The SEIU, Illegals & 'Human Trafficking'

We know that the SEIU wants to convert millions of illegal aliens into U.S. citizens. We know the SEIU’s goal is to turn those illegal aliens-turned-U.S. citizens into a “progressive voters.” We know that the SEIU’s membership consists of illegal aliens from whom they collect union dues because they say so—freely. We know that the SEIU does not want enforcement of immigration laws, be it in Arizona or elsewhere. Moreover, we know that the SEIU does not like losing its illegal dues-paying members because the SEIU wants ICE to target the “crooked employers” who illegally hire the illegal aliens (who aren’t SEIU members). Confused?

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You should be confused. You see, the SEIU’s double standard is confusing, especially when an ICE I-9 form audit reveals that one half of a unionized janitorial company’s workforce in Minnesota may be in the country illegally and the SEIU complains that ICE should really go after other employers.

The janitors at Harvard Maintenance are represented by SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, local 26. Local president Javier Morillo says the audits of Harvard and ABM in 2009 don’t fit with ICE’s stated goal to “focus on egregious employers who not only knowingly hire unlawful workers but also exploit and/or harbor them.”

The janitors of the Twin Cities that are in the union, they’re not depressing wages for janitors. They’re the highest paid janitors,” said Morillo. “There are janitorial companies that pay much, much less that actually depress wages that are not being targeted for ICE audits.”

The SEIU boss, Mr. Morillo further elaborates on his theory of enforcing the law, but not enforcing the law, by lashing out at his friends in the Obama administration:

Under the leadership of Secretary Napolitano the federal government has become an employment agency for the country’s worst employers. With each I-9 audit, the government is systematically pushing hardworking people into the underground economy where they face exploitation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports targeting egregious employers that exploit workers – but it’s become increasingly obvious that this policy is nothing short of lip service. Let’s be clear: I-9 audits, by definition, do not go after egregious employers who break immigration laws because many of them do not use I-9 forms. Human traffickers do not ask their victims for their social security cards.

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Clearly, to this SEIU boss, the only way not to be a ‘human trafficker’ is if a company employs SEIU members who are illegal aliens, versus companies that hire illegal aliens who are not members. That sort of makes sense. After all, the SEIU gets its millions a year in union dues from the illegal aliens who work for the non-human trafficking employers versus nothing from the non-union human trafficking companies. As in the case above:

According to SEIU Local 26′s 2009 financial reports on file with the Department of Labor, dues charged to workers are between $26 and $47.50 per month, or an average of $36.75 per month.

It is safe to assume that the 240 illegals were paying mandatory union dues to the SEIU and, at $36.75, the SEIU was making nearly $9,000 per month–well over $100,000 per year–from these workers…until they were caught.

In addition, since the SEIU has no legal obligation to check the citizen status of its members (from whom it collects money from), the union collects its millions (at the national level) virtually risk-free.

That may not be human trafficking, per se, but it’s something.

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
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