“As the president of a union representing more than half a million long-term care workers — many of whom love and care for people with disabilities, including autism — I know that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent remarks are false, dehumanizing, and dangerous. Saying that ‘autism destroys families’ isn’t just wrong — it fuels harmful stigma, undermines inclusion, and makes life harder for families.
Many of our members are parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends of people with autism. They know firsthand that autism does not ‘destroy families’ — but stigma, discrimination, and underfunded care systems do. Comments like these are not only dehumanizing, they make it harder to build the compassionate, well-resourced, and inclusive society we all deserve.
SEIU Local 2015 stands with the disability community in calling out that this rhetoric from the head of the nation’s public health programs is: baseless, ridiculous, scary and has very real implications on communities. This rhetoric calls into question Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fitness to lead these programs.”
Statement from Arnulfo De La Cruz, President of SEIU 2015, on RFK Jr.’s harmful autism comments
Terry Carter, 213
Tagged in Arnulfo De La Cruz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Autism
“As the president of a union representing more than half a million long-term care workers — many of whom love and care for people with disabilities, including autism — I know that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent remarks are false, dehumanizing, and dangerous. Saying that ‘autism destroys families’ isn’t just wrong — it fuels harmful stigma, undermines inclusion, and makes life harder for families.
Many of our members are parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends of people with autism. They know firsthand that autism does not ‘destroy families’ — but stigma, discrimination, and underfunded care systems do. Comments like these are not only dehumanizing, they make it harder to build the compassionate, well-resourced, and inclusive society we all deserve.
SEIU Local 2015 stands with the disability community in calling out that this rhetoric from the head of the nation’s public health programs is: baseless, ridiculous, scary and has very real implications on communities. This rhetoric calls into question Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fitness to lead these programs.”
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SEIU Local 2015 is the largest union in California, representing more than half a million long-term care workers (home care, skilled nursing facility, and assisted living center workers) throughout the state. Its members are as diverse as the state’s population but united in their commitment to caring for California’s older adults and those with disabilities.