San Francisco– The San Francisco Central Labor Council hosted its annual pre-Labor Day breakfast at the Holiday Inn in San Francisco.
Executive director Kim Tavaglione welcomed the overflow crowd of labor union affiliates and guests, including faith leaders and political allies.
SEIU-USWW President David Huerta addresses overflow crowd at SF CLC Labor Day Breakfast
Lutheran Bishop Jeff Johnson offered the invocation, preaching, “Labor Unions are not just about wages, but they are about respect and human dignity.”
Michael Pappas, Executive Director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, celebrated the renewal of a strong partnership between the faith and labor communities. “People of faith and people of labor are one and the same. We fight not just for ourselves, but for others. Labor built San Francisco. Labor Keeps our city operating. … Labor is you. Labor is me. Labor is in the pews in houses of worship and has the power to cast light in this hour of darkness.” This year, more than thirty San Francisco congregations will welcome labor union speakers at worship services over the Labor Day weekend.
When keynote speaker David Huerta, President of SEIU – United Service Workers West, took the microphone, he was welcomed by a standing ovation.
In June 2025, Huerta, a longtime labor and immigrant rights advocate, was brutally knocked to the ground and arrested by masked federal agents as he observed an ICE raid at a worksite. The labor movement took to the streets in California and nationally and helped win his release. Felony conspiracy charges are still pending, and Huerta’s case is widely seen as a test of a slew of constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, the right to assemble, and due process, among others. His next court appearance is scheduled for mid-September.
Born in Los Angeles, Huerta and his brother were raised by his father, a Teamster, who “showed me the value and dignity of work, which led me to the Justice for Janit
IBEW 1245’s Assistant Business Manager Hunter Stern, Senior Advisor Eileen Purcell, Business Representative Daniel Ahern and guest Jose Artiga at the SF Central Labor Council’s 2025 Labor Day Breakfast
ors (J4J) movement.” J4J was instrumental in transforming Los Angeles into a union town. A labor organizer for twenty-nine years, Huerta described himself as a second-generation Chicano whose forbears were baptized in the Mission of San Juan Bautista when California was still part of Mexico. “You will not erase us. Aqui estamos, y no nos vamos,” he declared.
At the same time, he recognized the daunting challenges.
“Today, we are witnessing one of the greatest transfers of wealth in history. We are witnessing the dismantling of the public healthcare system, the dismantling of food safety, the dismantling of public education, and the militarization and terrorization of communities and the allocation of $175 billion dollars to put the Gestapo on our streets…”
Huerta’s solution? “Organize and join with the next generation prepared to fight for transformative justice. … We need transformation, not just transactions – a transformation that leads to healthcare for all, a secure retirement for all, home security, a path to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors. A worker is a worker, no matter their {immigration} status, their color, their language and our job is to demand respect,” he said.
“In my heart, I believe that those being persecuted today, those sacrificing for a better life are the heroes of the moment. The people being targeted, they will save our democracy.” He closed his remarks by thanking everyone for their solidarity and led the room in the age-old farmworker cry, “Si se puede.”
Special Guest speaker, Randy Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers echoed Huerta’s description of these “dangerous times” for working families.
But she also focused on the good news. “Yesterday, I was in New York where labor and civil rights leaders marched on Wall Street. This Labor Day weekend, the labor movement is sponsoring more than one thousand events across the country.” Quoting Frederick Douglas, she said, “’Power concedes nothing without a demand.’ We need to mobilize.” She added emphatically, “We need to mobilize Trump voters. Most of the people who voted for Trump voted for him because
they wanted a better life. They wanted to shake things up. We want the same things: a good job, decent wages, good public education, accessible higher education.”
She warned, “The courts will not save us. Congress will not save us. We are in a moment like never before. Only community will save us. This community. The beloved community. You are a labor town, a faith town, who knows how to struggle.”
– By Eileen Purcell, Senior Advisor & Executive Board Member of the SF CLC