Nation’s Second Largest Union “Prepares To Fight-Back Against” Trump’s “Extremist-Run Government”

zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden / Dec 27, 2016 6:35 PM

Republican control of all three branches of government in Washington DC has the nation’s second largest labor union worried about what a Trump administration might mean for their already declining membership and corresponding union dues.  In response, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) which represents nearly 2 million government, health care, and building-services workers and wields an annual budget of $300 million, has taken steps to slash its budget by 30% in an effort to hoard cash “to fight-back against” Trump’s “extremist-run government”.  Per an internal memo from SEIU President Mary Kay Henry reviewed by Bloomberg:

“Because the far right will control all three branches of the federal government, we will face serious threats to the ability of working people to join together in unions,” SEIU President Mary Kay Henry wrote in an internal memo dated December 14. “These threats require us to make tough decisions that allow us to resist these attacks and to fight forward despite dramatically reduced resources.” After citing the need to “dramatically re-think” how to implement the union’s strategy, Henry’s all-staff letter announces SEIU “must plan for a 30% reduction” in the international union’s budget by January 1, 2018, including a 10 percent cut effective at the start of 2017.

Asked about what the memo could mean for its current campaigns, SEIU didn’t offer specifics. “As we prepare to fight-back against the forthcoming attacks on working people and our communities under an extremist-run government, we know we must realign our resources and streamline our investments to buttress and broaden our movement to restore economic and democratic opportunity for all families,” said spokeswoman Sahar Wali. “As part of this process, we are currently looking at possible ways to improve our budgets.”

Of course, the SEIU is likely most worried about so-called “Right to Work” laws which allow workers the choice to decline paying fees to the unions that represent them.  But if unions are providing such a great service for their membership then shouldn’t workers to happy to pay their dues?

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