(l-r: Sybil Sanchez, Morton Sloan, Roberta Reardon, Paul Almeida, Richard Trumka, Stuart Appelbaum, Jack Ahern, Rabbi Michael Miller, Ruben Diaz, Jr.)

Addressing the Jewish Labor Committee, newly-elected President of the AFL-CIO, Richard L. Trumka, has spoken out clearly and forcefully in opposition to calls to boycott Israel. .Before 475 participants of the annual Human Rights Dinner of the JLC, held in New York City on October 27th, Trumka stated that “we’re proud to stand with the JLC to oppose boycotting Israel.” Trumka was elected President of the national AFL-CIO in September of this year. The AFL-CIO is composed of 57 national and international labor unions, represents 11.5 million members.

He noted that “the Jewish community here – and around the world – has never had a stronger ally than the AFL-CIO,” adding that “so long as I’m president, you will never have a stronger ally than the AFL-CIO!”

Trumka added that “in America, we sometimes think that anti-Semitism is part of the past, but the truth is that it’s like a weed that can always grow back. And that’s especially true during hard times. You know, sometimes it’s couched as `anti-Zionism.’ Other times there’s no effort to disguise it at all.”

In a keynote address, Trumka stated that “there is only one way we’re going to stop the violence in the Middle East – and it’s not by bashing Israel – it’s by supporting President Obama’s peace initiative. And I ought to add, that’s why we need to stand by President Obama on Iran, too!” (President Trumka’s entire speech can be found here.)

Three extraordinary individuals received this year’s Human Rights Award from the JLC: Roberta Reardon, the National President, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO {remarks here}, presented by Paul E. Almeida, President of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO; Morton Sloan, President of Morton William Supermarkets {remarks here}, presented by Ruben Diaz, Jr., Bronx Borough President; and John T. Ahern, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, and Business Manager & Financial Secretary of IUOE Local 30 (remarks here), presented by Richard Trumka.
The dinner, hosted by Jewish Labor Committee President Stuart Appelbaum (remarks here), received greetings on behalf of the Jewish community of New York from Rabbi Michael Miller, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (remarks here.) JLC Executive Director Sybil Sanchez also shared remarks at the beginning of the dinner (remarks here).

Michael J. Leahy OBE, General Secretary of the UK Union, Community - the Union for Life, that hosted the meeting in the UK, said:
"The real work of unions is not boycotts that would hurt Palestinian workers but bring people together and make the situation on the ground better for workers in Israel and Palestine. I hope we have started our part of this today."

Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in the US and Canada, said:
"The TULIP Solidarity Fund will speak for itself as we take small but real steps to make the situation on the ground better for working Israelis and Palestinians."

TULIP will formally launch the Solidarity Fund later in the year and hope to have a project agreed in the early months of 2010 if not before.

I’m Stuart Appelbaum. I'm president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and I'm also President of the Jewish Labor Committee.

And on behalf of the members of my union and the members of the JLC, I am proud to stand with you today.
Over the course of its history, the American labor movement has always fought for the rights of workers, not only here in America, but wherever men and women are denied their right to form unions.

That’s why I’m here today because, in contemporary Iran, worker rights simply do not exist.

But you don’t have to take my word for it: just ask Iranian workers who’ve tried to form free and independent unions and they’ll tell you the price people pay to organize.

They might tell you about Mansour Osanloo. He is a leader of the Tehran bus workers union. He was arrested in July 2007 and he is still in prison today.

Or they might tell you about Farzad Kamangar. Kamangar was a leader of Iran’s teachers’ union. After being arrested on trumped-up charges, he received a death sentence by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

Or they might even tell you about Sussan Razani and Shiva Kheirabadi who were convicted and flogged this past February in Sananadaj Central Prison for merely attending a labor celebration in 2008.

And that’s only where it begins. Journalists are routinely jailed. Metal workers, mechanics, sugar workers, bakery workers and others are arrested and their unions broken.

Ahmedinajad has sought to ban unions, to abolish the minimum wage, and to maintain the ability to fire workers without cause or recourse to compensation.

In short, the Iranian regime seeks a lawless workplace environment for all Iranians. They have imposed a violent crackdown on all forms of labor protest. They are feverishly working to strip Iranian workers of their dignity.

But the cause of worker rights in Iran will never be extinguished.

To quote Osanloo, “All we are asking is for Iranian workers to be treated as free human beings, not as slaves.”

