Jewish Labor Committee

Good evening. Thanks to Stuart Appelbaum for inviting me to be one of tonight's honorees. And thank you Sybil Sanchez for the hard work you have done behind the scenes. Congratulations to my fellow honorees Roberta and John. (Morty also thanked Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and Richard Trumka).
It is truly a privilege, not only to be an honoree of such a venerable organization as the Jewish Labor Committee, but to be honored in the presence of everyone important to me: my wife Judith, my partner and brother Bill, family, friends, business colleagues, Union officials and those who feel keenly that the rights of the worker, both here and abroad must be protected.

Many years ago, I heard a professor define a Jew as, "œSomeone who is allergic to injustice." This was back in the early 60s when I joined hundreds of Jewish classmates participating in sit-ins at Boston's Woolworth's to protest its segregated lunch counters in the Deep South.
As I have grown older, my world has expanded, and so has the breadth of my professor's definition. Last year, I visited Sderot, in Israel, target for Hamas's Qassam rockets that still rain down on innocent families day after day. Was there world condemnation? Far from it! The world responded with a solid condemnation of Israel and with more boycotts of Israeli products.
And our European friends? The UK refused to grant Israeli professors entry visas. France can barely protect its Jewish citizens from Arab violence. Turkey, for centuries a steadfast friend of Israel and a haven for Jews in need of a home, recently cancelled joint Air Force exercises with Israel. Even worse, Turkey is airing a viciously anti-Semitic television series just one step removed from "œThe Protocols of Zion." And in South Africa, dockworkers have refused to unload Israeli ships, forgetting how it was Jews who led the fight against Apartheid.
Who is going to step in and help when Jews are discriminated against and vicious boycotts continue to spread that hurt the workingman?

The Jewish Labor Committee.

How? By working through unions worldwide -- efficiently, effectively and without fanfare -- be it in Germany, Spain, or as far away as Australia

The Jewish Labor Committee has succeeded when formal diplomacy has failed. Why? Because a Jew is someone who is allergic to injustice, whether the victim be a Black man in Mississippi, an orange grower in Beersheba, or getting closer to home, a worker in a Midwest meat plant subject to dangerous working conditions, sexual harassment and illegally withheld wages.

Now I want to move even closer to home: the Bronx, where I was born and where four generations of my family earned their living and depended on a reliable labor force to help them grow. In turn, our family could be counted upon to provide a clean, safe working place, to protect against any form of discrimination"¦"¦to reward industry and dedication with abundant opportunities for advancement.
And ever since my father Joseph Sloan became president of the company more than a half century ago -- consisting then of just one store - these workers"¦.. the backbone of our business, have been members of the Union. Because of harmony in the workplace, we can take pride in the fact that Morton Williams has a very large percentage of its labor force that stays"¦ and stays "¦and stays. Ask Virginia who became a cashier at age 17, just off the boat from Italy, now our comptroller in charge of 15 bookkeepers. Or Orlando, born in Columbia, who came to work as a porter, and is now one of our top executives. Ask some of our dairy or grocery clerks who have come to us with family problems"¦. prolonged illnesses"¦. special needs. We work together to try and find a way out.

I celebrate a big birthday today, and I guess it won't be that long before the fourth generation takes over, with the fifth generation fast breathing down their necks. (There have already been sightings of two little boys trying out the club chairs in our conference room). My brother and I will be passing a twelve- store chain on to them, as well as our continued aspirations to expand - carefully and wisely. And we will be passing on as well the lessons that Judaism, democracy, the Jewish Labor Committee and the basic tenets of the American Labor Movement have taught us.

Thank you for honoring me tonight. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to enunciate my deepest gratitude to you for your fight to protect us against the evils of ignorance and discrimination.