Jewish Labor Committee

Protestors shut down Broad Street, Philadelphia's main thoroughfare.
Photograph by Jessica Kourkounis for Education Week (additional photos below)

October 16, 2014 -- Philadelphia: Community members from various sectors demonstrated a week after the city's School Reform Commission (SRC) announced, without notice or discussion, that it was not going to honor Philadelphia's public school teachers' contracts {collectively bargained between the city and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT)} after the end of this school year. "That's 16,000 teachers who will be forced to accept terms that are dictated to them by the SRC," Philadelphia JLC Director Michael Hersch told us.

Photograph courtesy Philadelphia JLC

At least five local Philadelphia JLC board members were at the demonstration, including Jeff Brown (AFSCME/PSEA), Valerie Braman (AFT), Sylvia Lieberman (PFT), Jesse Kudler (Fight for Philly), and Mindy Isser (Fight for Philly); also represented by six people, including their local Director, Pele Irgangladen, Habonim Dror, the Labor Zionist youth movement.

Hersch reported that the SRC, which took this drastic measure, alleged that PFT refused to make concessions - patently untrue, according to Hilary Linardopolous, representative of the PFT.
Between 3,000 and 5,000 protestors representing many unions and activist groups were on hand; estimates vary widely.

He noted that "this was the largest rally on behalf of Philadelphia teachers that I've witnessed in the last four years," and added that "this comes during a year where Philadelphia has already lost dozens of public schools to closures for insufficient funding."

For more information, contact the Philadelphia JLC at mhersch@comcast.net.

Photograph courtesy Philadelphia JLC

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 03:49 PM | Permalink

October 8, 2014 - Five years ago, three Hyatt Hotels in the Boston area abruptly fired 98 housekeepers. The hotels brought in replacement workers, paying them roughly half the hourly wage. The fired housekeepers had been told to train these new housekeepers who turned out to be their replacements.
The fired workers didn't belong to a union, but they quickly approached a local of UNITE-HERE. A nationwide boycott of Hyatt hotels and then a global boycott were among the results. The Jewish Labor Committee, its regional offices and members jumped in to support the workers. An historic settlement was reached with most Hyatt hotels, but not the ones in the Boston area. So the New England JLC kept up its activism.
Right from the beginning, the NE JLC was in the fight with both feet. Rabbi Barbara Penzner of Temple Hillel B'nai Torah and a co-chair of NE JLC along with our regional director Marya Axner, mobilized congregants, rabbis and JLC members. to support the boycott of the Hyatt Regency Boston, Hyatt Boston Harbor and Hyatt Regency Cambridge.
Rabbi Penzner drafted a petition signed by Jewish clergy around the country and worked to keep religious groups from holding events at Hyatt hotels. She traveled to Chicago to confront Hyatt executives and rallied clergy to disrupt shareholder meetings. The NE JLC participated in rallies (as did JLC in other parts of the country), arranged for letters to be written and helped keep the issue in front of the public.
Finally, a few weeks ago, the Boston-area Hyatts gave in, agreeing to pay $1 million to the fired housekeepers and offering them hiring preference at future Hyatt-operated hotels.
All of us at the JLC are proud of the work that the NE JLC did on behalf of the housekeepers and of the fact that the Boston Globe story and editorial in particular highlighted Rabbi Penzner's activity, which were so important to this victory.

(l-r: Sandra Korn, Dave Borrus. Martha Plotkin, Amy Mazur, Roberta Bauer, Marya Axner, Jim Marshall, Dick Bauer, Stephanie Ainbinder, and Glen Dansker at a demonstration in Boston, July 26th, 2012.)

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 04:38 PM | Permalink