Jewish Labor Committee

We've recently learned that the internationally-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking has pulled out of a commitment he had made to give a lead lecture at a major international science conference which will be held in Israel next month. What is known as the Israeli Presidential Conference, hosted by Israel’s President Shimon Peres, will be in Jerusalem.
In a statement published by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, allegedly with Hawking’s approval, Hawking’s change of mind was described as “his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there.”
The British daily newspaper, The Guardian, is conducting an online poll entitled: Is Stephen Hawking right to join the academic boycott of Israel?
We are writing now to ask that you vote NO on this online poll.
The poll is just below the photograph here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/poll/2013/may/08/stephen-hawking-boycott-israel

Continue reading "Please vote NO - online poll re academic boycott of Israel and Stephen Hawking" »

April 19, 2013

The President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President

We are writing to request that you consider granting a posthumous Medal of Freedom to the great civil and human rights advocate, Bayard Rustin. This award would be particularly fitting this year, the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, since Rustin was the primary organizer of this milestone in U.S. history.

Continue reading "A Posthumous Medal of Freedom for Bayard Rustin" »

April 9, 2013: New York, NY - The Jewish Labor Committee is committed to a fair, just and negotiated peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We strongly believe that a two-state solution is key to that outcome. Motion 241, the resolution passed on April 4 by the Teachers Union of Ireland, that calls for an academic boycott of Israel, requesting its members “to cease all cultural and academic collaboration with Israel, including the exchange of scientists, students and academic personalities as well as cooperation in research programs” will take us farther from that outcome by encouraging extremists on both sides, and their partisan supporters, who seek to undermine the prospects for a two-state solution that is fair to both Israel and the Palestinians.

Continue reading "Jewish Labor Committee opposes Irish Teacher Union’s academic boycott of Israel" »

April 2, 2013: Philadelphia, PA - On the last night of Passover. Philadelphia JLC and Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia's premier Reform congregation. hosted JLC's first Labor Seder in Philadelphia under Lynne Fox's Chairmanship. Sixty people representing the local Jewish and labor communities attended the event.

Rabbi Eli Freedman of Rodeph Shalom led the Labor Seder. PA State Senator Anthony Williams spoke about his ongoing partnership with the Jewish community, and Wendell Young IV, President of UFCW Local 1776, shared his thoughts and concerns about Governor Corbett's proposed privatization of state-run liquor stores in Pennsylvania. Among the participants were two people running for Congress in the upcoming election, Jonathan Saidel (Former Philadelphia JLC Honoree) and PA State Senator Daylin Leach. Senator Leach is a current member of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia JLC.

Continue reading "Philadelphia JLC's 2013 Labor Seder" »

Photo by Meri Bond - an excellent slideshow is online here.

March 19, 2013: Dorchester, MA - In spite of a nasty New England snowstorm, 220 people braved the weather to attend the 13th New England Jewish Labor Committee (NEJLC) Annual Labor Seder at the headquarters of IBEW Local 103.
Marya Axner, NEJLC Director, and a crew of dedicated activists organized this memorable event. [Excerpts from her remarks appear below.]
This year's festive Labor Seder in New England was an opportunity to retell the story of the Israelite's striuggle for freedom in ancient Egypt, and to honor Gann Academy, the New Jewish High School of Greater Boston, for being true to Jewish values in developing ethical policies regarding workers. Participants at the Labor Seder also recognized Le Meridien Hotel Workers -- Unite Here Local 26, the Bangladeshi Garment Workers Solidarity Campaign, and the proposed Domestic Workers Bill of Rights legislation.
Rabbi Barbara Penzner, Chair of the NEJLC's Rabbinic Council and of Hillel B’nai Torah, led the Labor Seder. Senator Elizabeth Warren sent video greetings, congratulating Gann Academy and speaking about her commitment to working families. Among the many attendees were Joanne Goldstein, Massachusetts Secretary of Labor; Steve Grossman, State Treasurer; Boston City Councilor Michael Ross; and Massachusetts State Representatives Frank Smizik and Alice Wolf.

