$86K for Plane Trips, $60K for Hotel Stays, $50K for Jesse Jackson: Labor Leader Used Union Funds as ‘Unlimited Piggy Bank,’ Report Finds
9th April 2025
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.