Paper: SEIU's Price Paid For Fight For $15 Campaign? $70 Million

On April 14th, the SEIU is planning another day of fast-food “strikes” as poart of its multi-year campaign to unionize the fast-food industry.

While other sources have pegged the SEIU’s campaign having cost the union more than $80 million, the Waterbury Republican American, reports that the SEIU’s “Fight for $15 and a union” has cost the union $70 million since 2012—and $20 million of that was in 2015.

When the Fight for $15 hosts its “Day of Action for Worker Justice” on Thursday, the picket signs might as well have “SEIU” written all over them in big letters.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has been pulling the strings for a $15 minimum wage from the start. According to the SEIU’s filings with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released at the end of March, the labor union spent roughly $20 million on the Fight for $15 in 2015. That brings the estimated total up to around $70 million since the campaign began in 2012.

Of course, whether it’s 70 million or higher, it is the SEIU’s current members’ dues who are footing the bill on a venture that may have a great return on investment for SEIU’s coffers, but may not have much ROI for members personally.
Related:

• Some Super-Sized Union Dues: The SEIU stands to rake in billions by unionizing fast-food workers