Continue reading "13th New England JLC Annual Labor Seder" »

Meeting at the Office of the French Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault. Photo by Ezra Lichtfield.

February 11, 2013: France - Following the massacre at a Jewish Day School in Toulouse last year and the firebombing of a Jewish supermarket in Sarcelles, near Paris, along with a doubling of reported incidents of anti-Semitism in 2012 from the year before, leaders of the Jewish community of the United States participated in a series of meetings in France to show solidarity with the Jewish communities in France and show concern over the rise of anti-Semitism. JLC President Stuart Appelbaum traveled to France as a member of the delegation, which was organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The new French Government responded enthusiastically to the opportunity to meet with the U.S. delegation during its time in France, and the officials who met with the delegation recommitted themselves to oppose the rise of anti-Semitism and racism.

Continue reading "JLC President Appelbaum Discusses Anti-Semitism in France During U.S. Jewish Solidarity Mission" »

Photography by Rae Axner

January 21, 2013: Cambridge, MA - New England Jewish Labor Committee (NEJLC) members stand outside the GAP store in Harvard Square on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, protesting the company’s refusal to sign on to a comprehensive fire-safety program in garment factories in Bangladesh. A preventable fire in a clothing factory near the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka killed 112 workers last November. NEJLC members participated in three other area vigils against Walmart and H&M; these companies also refuse to sign onto the comprehensive fire-safety program. NEJLC Regional Director Marya Axner noted that Dr. King was in Memphis, Tennessee to support striking sanitation worker when he was assassinated in 1968.
Dr. Robert Ross, Professor at Clark University in Worcester, MA, spoke at the vigil in Harvard Square. Dr. Ross has been researching the resurgence of sweatshops in the U.S. and the global apparel industry since 1995. He contributed research to a recent report on fires in the garment industry called "Deadly Secrets" put out by the International Labor Rights Forum. The report reveals how major apparel companies are putting workers' lives at risk by covering up fire safety hazards and other dangerous working conditions. See: http://www.laborrights.org/publications-and-resources.

This article, previously published here and elsewhere, is still relevant today and we thought it worthwhile to share it with you now.

by Stuart Appelbaum

This year, U.S. Jews, like other Americans, will mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by remembering him as a powerful voice against racism and for civil rights. But, for Jews, Dr. King was also something else: a uniquely important ally in the fight against anti-Semitism and for a secure Israel.

Today, Dr. King’s close bond with the Jewish community is treated only as a small footnote of his life and work. But, toward the end of his life, Dr. King devoted significant time and energy to strengthening what were becoming increasingly strained ties between black Americans and U.S. Jews. One issue Dr. King was particularly concerned with was the growing mischaracterization of Zionism as racism.

Dr. King spoke and wrote often about Israel. However, the true depth of Dr. King’s commitment to Israel was readily apparent in a September, 1967 letter he sent to Adolph Held, then president of the organization I now lead, the Jewish Labor Committee. Dr. King wrote Held after the Jewish leader contacted him regarding press accounts of a conference that Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference participated in. At the meeting, strongly worded resolutions blasting Zionism and embracing the position of the Arab powers had been considered.

Understanding Held’s worries, Dr. King explained that, beyond offering opening remarks, he had no part in the conference. But, Dr. King said, had he been present during the discussion of the resolutions “I would have made it crystal clear that I could not have supported any resolution calling for black separatism or calling for a condemnation of Israel and an unqualified endorsement of the policy of the Arab powers.”

Continue reading "A Special Bond: Martin Luther King, Jr., Israel and American Jewry" »

January 9, 2013: Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia JLC hosted Wilma Liebman, the former Chair of the National Labor
Relations Board, for an insider's discussion, US Labor Law: A Political Battlefield. The event was sponsored by the Law Offices of Cohen, Placitella and Roth, PC.