Today, we are demanding that the Iranian regime immediately release all imprisoned trade unionists, that it recognize independent labor unions, and that Iran ratify and adhere to the International Labor Organization conventions governing the right to organize unions, to collectively bargain labor agreements, and the freedom of association.

The bottom line is that there can be no true Freedom in Iran absent the freedom to organize.

Today, I am calling on labor unions throughout the world to stand with our brothers and sisters in Iran. The global labor movement must play an important role in advocating for union rights in Iran and preventing repression of trade unionists.

Ensuring basic labor rights means filling the words “Stand for Freedom in Iran” with content and meaning.

We in the labor movement have the immediate moral responsibility to tell working people in Iran that you are our brothers and sisters - and we will stand with you for freedom in Iran for all workers and for all people.

JLC President Stuart Appelbaum stated, "Support for a two-state solution is the goal and will not be achieved by isolating and boycotting Israel. We continue to look to the trade union movement to promote peace and solidarity for all workers and hope that we can work with the TUC and other labor federations around the world to establish a coordinated, constructive policy toward that end. After all, in labor's fight for justice, we need to see more cooperation among workers and unions through trade and economic development, not less."

International leaders of the U.S. and German labor movements have long condemned the use of boycotts against Israel as being counter-productive to a two-state solution. The Jewish Labor Committee urges that the British Trades Union Congress does the same.

The United Hebrew Trades - New York Jewish Labor Committee hit the streets again - to march in New York City's Labor Day Parade. Marching with national and local JLC staff were representatives of IBEW Local 3, the New York State Public Employees Federation, RWDSU Local 338, and the United Federation of Teachers. Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of AFSCME District Council 37, the city's largest municipal union, was Grand Marshall of this year's parade, which brought out some 50,000 people from 400 union locals and labor-related bodies. New York CIty Central Labor Council President Jack Ahern noted that "This is a march that brings together all working people and that's what it's all about."

Recently-appointed Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, takes time out to chat with Jewish Labor Committee Executive Director Sybil Sanchez. For both individuals, this was their first Labor Day Parade in New York. Photos by Steve Pezenik.

l-r: Rev. Dr. Clarence Pemberton (Philadelphia), Rabbi George Stern (Philadelphia), and Father Jack O'Malley (Pittsburgh), at the office of Senator Robert Casey.

From the key contested states of Pennsylvania and California, we were represented by Rabbi George Stern, JLC Philadelphia Director Rosalind Spigel, JLC Western Region President and business owner Floyd Glen-Lambert, and Leslie Gersicoff, Executive Director of the Jewish Labor Committee Western Region Leslie Gersicoff. [For more about Jewish advocacy on EFCA, see the Jewish Labor Committee's 2009 Labor Day statement here.]

While our EFCA team was meeting with 15 Congressional members (from Pennsylvania: Senators Robert Casey and Arlen Specter, Representatives Kathy Dahlkemper, Jason Altmire, Joe Sestak, Robert Brad, Mike Doyle and Chaka Fattah; from California: Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Representatives Barbara Lee, Diane Watson, Bob Filner, Dana Rohrabacher and Henry Waxman), JLC Executive Committee members Elihu Davison of Morristown, N.J. and Gerry Sommer of Washington, D.C. joined JLC Executive Director Sybil Sanchez at the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy Day on Iran. The event was convened to advocate against a nuclear Iran through the National Inter-Agency Task Force on Iran, with representation from diverse local and national Jewish communal institutions across the country. The Task Force has been endorsed by all major religious movements within Judaism.

Sanchez delivered the following statement to the over 300 Jewish leaders present:

The Jewish Labor Committee is celebrating 75-years of connecting Jews and labor in the struggle for human rights.

We stand in solidarity today with those on the forefront of that struggle in Iran, be they minorities, women or workers. I would like to convey greetings from Stuart Appelbaum, President of both the Jewish Labor Committee and the Retail, Wholesale Department Store Union.

Along with RWDSU's support in this effort, we are grateful for the support of the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO. AFT President Randi Weingarten couldn't join us today but we welcome her representative David Dorn, director of the AFT's international affairs department.

President Weingarten is en route to Pittsburgh for as you might know, the AFL-CIO will be having its 26th Constitutional Convention there. Consequently, AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeny cannot join us either, but we do have a statement to deliver from the Federation:

"The AFL-CIO, on behalf of its nearly ten million members, repeats the call for full democratic rights for all Iranians, including freedom of association and freedom of assembly. The government of Iran must cease all violent repression, must release all imprisoned trade unionists; and must recognize all independent workers organizations in Iran. We urge the government of Iran to respect workers rights and stop repression against peaceful demonstrations." [For more information on the AFL-CIO's position in defense of workers' rights and freedom of association in Iran, see here.]

