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   XPost: alt.politics.republicans, sac.politics   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   The man who could make or break California’s future isn’t Gavin Newsom or   
   Donald Trump — but a powerful union boss many fear is hell-bent on driving   
   $1 trillion in wealth from the state.   
      
   Dave Regan, who’s been the head of the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West   
   since 2011, wants billionaires to pay 5% of their wealth to the the state.   
      
   But the widely-panned tax already has some of the wealthiest Californians   
   — facing staggering tax bills as high as $12 billion — seriously   
   considering packing their bags for cheaper states.   
      
   ave Regan is head of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, the union   
   pushing the controversial billionaire tax.   
   youtube/@SEIU-UHW   
      
   The proposed tax, which needs 874,641 signatures to land on the November   
   ballot, would impose a one-time, 5% tax on the total assets of   
   approximately 200 billionaires in California.   
      
   According to proponents, the tax would raise up to $100 billion in tax   
   revenue over five years   
      
   While supporters claim the one-off tax would raise $100 billion over about   
   five years, it’s also widely predicted to drive an exodus of entrepreneurs   
   responsible for tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in tax   
   revenue.   
      
   Regan has a reputation as a bare-knuckled operator known for pushing   
   statewide ballot measures as political leverage — and even Newsom hinted   
   at frustration with his tactics last year.   
      
   “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,” Newsom griped in December at the New York   
   Times Dealbook conference, speaking of the billionaire tax.   
      
   It’s not Regan’s first rodeo pushing a divisive voter initiative — a   
   tactic he once called the “best bargain in politics.”   
      
   His progressive union has led the charge on vexing ballot questions like   
   whether to regulate the kidney dialysis industry — which California voters   
   rejected three times in a row —along with others, like a $15 minimum wage   
   proposal in 2015 that it pulled after legislators offered their own plan   
   to raise wages.   
      
   Dialysis corporations and their consultants were forced to spend over $110   
   million to defeat just one of the union’s ballot questions. And the labor   
   group claims credit for boosting wages, expanding Medicaid and improving   
   bankruptcy protections at the ballot box.   
      
   All told, the union representing 120,000 mostly healthcare workers has   
   spent $75 million on 45 initiatives since 2012 — the majority of which   
   were either rejected or tossed out, according to The Information.   
      
   The union denied that the controversial billionaire tax is a bid for   
   political leverage, rather a way to make up for the state healthcare and   
   education programs that have been cut by the Trump administration.   
      
   “The campaign is seeing broad support from voters for a one-time, 5% tax   
   on billionaires to close the gap on federal healthcare cuts in HR1. Voters   
   will have the chance to vote Yes on this ballot measure in November,” said   
   Nathan Selzer, spokesperson for SEIU-UHW.   
      
   “There is no other viable solution right now – within the state budget or   
   otherwise – to fill the funding gaps and chaos created by HR1,” he added,   
   referring to Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill that cut healthcare   
   funding.   
      
   Regan declined repeated interview requests.   
      
   “He’s an organizer. He’s not a big, flashy character,” Jim Ross, a   
   longtime California political consultant.   
      
   Regan, who led another SEIU chapter in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky   
   before landing in California, has ruffled feathers even within the labor   
   movement.   
      
   Regan was installed SEIU-UHW president after a contentious takeover that   
   involved firing “dozens of staffers” and sidelining more than 200 elected   
   stewards that he deemed disloyal, according to Payday Report.   
      
   Past allegations of misconduct by Regan resurfaced during a 2023 Senate   
   Judiciary Committee confirmation process, years after a California lawsuit   
   accusing union officials of widespread misconduct ended in a confidential   
   settlement.   
      
   The lawsuit, filed by former union staffer Mindy Sturge, described a toxic   
   workplace culture involving alcohol, sexual harassment and misconduct by   
   senior leaders, including Regan.   
      
   This was an 8-year-old lawsuit that was settled. Dave Regan was never a   
   defendant in the suit,” Selzer said.   
      
   The union claims it’s racking up major support for the billionaire tax —   
   as out-of-state allies like lefty Sen. Bernie Sanders stump in favor of   
   the plan.   
      
   “The support from labor, community allies, and voters around this   
   initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. The majority of endorsements   
   will be intentionally announced once signature gathering has been   
   completed,” Selzer said. “We have over 100 endorsements already and expect   
   hundreds more — most of which will be rolled out between April and   
   November.”   
      
   But critics say it’s already butchered the golden goose by driving as much   
   as $1 trillion in wealth out of California — crippling future tax   
   revenues.   
      
   The independent state Legislative Analyst wrote that the tax could raise   
   tens of billions in revenue — but result in an ongoing revenue loss of   
   “hundreds of millions of dollars or more per year.”   
      
   Billionaires including venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google co-   
   founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have taken steps to move assets out of   
   California after the tax was proposed.   
      
   Brin, who could be hit with a $12 billion bill if the billionaire tax   
   measure passes, gave $20 million to a group called Building a Better   
   California that is opposed to the tax, per reports.   
      
   Thiel, who could be on the hook for $1 billion in California taxes, moved   
   an office for his firm Thiel Capital to Miami last year in what was seen   
   as a move to dodge the tax.   
      
   Newsom and other mainstream Democrats have distanced themselves from the   
   billionaire tax, saying it goes too far.   
      
   “It’s really just one rogue guy on an island trying to steer money to his   
   special interest at the expense of everyone else,” said a source familiar   
   with the campaign.   
      
   https://nypost.com/2026/02/21/us-news/dave-regan-ca-union-boss-pushes-   
   divisive-billionaire-tax/   
      
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