SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW)

SEIU-UHW advocates for left-of-center policies and ballot measures within the state of California, such as a 2026 “billionaire tax” ballot proposal that would impose a 5 percent wealth tax on California residents with a net worth of more than $1 billion. ^{3 4}

Background

SEIU United Healthcare Workers West is a state-level “mega-local” ⁵ union for nurses and other healthcare workers in California including employees for Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health, Sutter Health, Tenet, Prime Healthcare, and Verity Health. ^{1 6}

It is designated as a local union (Local 2005) of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is a member of the SEIU California State Council. It is also affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the California Labor Federation, and the Strategic Organizing Center (formerly known as Change to Win). ^{1 2}

History

Formation

SEIU-UHW was founded in 2005 as a merger between Service Employees international Union (SEIU) health care union locals 250 and 399, which were located in northern and southern California respectively. ⁷

The merger followed pushback between Justice for Janitors campaign activists and Local 399 healthcare worker members for influence within the union. Beforehand, deliberations between the two led to the entire elected leadership to be removed in 1996 by the national SEIU while installing an appointed trustee. ^{8 9}

The SEIU national branch eventually moved the Los Angeles-based Justice for Janitors workers out of Local 399 and into the San Francisco-based Local 1877. This eventually led to the creation of the SEIU-UHW in 2005 and later the SEIU United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW) in 2010. ^{10 7 9}

Pushback between SEIU and NUHW

In 2009, internal pushback between union members led to then-SEIU international president Andy Stern dismissing then-SEIU-UHW president Sal Rosselli and 100 other officials, installing trustees to manage the chapter in their place. ¹¹

Following his ouster from SEIU-UHW, Rosselli formed the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which later competed with SEIU-UHW for membership. Resulting elections became subject to controversy, due to allegations of intimidation and threats of violence by SEIU-UHW activists, eventually leading to the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) filing charges against the union. The SEIU has denied the allegations. ^{11 12 13 14}

Leadership

Dave Regan is the president of SEIU-UHW, serving in the role since 2009 when he was appointed to the position by then-SEIU president Andy Stern to replace Sal Rosselli when Rosselli and several local union officials were ousted that year. As of 2025, he is also a national vice president of the SEIU. ¹⁵ He was formerly the president of SEIU District 1199WV/KY/OH prior to his appointment with SEIU-UHW. Regan was later reelected as president of SEIU-UHW in 2011. ^{16 15}

In 2024, the SEIU-UHW reported to have paid Regan a total of $420,263 in compensation. ¹⁷

Controversies

Allegations of Violence

In 2016, SEIU-UHW president Dave Regan was accused of pushing a process server down the steps of his home and attempting to intimidate police officers who responded to the incident. ¹⁸ A CBS San Francisco report on the incident described Regan as being “known in union circles for his sometimes combative behavior.” ¹⁸

In 2018, California State Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) reported an alleged physical assault by Regan to the legislature’s Rules Committee. Bloom claimed that Regan had shoved him at a Sacramento restaurant, which Regan’s representatives denied. ¹⁹

Sexual Misconduct Allegations

In 2018, the SEIU-UHW and union president Dave Regan were sued by union staffer Mindy Sturge, who claimed the union’s leadership “fostered a discriminatory workplace” that included “offensive touching.” ²⁰ Following the allegations, SEIU-UHW union member Njoke Woods was interviewed by the Payday Report and supported Sturge’s claims. Woods would later be fired by the union, leading to her filing a suit against Regan for defamation. Payday Report writer Mike Elk would later claim that his story with Woods was originally commissioned by The Guardian but had been halted following pressure from the national SEIU. ^{21 22}

In January 2020, the SEIU-UHW settled Sturge’s lawsuit on undisclosed terms while announcing revised internal policies for reporting sexual harassment. ²³

COVID-19 Mask Scam

In March 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, the SEIU-UHW announced it had a supply of roughly 39 million N95 face masks which it had purchased from a supplier in Kuwait and would make available for healthcare workers in California and others for purchase. Following an investigation into potentially seizing the mask supply under the Defense Production Act, it was determined that the mask supply was fake and had been a scam between an Australian broker and supplier from Kuwait. ²⁴

Activism

According to its website, the SEIU-UHW’s states that “Politics affects everything we do.” ²⁵ The union has previously lobbied the California state legislature and other state government bodies to promote pro-union policies such as increased state funding for health care programs, staffing mandates for health care providers, and minimum wage increases for health care workers. ²⁵

Its website also asserts, “In SEIU UHW’s fight for Healthcare Justice, we cannot ignore that there will never be Healthcare Justice without Racial Justice.” ²⁶