By Sybil Sanchez

Aug 29, 2009: NEW YORK (JTA) -- This Labor Day, take a moment to remember people like Lupe Hernandez.

When she toured a Jewish family’s apartment in the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, she felt connected to our history as immigrants struggling to make better lives for ourselves and our families. Hernandez is one of the immigrant workers on strike in the 2007 film "Made in LA" struggling to receive a fair wage and stop sweatshop abuse by organizing.

Labor Day might seem like a quaint throwback, but the struggle for workers' rights is still being fought today in our own backyards.

Our community’s relationship to labor is very different today than in yesteryear, but the Jewish obligation to remember our history remains relevant. As Jews, we must respect and support workers’ rights, whether it’s those of our ancestors or today’s immigrants.

While most headlines are focused on health care reform, labor law reform should stay on our agenda -- specifically, the Employee Free Choice Act. This much-needed legislation has three important principles: Workers would more easily be able to join or form a union; employers who break the law in efforts to stop union organizing would face more stringent penalties and workers who have chosen to form a union would have a clear path to an initial collective bargaining agreement with their employer.

Today, 44 percent of newly formed unions are unable to reach initial agreements, a serious problem the current law fails to address.

Supporting this legislation is a no-brainer if one supports workers’ right to collectively negotiate for decent wages and working conditions.

The Jewish Labor Committee has been a longtime supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act. We’re not alone. A number of other Jewish organizations also have endorsed it, including the Progressive Jewish Alliance in Los Angeles, Chicago’s Jewish Council for Urban Affairs, Philadelphia’s Jewish Social Policy Action Network, Washington's Jews United for Justice and New York’s Uri L'Tzedek. A visit to Rabbisforworkerschoice.org reveals the support of dozens of rabbis.

Ofer Eini, chairman of Israel’s federation of labor, the Histadrut, also has weighed in on the issue, conveying his support In a recent letter to John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO.

“The Employee Free Choice Act will bring U.S. law for union recognition into conformity with Israeli law and international human rights standards on the freedom of association in the workplace," Eini wrote. "We believe that U.S. workers, and all workers, should have the same rights as Israeli workers, to organize unions free from employer interrogation, intimidation and harassment.

“In Israel, when workers seek to bargain collectively, they just join together into a union, in the same manner that they join any other organization," he added. “When a sufficient number of workers have joined a union, they can demand recognition from their employer. If the employer refuses, the Labour Courts of Israel can investigate, and when it has determined that the required number of the workers are union members, that they have joined freely and without coercion, the court can require the employer to recognize the union."

According to Eini, the Employee Free Choice Act will "reform U.S. labor law so that the U.S. National Labor Relations Board is, like the National Labour Court of Israel, empowered to protect freedom of association, instead of thwarting it, as it is currently compelled to do by U.S. labor law."

“Unlike the National Labour Court of Israel, the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] of the United States has no power to require the employer to recognize the workers’ union except by first imposing an NLRB election," he said. "But NLRB elections are a cruel violation of the fundamental principles of free and fair and secret elections. In practice, they effectively prevent workers from exercising their right to freedom of association.

“Paid supervisors are trained by anti-union consultants to act as spies in the workplace. Thousands of workers are harassed, intimidated or fired each year by employers who do everything in their power to rob workers of their right to join unions and bargain collectively.

“So long as the employer-employee relationship remains one of power imbalance there is no way to reform an NLRB election to make it approach the standard of a free, fair and secret election.

“But as the experience of Israel teaches us, there is no reason to force workers through such a process. The National Labor Relations Board of the United States, like the National Labour Court of Israel, is fully capable of assessing the validity of union membership and verifying that membership was achieved without intimidation and coercion. It can do so without being required to impose an undemocratic and workers-rights-violating NLRB election. But it can do so only if the Employee Free Choice Act will pass as written."

The Histadrut leader concluded by calling on "all who desire that our countries' laws reflect our shared ideals of workplace social justice to support Employee Free Choice."

In this respect, Israeli law is pointing the way to a society that treats its workers with justice and dignity. Can we do any less?