For a readable and printable (two-sided) JLC membership form, click here.
And for a four-page Program Highlights for the first 10 months of 2012, click here

December 12, 2012: New York, NY - Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Jewish Labor Committee, issued the following statement in regard to recent political developments in Michigan:

“The middle class in the United States has been shrinking, and that phenomenon has paralleled a shrinking in the labor movement. The Republicans in the Michigan legislature and the state's Governor added to this weakening of the rights of working men and women by passing a law that will establish the state as a so-called `right-to-work' state, a misnomer that really means a `right to work for less.' The Republicans and business leaders clamor that workers should not be forced to join a union if they do not want to. But this has been the law; any worker can opt out of union membership, but until now, they would be required to pay an agency fee if they benefit from the better wages, benefits and other advantages secured by the union where they work. Instead, they will now be freeloaders, taking advantage of benefits without paying, and weakening the very union that negotiated those benefits for them.

“Weakening unions leads to lower wages. A recent study by the University of Notre Dame found that average wages and benefits for non-farm workers in so-called `right to work' states was $57,732, compared to $65,567 in states where those who opt out of membership have to pay an agency fee. States with these anti-dues laws have higher rates of poverty. Not surprisingly, what does go up are profits.

“The Jewish Labor Committee strongly condemns such actions that increase income inequality and weakens the voice of working men and women as expressed through their unions. The unions of previous generations won the conditions through which millions of people working in the United States were able to secure decent lives for themselves and their families, and better lives for their children. It is unconscionable for today’s – and tomorrow’s – workers to be denied the right to a strong, democratic and unfettered trade union movement.”

The rally was organized by UFCW, Jobs with Justice, CLUW, Philaposh, and many other participating organizations including the Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee, which turned out in force early Friday morning. John Mason, and longtime Philly JLC Board members Norman and Sylvia Lieberman, Jeff Brown, Bill Epstein, John Meyerson, Brett Goldman, and Steve Masters all demonstrated their support for underpaid Walmart employees who are forced to work 2nd and even 3rd jobs because Walmart refuses to let them work enough hours or pay for health benefits.

(Friday, November 23, 2012) - It is with great sorrow that we learned late Wednesday of the death of Vladka Meed, a Vice President of the Jewish Labor Committee and member of our Executive Committee. Obituary articles have appeared in The Washington Post and The Jewish Daily Forward; more will follow.

Continue reading "Vladka Meed 1921-2012" »

The Jewish Labor Committee is encouraged by the announcement that there will be a ceasefire beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 21. The JLC supports a negotiated two-state solution that brings a durable peace to the region and we hope that this cease fire is a step towards an agreement that is fair and just for both Israel and the Palestinians. We appreciate the important work of the United States and Egypt in helping to bring about this first step.

November 16, 2012

The Jewish Labor Committee regrets the escalation of hostilities between Israel and the Gaza Strip and mourns the loss of civilian life that is being incurred on both sides. It is truly unfortunate that Hamas decided to break what was already a fraying truce by firing hundreds of rockets and missiles into Israel. No country can allow that to happen without defending itself, and the Israel Defense Forces therefore retaliated, targeting underground rocket launching sites in Gaza.

We sincerely hope that the efforts by various parties to de-escalate the situation and re-establish a truce are successful. While that is not sufficient to bring a permanent and just peace to the area, it is an important and urgent step to ensure that the current hostilities do not bring more death and destruction. Our thoughts are with the Israelis in this precarious time, as well as with all those who truly desire peace throughout the region.

When Australia voted in UNESCO against elevating Palestine to quasi-statehood, alarms were raised that it would undo Australia's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. In fact, Australia has resisted several opportunities over the past year to abstain or to vote in favor on the Unilateral Declaration of a Palestinian State in order to gain the votes of the Arab and Muslim blocs of nations in the world body. Despite these qualms raised by some, Australia was just elected to serve as a non-permanent member on the United Nations Security Council for 2013 and 2014.

