Unions representing government workers in Orange County on Tuesday called off a protest of Orange-based Ameriquest Capital Corp. after striking a pact with the subprime mortgage lender.
Ameriquest said it doesn’t plan to back a proposed measure for the November special election ballot dubbed the “Paycheck Protection” initiative.
The measure would require public worker unions to obtain annual written permission from each member before their dues could be used for political lobbying.
Supporters say it’s a way to check the Democratic lobbying power of unions in state politics.
The Orange County Employees Association had planned to protest at Ameriquest’s Orange headquarters on Wednesday.
Ameriquest’s founder and chairman, Roland Arnall, is a big giver to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and political committees that back his reform agenda.
The governor hasn’t declared his support for the paycheck initiative though many expect him to come out in favor of it.
Ameriquest is the parent company of a handful of mortgage companies that deal in loans to borrowers with imperfect credit.
The company’s Ameriquest Mortgage is the nation’s largest subprime lender.
