Background from the first article in this series:

Thousands of home-based health care providers have been forced into a union because they receive assistance from the state while they take care of loved ones who are disabled. The Service Employees International Union receives close to $6 million annually in forced dues from this abusive arrangement. 

House Bill 4003 would end this injustice by clarifying that Michiganders who care for relatives in their own homes are not government employees, and hence are not appropriate targets for government unions. That bill has passed the House but is stuck in the Senate. While we wait for the Senate to act, the SEIU continues to siphon money that was meant to help families.

Here's one example of where that money might be going, drawn from the SEIU's 2010 LM-2 report.

The Atlas Project received more than 40 different payments from the Service Employees International Union totaling $728,390 in 2010. Nearly all of these transactions were described as political, although a handful were treated as overhead or union administration.

The Atlas Project claims to have been "putting progressives on the path to victory by being the central hub for voter and elections data." Among the services it provides is an "online toolkit" that assembles election results, polling data and local media on a congressional district or county level. The company's clientele is overwhelmingly connected to the Democratic Party or various left-of-center groups; the website touts testimonials from representatives of the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Iowa Democratic Party, Obama for America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Emily's List and the Sierra Club.

SEIU would appear to be especially pleased with its investment in the Atlas Project; its chief of staff is quoted saying that "I think of Atlas as our roadmap for winning: it provides us with a high quality set of strategic products that allows us to succeed at the ballot box and on Capitol Hill."

The Atlas Project is one of many groups that Michiganders are being forced to support with funds that are supposed to go to people with disabilities and their families.

Tomorrow: Change.org

Previously:

Clean Economy Development Center

Change That Works

Applied Research Center

Brave New Foundation

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