Cabinet Secretary Mark Dreyfus outlines Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s and the Labour Government’s firm support for Israel in the year’s prior to the election for the United Nations Security Council. In his remarks, Dreyfus stated that "the Government of Australia supports the State of Israel, and that we do so one hundred percent .... Australia is not merely an ally of Israel. Australia is a friend." Reiterating the government's support for a two-state solution, Dreyfus quoted the Labour Prime Minister remarks: "... the only durable basis for resolution of this conflict is negotiation." Dreyfus concludes by noting that "this is a time when Israel, more than ever, needs its friends to rally around it to ensure its security. This is a time when the region truly needs a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians."

(October 11, 2012) Cambridge, MA - New England Jewish Labor Committee activists were at the rally and march at the Le Meridien Cambridge on October 11th where workers launched a boycott of their own hotel. Over 200 community and hotel and food service workers joined Le Meridien Cambridge workers on the picket line to demand justice from the hotel’s owner and operator, private equity hotelier, HEI Hospitality.

Continue reading "New England JLC Supports LeMeridien Cambridge Workers!" »

l-r: Laura Wentz, Executive Vice President of CLUW Philadelphia; Jeff Hornstein, Chair, Philadelphia Jewish Labor Commitee; Liz McElroy, Secretary General, Philadelphia AFL-CIO; PA State Senator Daylin Leach. (Anne Gemmel, Political Director of SEIU Local 32 BJ, not in photo, was also part of this panel.) Photo courtesy Philadelphia JLC (PJLC)

(October 4, 2012) Philadelphia, PA - The Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee convened the third installment of its Jewish Labor Series at Liberties Bar in Northern Liberties, a neighborhood in Philadelphia.

Continue reading "Voter ID Panel Discussion in Philadelphia" »

(September 24, 2012) Boston, MA - Today, the New England Jewish Labor Committee joined with Moshe Kavod House Boston to support the SEIU 615 janitors whose contract expires on September 30th. 14,000 union janitors are faced with the end of their contract, and the reality that hard-fought contractual gains won at the bargaining table over the last decade may be endangered. Contractors are proposing to create a permanent second-tier category of janitorial workers that they can pay less than currently, as well to eliminate language intended to move workers from part-time to full-time employment among other disastrous proposals. Many janitors are working several jobs; at many job sites, they are given way more than they can possibly do in the time allotted. Most work 1 hour less than the 29 hours necessary to receive health care.
The demonstration, at 12 noon at the Berkeley Building in Downtown Boston, focused specific attention on over 50 contracted janitors, members of SEIU Local 615 who work in the building, as well as the thousands of others whose job security is at risk. This unique action of prayer, song, shofar and testimonials included members of the Jewish community of Greater Boston and members of Local 615.

A picket line outside Gale School in Rogers Park on the morning of Monday, September 10. (Photo: Sarah Jane Rhee/Chicago Indymedia)

(September 10, 2012) Chicago, IL - The Jewish Labor Committee supports Chicago's teachers in their effort to achieve a fair agreement that is good for them, their students and the city of Chicago. Michael Perry, Chair of the Chicago Region of the Jewish Labor Committee, stated that:

"The Chicago Teachers Union and its members were committed to working around the clock to achieve a fair contract that allowed them to be in the classroom teaching the city's children -- where they wanted to be doing what they have devoted their work lives to doing. All they asked was that their work and that their role as partners with administrators to make sure every student has a real chance to succeed be respected. They had already agreed to a longer school day, and they had put forward ideas to make each school day not only longer, but better by including more art, music and other subjects that enrich and motivate children.

Continue reading "Jewish Labor Committee Supports Teachers Striking in Chicago" »

(clockwise from left: New England JLC Regional Director Marya Axner and NE JLC volunteer Amy Mazur; Louis Mandarini, Jr., who works on union relations for the Elizabeth Warren campaign; Amy Mazur (front left), and Marion and Bob Ross (on the right - the latter is a professor at Clark University).

