Billionaire tax backers burn big money on retreats, out-of-state political efforts and breathing coach

One of California’s biggest healthcare unions defied Gov. Gavin Newsom by placing a billionaire tax on the ballot this fall, arguing the rich need to pay a bigger share to offset federal cuts to hospitals and emergency rooms — but records show the labor organization isn’t exactly hard up for cash.

The Post’s review of federal records found that officials for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West burned millions on an out-of-state political effort as well as dues on travel, conferences and beachfront retreats — all while paying nearly $235,000 to a “clarity coach” who appeared in a series of low-budget mindfulness videos on Instagram.

SEIU-UHW has emerged as the driving force behind a November ballot initiative that would impose a one-time tax on billionaires to help hospitals and emergency rooms weather President Trump’s cuts to Medicaid funding.

But the union’s latest financial disclosures — filed with the U.S. Department of Labor — offer a glimpse into how its own members’ dues were spent last year, including conferences and retreats in Puerto Rico, Redondo Beach and San Diego.

Among the largest consulting expenses was $234,804 paid to Dr. Joi K. Madison through 14 separate transactions in 2025. The filing identifies every payment simply as compensation for an “independent contractor,” without describing the work performed.

Madison, who holds doctoral and master’s degrees, has appeared in a series of short “Mindful Minute” videos posted to the union’s Instagram account, sometimes racking up as many as a few dozen likes. Several videos appear to have been filmed during the same recording session, with Madison wearing the same outfit in clips released days or weeks apart.

In one video, Madison — who did not respond to requests for comment — urges healthcare workers to pause, breathe and “feel the floor” beneath them. Other clips guide viewers through gratitude exercises, breathing techniques and meditation intended to reduce stress.

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“After all the time and money the SEIU spent promoting ‘tax the rich’ policies, it’s nice to see union leaders rewarding themselves with Goop-style breathing classes,” said Charlyce Bozzello, communications director for the Center for Union Facts, a watchdog group that scrutinizes organized labor spending.

“It must be hard work spending members’ dues on luxury hotel stays and meditation classes.”

SEIU-UHW rejected that characterization, saying Madison was retained to provide leadership development, executive coaching and organizational training. Meanwhile, union officials defended the trips and retreats as part of its democratic governance meetings that sometimes require input from hundreds of voting members.

Records show SEIU-UHW spent $17,634 to send a 20-person delegation to the national SEIU Latino Caucus conference at Puerto Rico’s Caribe Hilton, a beachfront hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Another $171,612 was spent on a three-day all-staff retreat at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, a conference center tucked among Monterey cypress trees and coastal dunes overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Federal records also show $80,669 spent on a Hospital Division retreat at the Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina overlooking King Harbor and $110,945 for a three-day executive board meeting at San Diego’s Town and Country Resort.

Separate executive board meetings at the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport and Oakland Marriott City Center added another $1.24 million to the union’s hotel bill.

Southwest Airlines also received roughly $1.38 million in payments during the year.

“Let’s be serious: a $109-per-person hotel room is not the French Laundry, and Southwest is not a private jet,” SEIU-UHW communications director Nathan Selzer said, invoking Gov. Gavin Newsom’s infamous dinner at the Michelin three-star Napa Valley restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Selzer argued that the conferences reflected the ordinary costs of operating a $130 million statewide union representing roughly 120,000 healthcare workers, with many attendees splitting hotel rooms to reduce costs.

According to the union, the Asilomar retreat brought together 316 employees, who shared double-occupancy rooms costing about $109 per person per night. The Hospital Division retreat hosted 75 participants, while the executive board meeting in San Diego drew 414 elected leaders, with expenses covering lodging, meals, meeting space, audiovisual production and other logistics.

Records show the union has prioritized political spending and lobbying with more than $12.5 million in expenses last year, while “representational activities” like negotiating contracts and working conditions accounted for more than $56.5 million. Dave Regan, the president of SEIU-UHW and mastermind behind the billionaire tax, reported total compensation of more than $394,000 last year, according to the federal filing.

Officials said the conferences and retreats accounted for less than 2% of spending.

However, the union also contributed at least $2.75 million last year to the Fairness Project, a national organization that backs ballot initiatives, and in one instance, the union abandoned a signature gathering effort in Arizona after paying more than $1.8 million to FieldWorks.

The disclosures come as SEIU-UHW pours millions into the California Billionaire Tax Act, arguing the state’s wealthiest residents should help keep hospitals, trauma centers and emergency rooms afloat following federal Medicaid cuts.

Newsom has argued billionaires should pay more, but the governor said on Tuesday that California cannot effectively impose its own wealth tax because wealthy residents would simply relocate. Billionaires opposing the state wealth tax include Chris Larsen, Peter Thiel, Ron Conway and Sergey Brin, the last of whom is organizing a competing ballot measure that has raised tens of millions.

“You can’t tax something that’s left [the state],” Newsom said at a news conference, calling a California-only wealth tax “a race to the bottom.”

Instead, Newsom is calling for federal tax reforms targeting billionaires, saying the nation’s tax code allows the ultra-wealthy to borrow against their assets, pass along vast fortunes and pay lower effective tax rates than many working Americans.

“I believe there should be progressive taxes at the federal level,” Newsom said. “I believe what Warren Buffett said when he said that he should not be paying less taxes than his secretary.”

The rhetoric on both sides is almost certain to ratchet up ahead of November’s election.

“The real extravagance in California is billionaire wealth,” Seltzer said, “and no amount of manufactured outrage over healthcare workers traveling to do their jobs changes that.”

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