‘Whatever George needs, they find the money to do it,’ staffer tells Politico
The head of the nation’s largest health care union “has for years used the politically influential union’s funds to benefit himself, his family and political allies,” Politico reported after reviewing thousands of pages of financial records and interviewing more than 20 current and former union staffers.
George Gresham, president of the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, spent more than $60,000 in union funds on hotel stays, meals, and transportation for his daughter to accompany him as a caregiver on business trips, according to Politico. The union also paid over $86,000 for Gresham’s flights to South Africa and $17,000 for his extended stay at a Bronx hotel—even though he owns a home nearby and earns a $300,000 annual salary.
“Whatever George needs, they find the money to do it,” one union employee told Politico, while a former staffer said that “it was clear I wasn’t supposed to ask questions about a whole bunch of stuff.” Another staffer said that, unlike Gresham, “our members don’t get an unlimited piggy bank where they can just tap it anytime they need something.” Nearly all of the interviewed staffers requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by Gresham and his allies, Politico reported.
The bombshell revelations come as unions nationwide grapple with record-low membership and growing internal unrest. Gresham’s union, which represents around 450,000 health care workers on the East Coast, is facing its first competitive leadership election in decades as critics look to oust Gresham, who has been president for nearly 20 years.
Gresham, according to Politico‘s report, tapped union funds to send $50,000 to former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, who has long expressed anti-Semitic views, to help cover Jackson’s medical bills. The union later framed the payment as a business expense, though it remains unclear how the money was used.
The labor leader has also used two union staffers as personal drivers and errand runners, with expenses often approved by union officials only retroactively. The union funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into concerts that coincided with Gresham’s annual family reunions, while his son was paid to perform at multiple union events.
Meanwhile, Gresham regularly “shows up late to meetings, often logging on virtually while hooked up to a dialysis machine, then falls asleep in the middle of them,” Politico reported.
Union spokesman Bryn Lloyd-Bollard dismissed “allegations of financial impropriety” as “categorically false.”
“Our expenditures are vetted and normal for an organization of our size and scope,” Lloyd-Bollard said, “and to suggest otherwise is a misreading and cherry-picking of our Union’s financial records or based on falsehoods.” Lloyd-Bollard declined Politico‘s request to interview Gresham or the union’s chief financial officer, Lucy Chen.
