On June 6, federal agents attacked David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, at the site of an ICE raid in Los Angeles. The 58-year-old labor leader had to be hospitalized after feds threw him to the ground, pepper sprayed him, and arrested him. He’s charged with “conspiracy to impede an officer,” a federal felony.

In reality, Huerta’s only “crime” was protesting Donald Trump’s terror campaign against immigrant workers. His violent arrest was an assault, not just on Huerta’s person, but on the democratic rights of all workers to freedom of speech and assembly.

Holding back the rank and file

The federal agents’ aggression sparked outrage, threatening to bring one of the most significant national unions directly into the anti-ICE protest movement. In response, the union’s leadership called rallies demanding Huerta’s immediate release in at least a dozen cities, including Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Boston. Although SEIU represents more than 700,000 workers across California and about two million nationwide, the rallies ranged in size from a few hundred to a thousand.

In Seattle, RCA comrades turned out to show our solidarity. Two SEIU workers at the rally described the militant mood in their local. Many of their brothers and sisters wanted to strike, but SEIU leaders were dragging their feet. In fact, union leaders were so worried about a potential confrontation between rank-and-file workers and federal officers that they rerouted the march from the federal building to Seattle City Hall.

A photo op for the Democratic mayor

At City Hall, none of the speakers mentioned strike action. Union leaders even allowed Seattle’s Democratic Mayor Bruce Harrell to speak. Harrell is a reliable lackey of the ruling class who attempted to railroad city government workers into accepting a mere 1% cost of living adjustment in their most recent negotiations. Scandalously, SEIU’s leaders allowed him to use their platform and pose as a friend of the workers.

Some union workers heckled Harrell, “Get ICE out of Seattle!” Our comrades received a warm reception, selling eight copies of The Communist in just an hour and collecting contact information from workers who are ready to fight—one of whom marched with our communist contingent at the “No Kings” rally the following weekend. Another worker expressed anger, “I hate that it turned into a photo op for the mayor,” and said that we need a “revolutionary response” to the arrest of a union leader.

Far from a revolutionary response, the union leadership failed to inform entire locals about the rally, including those with workers in the buildings around City Hall. At the “No Kings” rally, we met more SEIU workers who supported our call for a nationwide political strike. When we asked one what he thought about SEIU’s response to the arrest, he laughed and said, “What response?”

Which way forward?

After three days in custody, Huerta was released on a $50,000 bond. But he still faces spurious charges that carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

To fight back, SEIU leaders should not only mobilize the entire membership, but also make a political appeal to the whole working class, organized and unorganized, calling on them to strike in defense of democratic rights and against attacks on immigrant workers. The few thousand union activists who turned up at last month’s rallies could be joined by hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of workers around the country.

Beyond demanding that the government drop the ridiculous charges against Huerta, SEIU and other unions should go on strike until ICE’s raids stop. They could begin a drive to expand the unions by organizing all workers who support the strike, undocumented and documented alike.

This kind of class-war campaign could stop ICE in its tracks while strengthening the labor movement. It would also begin to overcome the artificial division between documented and undocumented workers which the class enemy uses to drive down wages and working conditions for everyone.

This is all within the power of the labor movement today. During the 2024 election cycle, SEIU contributed more than $35 million to the Democrats. Imagine what the union could achieve if this money were spent on militant organizing campaigns instead of funding a capitalist party which, under Joe Biden, deported over four million immigrants and banned railworkers from striking in 2022.

The role of the communists

Over the last few weeks, the Seattle RCA met dozens of union workers ready to struggle and sacrifice in defense of democratic and immigrant rights. The steadfast seriousness of these workers stands in sharp contrast to the cowardice, ineptitude, and cynicism of their leadership.

Many rank-and-file workers agree with communists on the need for mass pickets and political strikes to defend the working class. But, there is not yet any force in America capable of putting forward that bold message in every union local and workplace around the country. A mass communist party would help the rank-and-file cast off the rotten, business-friendly reformists who control the unions. That is exactly what the RCA is building in Seattle and across the US.