This Passover: What Must Be Done to Safeguard Democracy and the Right to Vote?
March 26, 2026: Newark, NJ - Jewish Labor Committee President Stuart Appelbaum spoke during this year's New Jersey Labor Seder. Representatives from organized labor, Jewish organizations, civil rights and other community groups and public officials “broke matza” together at the Labor Seder, held at the New Jersey District offices of the SEIU 32BJ union in Newark. The same evening, another Labor Seder, organized by the Educators' Chapter of the JLC / Jewish Heritage Committee of New York City's United Federation of Teachers, took place at the UFT Brooklyn headquarters. The previous Sunday, the New England JLC's Seder was at the IBEW Local 103 Function Hall in Dorchester, MA. The Jewish Labor Committee has organized Labor Seders in New Jersey and elsewhere across the country starting in 2000. This year also saw Labor Seders in Washington DC, Denver CO, and online - and there will be one more JLC Labor Seder, in Philadelphia PA on April 7th.
In a world that has gone wrong in so many ways, there is really something very comforting and inspiring about being here for this evening's Labor Seder, with all of you, with people who share a common vision of a more just world, especially a more just world for working with people.
As we've heard already, the Seder is taking place at a defining moment in history, a time of war abroad, a time of rising violent antisemitism, deep political polarization, attacks on immigrants and so many others.
And all of this is combined with deep concerns about the democratic institutions on which we depend.
And for working people, it's a time when more power and wealth are being accumulated at the very top, while the lives of working people become more precarious.
Working people continue to face persistent economic challenges. The affordability crisis is real. Too many working people are falling further and further behind. They rightly feel the ground slipping away beneath them.Affordable housing, food, education, and transportation slip out of reach for more and more workers every day. And on top of that, families struggle with skyrocketing healthcare costs. Immigrant workers are terrified.
There are no words that can capture the disgust we feel about how immigrants are being harassed, attacked, and grounded up by masked ICE squads. It's a national disgrace.
Our government is outwardly hostile to working people. and protections for workers that have been won over generations are being undermined, ignored, and rolled back. It's not a pretty picture.
We all know that we have no choice but to fight back.
But we cannot do it alone. We need each other.
We cannot be silent. We must speak out. We must never lose our sense of outrage and injustice around us.
And our greatest strength at a time like this is each other. Solidarity. Solidarity and democracy. And for the Jewish community and for the labor community, democracy is crucial.
In democracies, freedom can flourish; and rights for all and safety for all, including the Jewish community and all minorities, are more likely to be safeguarded.
Democracies are crucial for organized labor. In democracies, we can fight for economic fairness.
In democracies, our voices can be heard. In democracies, we are not subject to the whims of tyrants.
But tyrants want to see democracy eroded.
And we also know that democracy will disappear if we don't fight to protect it. We cannot take it for granted, or we will lose it. We must join together, we must speak out against anybody who tries to threaten or challenge or interfere with our right to vote, and the right of everyone who's entitled to vote to vote.
And we must vote. We all must vote in huge numbers in every election. That is the most important thing we can do!
We need to exercise our right to vote! So nobody can attempt to steal our democracy from us.
We dedicate our fourth cup of wine to our commitment to safeguard our democracy and our right to vote.