and enjoy spending time with their son and serving at their local church.