Steve Pezenik and Arieh Lebowitz, in Midwood, Brooklyn, representing the United Hebrew Trades – New York Jewish Labor Committee at Candlelight Vigil for Workers Rights. Left: JLC staffperson Steve Pezenik addresses people attending vigil for workers at Omni Nursing Homes in New Jersey, in front of the home of Omni owner Avery Eisenreich. Right: Carolyn Brooks, VP of Homecare Division, 1199SEIU; JLC Communications Director Arieh Lebowitz; Rene Ruiz, organizer , Homecare Division, 1199SEIU. Photographs by Jim Tynan {l} and Steve Pezenik{r}

August 3rd: Union members from across New Jersey and New York came together with one voice, saying “Be Fair to Those Who Care!” Among the community supporters were two representatives of the local Jewish Labor Committee.

Workers at four nursing homes in New Jersey, members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, have been working without a contract for two years. The nursing homes’ owner, Avery Eisenreich, has steadfastly refused to come to the table and negotiate a fair and mutually-acceptable contract. “Workers make as little as $7.90 an hour,” said Denise Bowden, a worker at the Harborview facility for 24 years. “We cannot take care of our families on what little he pays.” Other workers at Eisenreich-owned facilities spoke of their experiences, and their need for a new contract. Max Predestin, a certified nursing assistant (C.N.A) at Bristol Manor said, “It is not an easy decision to strike. We take this very seriously. We're going to stick together and fight for a better life for ourselves and our residents. We want a fair contract now!" Romeo Rodriguez, Dietary Aide at Harbor View said, “The owner has been unwilling to negotiate with us for two years. We need fair wages to support our families and to care for our residents.”

The United Hebrew Trades – New York Jewish Labor Committee has since its founding in 1881 spoken out on behalf of working men and women trying to secure the benefits of union representation. Pezenik and Lebowitz joined the assembled in front of Mr. Eisenreich’s home in Midwood, Brooklyn. “These are intolerable conditions for any worker to live under.” stated Steve Pezenik, representing the New York JLC. “The 1199 members provide a sense of dignity and respect to the seniors in their care on a daily basis. Don’t they deserve the same treatment from Avery Eisenreich? This is shameful.”

Eisenreich, a significant donor to politicians in New Jersey, is reputed to receive a $10,000 per hour salary from one of his many nursing facilities. According to the State of New Jersey ’s Department of Health and Senior Services, he is listed as an officer of at least 13 facilities in New Jersey.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the New York JLC and other supporters will continue to demand that Avery Eisenreich respects his many workers who care for some of the most vulnerable in our community, and deserve a management that cares for its employees in both word and deed.

A response in the form of an Op Ed piece has been sent to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which we reproduce below:

On Employee Free Choice: Defending our history and our rights

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette should be ashamed of itself for equating support for labor law reform through the Employee Free Choice Act with Nazism in July 21’s editorial “Card (check) trick.” “Political parties supposedly dedicated to the workers’ welfare have a way of undermining their rights,” it opined on the current effort by leading Democrats to provide workers with a greater voice on the job. “For a European example to beware, note the sad history of the grandly named National Socialist German Workers Party, aka Nazis.”
Such a characterization is morally repugnant and historically inaccurate. The memories of six million Jews, thousands of trade unionists, and countless others are desecrated by this canard. It deeply derides the legacy of our organization as well: the Jewish Labor Committee was founded in 1934 to oppose Nazi persecution of Jews, trade unionists and others. Such desperate rhetoric implies that the enemies of labor know they cannot win on the basis of rational argumentation.
Stating that union leaders are coercing workers into joining a union is such a distortion of the facts that it would be laughable were the issue not so important. Workers and unions are not separate entities as the editorial states; unions represent workers, are formed by workers, and give workers a democratic voice in collective bargaining for their rights that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Companies that engage in million-dollar industries to sabotage workers’ right to organize make it necessary to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The act would give workers a simple path to union representation, ensure that workers who choose union representation achieve a first contract in a timely fashion, and strengthen penalties against employers who fail to comply.
Statistics from the National Labor Relations Board demonstrate that it is employers who wield the overwhelming balance of power in the workplace. Employers hold mandatory “information sessions” on the evils of unionization, control speech at the workplace and access to their employees, and routinely intimidate and penalize workers for exercising their legal right to choose union representation.
Workers caught up in the grinding “union avoidance” machine often find their lives destroyed. They lose their jobs, their homes, and their dignity. The price to society is equally high – the loss of middle-class jobs once provided by robust, free trade unions that represented tens of millions of workers. Support for unions is especially important now, when working families are challenged more than ever. This is as true in Arkansas as it is elsewhere.
When workers succeed in organizing a union and bargaining for a first contract, it is heroic. If they survive an employer campaign against their efforts, then there is the struggle to get a first contract. Employer stalling tactics result in the average group of workers needing a full year from the time they achieve recognition as a unionized bargaining unit until they achieve their first contract. Forty-four percent of contracts are never signed because of management’s stalling techniques. Just as management would prefer to avoid arbitration to negotiate the contract, unions don’t necessarily want it either – what they want is a guarantee that a contract gets signed! After all, if a contract is written but never signed, did the election for union representation ever really occur?
In an effort to devalue labor, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending millions of dollars to fight passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Why is the Chamber fighting so hard? Its members, America's major corporations, want to continue to ensure that employees march in lockstep to the beat of corporate America's drum. Is that freedom?
This is about the soul of American capitalism. Will we as a society value the workers who generate wealth or will we put the interests of corporations above all else? Will Congress stand with the vast majority of working men and women, who would join a union if they could do so without fear of harassment and intimidation? Will it promote a path to a renewed middle class? Or will Congress stand with the Chamber of Commerce and the very same corporations that drove the American economy into the recent recession?
This is about democracy in the workplace and about freedom of association. If The Arkansas Democrat Gazette wants to promote such values, they shouldn’t slander unionists as Nazis. We suggest instead that they begin by recognizing that there are two legitimate sides sitting at the table – labor and management. This would be a step towards honest, respectful relations at the workplace, and good-faith bargaining.

