Labor On The Bimah, 2011
In the last few weeks, the Jewish Labor Committee has been reaching out to nearly a thousand rabbis across the United States. As we've done for quite some time, we are asking them to join a growing number of rabbis incorporating a message about the importance of workers rights in some meaningful way during Sabbath services between Labor Day weekend and Rosh Hashanah, which will begin the evening of September 28th.
The Sabbath Torah reading preceding Labor Day this year is known as Shoftim, Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9. While the word shoftim means judges, it has been interpreted to refer to the importance of justice. This reading contains the oft-quoted commandment, "Justice, justice shall you pursue "¦," considered by many to be the bedrock of Jewish ethical teachings.
During this extended period of economic difficulties for many in our communities, we are focusing on the pursuit of a more just economy. The widening gap between rich and poor, deepening unemployment and the struggle of workers for a fairer, more just and more decent society must be a "Call to Action" as stated in Shoftim.
We've compiled some articles by rabbis that may be of interest in this regard: Click here to download this publication
Additionally, we would be glad to work with congregations to secure a speaker from the local labor movement, perhaps someone whose life was improved dramatically through the benefit of union representation. Additional material on the labor movement -- and the relationship the Jewish community has had with the labor movement -- is also available. Just let us know what you need.
There is a specific campaign for decency and dignity at the workplace that we are asking rabbis to support by "signing the pledge" at www.justiceathyatt.org. This campaign has to do with the situation at a number of Hyatt hotels.
Hundreds of rabbis and cantors in diverse communities have already demonstrated their concern for the workers of Hyatt hotels ever since August 2009, when all 98 housekeepers of the three Boston Hyatts were fired from jobs many had held for 20 to 25 years. Many workers had trained the new workers from an outsourcing company, having been told that these new workers would simply be their "vacation replacements." We have since learned that across the country, Hyatt has eliminated jobs, replaced career housekeepers with minimum wage temporary workers, and imposed dangerous workloads on those who remain.
Workers at 18 Hyatt properties across North America have called for boycotts. Quite a few rabbis are honoring those boycotts, and have pledged to treat the Hyatt as "not kosher" until it treats the company treats its workers with justice. By stating that Hyatt Hotels are not kosher, these rabbis are pronouncing the hotels "unfit" in an ethical and spiritual context and urging Jews to avoid contact with Hyatt.
Hyatt once had a very respectable reputation. We invite rabbis - and others! -- to read a report Open the Gates of Justice, that illustrates the way that Hyatt not only treated the Boston workers unjustly, but has a practice of oppressing its workers nationwide. Many rabbis and cantors took time out of their work and family lives to sit down with Hyatt workers, to hear their stories, and to document their own conclusions in this report.
The battle to secure justice for these hotel workers is far from over. You can make a difference. Please read this report. Please share it. Help us as the Jewish Labor Committee encourages rabbis and other Jewish communal figures to sign the pledge here. Help us invite Hyatt workers to speak to congregations across the country.
We look forward to working with rabbis and their congregations on this year's "Labor on the Bimah" and at other times throughout the year.