(September 5, 2012: Lawrence, MA) - The New England JLC staffed a table at the Centennial Bread and Roses Festival held in Lawrence, MA, on September 3rd . People gathered at the NE JLC table and discussed our work in the region.

Continue reading "New England JLC at Bread and Roses Centennial Festival" »

Honoring Workers in Our Synagogues
by Stephanie Ainbinder

(September 3, 2012) Boston, MA - It is a season to honor workers. Both the secular holiday of Labor Day and the book of Deuteronomy call on us to reflect on the treatment of workers during this time.

This year, the New England Jewish Labor Committee is coordinating ‘Labor on the Bimah’ outreach in the greater Boston area to raise awareness in Jewish congregations of issues facing working families. In celebration of Labor Day, nine representatives, including union leaders, union members, attorneys, and a rabbi, will speak at synagogues in the greater Boston area about their involvement in support of workers. Speakers will discuss connections linking Jewish values and the fight for better treatment of working men and women. [Details below.]

Continue reading "‘Labor on the Bimah’in Greater Boston:" »

by Stuart Appelbaum
President, Jewish Labor Committee

When Congress declared Labor Day a public holiday in 1894, workers had more to lament than to celebrate: an economic depression, a growing concentration of corporate wealth and power, and the brutal suppression of their unions. A momentous national railroad strike to protest deep wage cuts and the summary firing of workers who dared to voice their grievances was ruthlessly broken with the help of the U.S. attorney general and federal troops, leaving more than 30 workers dead and the strike’s leader, Eugene Victor Debs, in jail. Nevertheless, in those bleak times, there was something for workers in the U.S. to celebrate: a broad notion of solidarity had begun to take root, defining an injury to any one worker as an injury to all. That solidarity, directly countering the forces that divided working people, sustained and strengthened the labor movement in the years to come. A strong labor movement, in turn, worked to build the middle class and strengthen our democracy. This resonated with the Jewish communities of the day, largely immigrants and children of immigrants who knew what communal solidarity and mutual aid were all about. And it was no accident that Jewish workers were among the ranks of the U.S. labor movement. Jewish labor activists made a lasting impression on the development of the U.S. labor movement, from the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the American Federation of Teachers, and to my own union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

On this Labor Day, U.S. workers once again face hard times: persistent high unemployment and a concentration of wealth and economic power not seen since the 19th century. The Jewish community, of course, is not immune to the toll it has taken in communities across the country – just ask anyone working at a Jewish federation’s Jewish Family Service or Jewish Vocational Service.

Continue reading "Labor Day 2012 and Jewish Values" »

Housekeepers across the United States need your help. If you’ve ever stayed at a Hyatt and had a good night’s sleep, you have a housekeeper to thank for your fresh sheets and fluffed pillows. But invisible to hotel guests is the pain and hardship that housekeepers endure to provide us with an atmosphere of comfort and luxury.
That’s why this week Hyatt housekeepers are launching a global boycott of Hyatt. Please take two seconds to support them by voting "Hyatt the Worst Hotel Employer in America." Just click here.
Why is Hyatt the worst? Hyatt has replaced career housekeepers with temp workers earning minimum wage. Hyatt housekeepers have heavy workloads that can lead to debilitating pain and injuries. Hyatt has fired women shortly after they have spoken out about abuse and indignities at work. And Hyatt even turned heat lamps on workers protesting these conditions during a brutal Chicago heat wave.
The conditions confronting Hyatt housekeepers not only hurt them, but also other housekeepers in other major hotel chains in cities across the country - by lowering the standards in an entire city for housekeepers. On the other hand, raising the conditions under which Hyatt housekeepers work raises that standard.
Our history, our values and our traditions should provide ample reason to support these Hyatt housekeepers, as do the stories of their lives.
Worldwide, two million people are being called on to take a stand and “Vote Hyatt Worst.” And now, we're calling on you. By joining together, we will urge Hyatt to change its ways. Vote here.