Sam Norich, Executive Committee Member, Jewish Labor Committee
Sybil Sanchez, Executive Director, Jewish Labor Committee
Melba Collins, Director, Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
Alan Hughes, President, Arkansas AFL-CIO
Ricky Belk, Secretary-Treasurer, Arkansas AFL-CIO

###

The Jewish Labor Committee was formed in February, 1934, by American Jewish trade union leaders in response to the rise of Nazism in Germany. It is the voice of the Jewish community in the labor movement and the voice of the labor movement in the Jewish community.

“I have always believed that the only way to challenge injustice is by organizing people for change,” Appelbaum told The Huffington Post on June 18. “That's why I first became involved in the labor movement. But change also requires being honest with each other and ourselves. For me, that means recognizing that the time has long passed for me to step forward and say: `yes, I'm gay.’”

Sybil Sanchez, Executive Director of the Jewish Labor Committee, congratulated President Appelbaum on his openness. “Stuart is a leader above the fray for the labor movement and the Jewish community, and now for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people in their fight for equal rights,” noted Ms. Sanchez. “His bravery in publicly connecting his personal life story with his political beliefs is to be admired and emulated and we are proud of him.”

As President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Appelbaum has worked with marginalized grocery store workers in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, and expanded the union’s activities on behalf of poultry workers in the south. In landmark advocacy, he also secured for the first time in the United States a day off for Somali workers at the Tyson plant in Shelbyville, TN, to observe the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

As President of the Jewish Labor Committee, he has led the organization's campaign to garner Jewish communal support for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, while leading the fight against attempts within the trade union movements in Europe and elsewhere to boycott Israel. He was recently honored as a Jewish leader by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty for leading JLC’s social justice effort in bringing labor and Jews together in order to provide and distribute 50,000 pounds of kosher chicken to New Yorkers.

Appelbaum’s LGBT activism resonates the same way as his labor activism, and in a way that many consider characteristically Jewish - with an emphasis on unity and action. “It is an honor to join with my brothers and sisters in labor, the Jewish world, and the LGBT community in solidarity as we seek justice and repair of the world.” he said.

In Philadelphia, the traditionally secular organization has organized something distinctive: a rabbinic appeal to Senator Arlen Specter. JLC Philadelphia Director Rosalind Spigel has enlisted 25 local rabbis plus rabbinical students to sign an open letter urging Pennsylvania’s newly minted Democratic senior senator to put Jewish values to work and help safeguard the rights of employees who wish to secure union representation.{Additional signatories are of course welcome – see here.} Congress is currently considering the Employee Free Choice Act. While Sen. Specter previously supported the legislation, most recently he indicated a disinclination to support this legislation.

On Tuesday, June 9, a rabbinic delegation of the Philadelphia JLC met Senator Arlen Specter to urge his support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Included in the delegation were Rabbis Anna Boswell-Levy, Reba Carmel, Leonard Gordon, and Alan LaPayover; also participating were Philadelphia JLC Vice President William Epstein {who is communications director for Local 1776 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and board member of the Jewish Social Policy Action Network}, Philadelphia JLC President Jeff Hornstein {who is district organizing coordinator of SEIU Local 32 BJ}, and Philadelphia JLC Director Rosalind Spigel.

