A new Michigan law turns home caregivers such as me into public employees — and allows public unions to take money from us.
A new Michigan law turns home caregivers such as me into public employees — and allows public unions to take money from us.
M ichigan has decided that it’s okay to steal from people such as me and my extremely sick son. That’s exactly what Democrats and their labor-union allies are about to do — and they’re doing it to elect more Democrats.
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer just signed a law that allows labor unions to target me for unionization. That’s strange, because I take care of my son 24/7. He was born with mitochondrial disease. He’s hooked up to an IV every minute of the day. He relies on a variety of medical equipment to maintain his quality of life and mobility, but he doesn’t get out much because of his medical fragility. It’s a miracle that he has made it to age 24. My daughter, who had the same condition, died at age 20.
Taking care of my son means I can’t work. Nathan can be left with his dad or another caregiver only for short stretches of time, when his pumps are all set and running. I can’t be more than 20 minutes away in case there’s a problem. Thankfully, through a federal program, I get a check each month to help us make ends meet. It isn’t much — about $2,000. But every little bit helps me put food on the table, pay our family’s bills, and keep my son as comfortable as possible. I don’t know what I’d do without that money.
But Democrats and labor unions are eyeing it. Michigan’s newly passed law will officially make me a “public employee.” At that point, the Service Employees International Union can unionize me and the roughly 35,000 Michiganders who are in a position similar to mine, caring for their loved ones. We’ll have to pay dues to the union, and that’s the point. The SEIU will turn around and spend that money trying to elect the very same Democrats who let the union steal from me and my son.
Politics is usually self-serving, but I’ve never seen a more blatant case of “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” Sick, disabled, and vulnerable families such as mine are caught in the middle. Michigan’s new law is wrong: I’m not a public employee. And I’m certainly not a political pawn or an ATM for special interests. I’m a mother desperately trying to keep my son alive.
Unions say they look out for the little guy. Well, guess what? My son and I are the little guys, and the SEIU isn’t looking out for us. If I’m forced to pay dues, I will get absolutely nothing from the union in return.
That’s right: Nothing. Unions are supposed to bargain with my employer, but, under the new law, my son is technically my employer. The union isn’t going to get me bigger benefits or vacation time. Just the opposite: It will take money from me — every single month. And, to repeat: It will use that money to elect Democrats such as those who passed the law in the first place.
My family has been through this madness before. In the 2000s, Michigan Democrats enacted this same self-serving policy. At the time, my mom was taking care of my aunt, who had severe cognitive impairment. Every month, the union took money from her while giving her nothing in return. Thankfully, Michigan Republicans repealed that law in the early 2010s. When I became a full-time caregiver in 2015, I thought my family and I would always be safe from this blatant partisan theft.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. This year alone, the SEIU is spending $200 million to elect their Democratic allies. Thanks to Michigan’s new law, they will be able to spend even more in the future. While they say they’re looking out for me and my son, the truth is they’re protecting their power at our expense.
It’s already hard enough to take care of my son. By letting unions steal from people like me, Democrats are making life even harder.