Michigan Mom Caring for Disabled Son Speaks Out Against Proposed Union: “They’re Making Promises They Can’t Keep

Home caregivers in Michigan face renewed efforts to unionize, raising questions about rights, pay, and political influence.

Tammy Martin’s life is dedicated to caring for her son, Nathan, who was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease at just three years old. Now 25, Nathan requires constant ICU-level care, including IV medications, oxygen, and a ventilator. A former nurse, Tammy left her career nearly two decades ago to care for both Nathan and her daughter, who also suffered from the same condition before passing away at 20. Through Michigan’s Medicaid waiver program, Tammy receives modest aid dollars to help cover the cost of caring for her son at home, care that would otherwise cost the state thousands per day in a hospital setting.

But now, Tammy fears she may lose part of that already limited support. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has re-entered Michigan, attempting to unionize home caregivers like Tammy. Under a controversial arrangement previously dismantled in 2013 and now reinstated under new state law, the SEIU can unionize Medicaid-paid home caregivers—even when those caregivers are family members tending to loved ones at home.

Support my independent journalism by donating today by becoming a paid subscriber if you haven’t already. I rely on paid subscribers to keep doing what I do.

Tammy calls it a “discredited dues skim scheme” and recalls her mother’s experience when she was placed into the SEIU without consent while caring for Tammy’s cognitively impaired aunt. “She never saw any benefits, no pay increase, and couldn’t even get out of the union,” Tammy said. “They just took money from her check every month.”

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy in which I work for, which has fought against the arrangement, calls the practice a “fictitious employment relationship” that allows SEIU to siphon dues from aid money without providing meaningful representation or benefits. According to the Mackinac Center, union dues cost Michigan caregivers $34 million before the practice was ruled illegal in 2012.

In contrast, the SEIU defends its actions, stating on its website that Michigan caregivers “won the fight to restore their rights to form their union and improve care for seniors and those with disabilities.” The union argues that organizing helps win better pay, training, and support for an essential, undervalued workforce.

But Tammy isn’t buying it. “They’re making promises they can’t deliver,” she said. “No union rep can train me to care for my son. I’ve done it for 25 years.” While caregivers can opt out of the union under the 2018 Supreme Court ruling Janus v. AFSCME, Tammy worries that the process may be complicated by bureaucratic roadblocks.

Her advice to other caregivers? “Do your research before signing anything. This is about your family—not politics.”