Dallas, TX – Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe issued the following statement regarding the arrest of David Huerta, President of SEIU California:
“The left in general and country’s labor leaders in particular continue to misread the will of the people. Americans are solidly in favor of enforcing our sovereign borders and expelling as many as possible of the millions of lawbreakers who breached them with the tacit approval of the previous administration. David Huerta made no attempt to distance himself and his actions this past weekend from his role as SEIU’s California director. In fact, he first made sure to don his union T-shirt in order to make clear to everyone that he considers interfering with law enforcement one of his job responsibilities.”
“Even more brazenly, SEIU California uses member dues to fund at least two groups spearheading the protests — the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights and LA Rapid Response network. Unsurprisingly, state and national leftists quickly circled the wagons around Huerta because SEIU CA is the major funder of liberal causes and candidates in that state.”
“Meanwhile, SEIU CA and its affiliates siphon off millions of dollars every year from Medicaid, meaning that Medicaid is essentially bankrolling the protests in Los Angeles. Here’s a thought: Instead of arresting Huerta and the other lawbreaking protestors, why not just cut off their source of funding by prohibiting unions from plundering Medicaid?”
“Hundreds of thousands of government employees all over the country have exercised their First Amendment right to opt out of union membership and dues since it was affirmed in 2018 by the U.S. Supreme Court. And one of the primary factors behind this movement is their anger over unions that use confiscated dues money to promote a radical political agenda instead of representing the legitimate workplace concerns of their members.”
“SEIU members in the Golden State need to ask themselves how David Huerta’s embarrassing spectacle helps enhance their pay, benefits and working conditions. It doesn’t. It simply proves what’s been obvious for years: The welfare of their rank and file hasn’t been a priority for public employee unions in decades — if ever. Unions like SEIU exist solely to fund the failed policies of the left with the hard-earned dues dollars of workers who are increasingly fed up with it.”