California Ballot Initiatives

The SEIU-UHW union chapter has previously advocated in favor of ballot measures to push left-of-center polices within the state of California, with union president Dave Regan previously calling them “the best bargain in American politics.” ^{27 28}  In an interview with CalMatters, UC Berkeley Labor Center chair Ken Jacobs claimed that Regan was “fond of ballot initiatives as a tool for both moving policy and gaining leverage in an industry. ²⁹

During the 2024 election cycle, the SEIU-UHW unsuccessfully opposed a California state ballot measure to re-classified lower drug offenses as “treatment-mandated felonies” which would reverse a 2014 ballot measure that had classified several nonviolent drug and property crimes as misdemeanors. ³⁰

In 2018, the union backed a defeated ballot measure that would require dialysis clinics to provide refunds to patients or their payers “for revenue above 115 percent of the costs of direct patient care and healthcare improvements.” ³¹

In 2020, the union backed another defeated ballot measure that would require state dialysis clinics to always have an on-site physician while patients were undergoing treatment. ³²

Arizona Ballot Initiatives

In 2022, the SEIU-UHW supported a Arizona-state ballot measure campaign to pass Proposition 209 which would place a cap interest rates on health care debt in the state. The measure would pass in November 2022. ³³

In 2020, the union supported an advocacy campaign to place an initiative on the 2020 election ballot that would implement a near-$15 minimum wage for hospital workers in the state. The initiative was ruled to not appear on the ballot after failing to gain enough signatures and the state Supreme Court disqualifying several petition circulators. ³⁴

Michigan Ballot Initiative

In 2018, the SEIU-UHW supported Michigan Proposal 2, a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to transfer the power of drawing legislative districts from state legislatures to an independent state commission. The measure would pass in November 2018. ³⁵

California Billionaire Wealth Tax Campaign

As of 2026, the SEIU-UHW has announced its support for a “California Billionaire Tax Act” initiative on the 2026 state election ballot. The measure was developed with assistance by UC Berkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez. If passed, the proposal would charge a one-time five percent tax on the assets of California residents with a net worth of more than $1 billion, while directing 90 percent of tax revenues collected towards the state’s health care system and 10 percent to food assistance programs. ^{3 36}

In a December 2025 letter sent to California state Attorney General Rob Bonta by the state legislature’s “Legislative Analyst’s Office,” the tax revenue collected from such a proposal could eventually lead to long-term losses towards funding non-healthcare services in the state. ³⁷ That same month, an analysis released by the state Attorney General’s office claimed that the tax could also be placed on “businesses, securities, art, collectibles, and intellectual property, but exclude real property and some pensions and retirement accounts.” ³⁸

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has made several comments criticizing the ballot measure proposal as well as the SEIU-UHW. In December 2025, at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit Newsome criticized union president Dave Regan by stating “We have one individual that represents one labor union in the state of California that has not collected one signature that is considering putting on the ballot, after he collects signatures, a wealth tax that the vast majority of labor opposes, and almost everyone I know opposes.” ³⁹ During a January 2026 interview with Politico, Newsom stated “The impacts are very real…That’s not what we need right now, at a time of so much uncertainty. Quite the contrary.” ³⁶ That same month, Newsom gave another interview with Politico stating that the proposal “makes no sense,” and would be, “really damaging to the state.” ⁴⁰

If passed in November 2026, the tax would apply to those who were residents of California as of January 1, 2026. ⁴¹  In January 2026, a report by the Washington Post alleged how executives for technology start-up companies and other tech firms were concerned that such a tax would force them to sell enough stake that could lead to them losing control of said companies. One interviewee, startup incubator Y Combinator CEO Gary Tan, claimed that the tax, if passed, could “kill and eat the golden goose of technology start-ups in California.” ⁴² As of February 2026, several billionaires and executives that have allegedly prepared to end their state residency over the tax include Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, and Oracle co-founder and CTO Larry Ellison. DoorDash co-founder and CTO Andy Fang was also interviewed and claimed, “Stupid wealth tax proposals like this make it irresponsible for me not to plan leaving the state. ⁴³

In early 2026, SEIU-UHW began organizing a statewide campaign to qualify the California Billionaire Tax Act for the ballot. The union approved an initial $25 million in funding for the initiative and related ballot efforts, and reported recruiting thousands of volunteers along with paid petition circulators to collect the roughly 875,000 signatures required for ballot qualification in California. ⁴⁴

Finances

Most of SEIU-UHW’s revenues is comprised of dues collected from union members. In 2024, $140,217,922 of the union’s $145,891,399 in total revenues came from member dues and fees. ¹⁷

According to its 2024 tax return, SEIU-UHW disclosed that in August that year it noted that $1,945,000 had been “fraudulently misappropriated from the local” though “a criminal email phishing scheme.” The union wrote that it had recovered a total of $786,536 as of the filing date of its 990, which was signed by SEIU-UHW’s vice president Stanley Lyles on November 14, 2025. ⁴⁵