The rabbis’ open letter begins by characterizing biblical references about the Sabbath, the day of rest from daily labors, as an affirmation of human dignity for the worker. It goes on to quote D’varim/Deuteronomy [24:14-15]: “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, but you must pay him his wages on the same day, for he is needy and urgently depends on it.”

Under the proposed EFCA legislation, workers would be empowered to choose between a secret ballot and a majority sign-up process. Under current labor law, employers often use a combination of legal and illegal methods of intimidation to silence employees who attempt to form unions and bargain for better wages and working conditions. When faced with union organizing drives, up to 25 percent of employers fire at least one pro-union worker. [See Kate Bronfenbrenner, `Uneasy Terrain: The Impact of Capital Mobility on Workers, Wages and Union Organizing' (September 6, 2000).]

Currently, during the run-up to elections on whether to join a union, workers’ free speech rights are often squelched. Employers may practice various forms of economic coercion and the existing rules allow them to indefinitely delay recognition through drawn-out appeals. [See John Schmitt and Ben Zipperer, 'Dropping the Ax: Illegal Firings During Union Election Campaigns, 1951-2007' (March 2009).]

Penalties for employer transgressions are too weak to deter violations. For example, an employer found guilty of illegally firing an employee for union activity must only give back pay to that employee – and is allowed to deduct whatever that worker earned elsewhere in the interim. Many employers find the punishment for breaking the law a bargain if firing a pro-union employee scares off others from supporting the union.

Even if workers successfully form a union despite such tactics, their employer is allowed to repeatedly appeal the results – which can take years to resolve, by which time some employees may no longer be working there, and momentum of any organizing campaign may well be depleted. Such delays mock the democratic process and weaken union support by inviting more opportunities for employee turnover, harassment, and firings by management.

In the course of elections to secure union representation, workers are twice as likely (46 percent vs. 23 percent) as those in sign-up campaigns to report that management coerced them to oppose the campaign to unionize. Whereas less than one in 20 workers (4.6 percent) who signed a card in the presence of a union organizer reported feeling pressured to sign the card. Currently, 91 percent of employers faced with organizing drives force employees to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings with their supervisors; 34 percent of employers coerce workers into opposing the unionization drive with bribes and favoritism; and 51 percent threaten to close a work site if unionization prevails.

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act was crafted to remedy these pernicious practices and outcomes. Moreover, the implications for social justice are clear: the resulting growth in the unionized work force would produce better wages and working conditions for many of America’s society’s most impoverished and hard-pressed workers. Supporting the Employee Free Act is the right thing to do.

(l-r: AWU President Paul Howes, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, and NYC City Council Members Melinda Katz and Eric Goia.)

In remarks from the New York event, Stuart Appelbaum noted that "support for boycotting, divesting from and sanctions against Israel appears to be growing by leaps and bounds.

Distributed at the May 21st event were TULIP’s founding statement, along with the Jewish Labor Committee's Statement of Opposition to Divestment From or Boycotts of Israel that 44 union leaders in the United States signed in 2007, as well as a statement against boycotts or divestment from the President of the 6.5 million-member Confederation of German Trade Unions [Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund - DGB].

Dear Senator Specter:

We, the undersigned rabbis and rabbinical students, write to express our strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Every major religion is sympathetic to the laborer. Judaism was early among the major religions in its assertion that labor involved more than mere economic activity. The commandment to observe the Sabbath was as much an affirmation of human dignity as of divine authority. “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.” But the seventh day was to be holy—holy in the eyes of God, but equally important—holy in its respect for all who work. As it is written in Deuteronomy: “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, but you must pay him his wages on the same day, for he is needy and urgently depends on it.” (24:14-15)

It is not always easy to translate the sanctity of labor into terms that have meaning today, a time in which the marketplace seems to have been elevated above all other holy altars. We believe that the Employee Free Choice Act presents an opportunity to give concrete meaning to the often frustrated dream of a just society.

As you know, current federal labor law typically requires that workers vote at least twice for union representation —once by signing a union authorization card, and then a second time in a so-called “secret ballot” election. In practice, workers who want to form a union are often met with a concerted campaign by the employer to undermine the organizing effort. Because the union has no access to the workplace, the employer starts from a very advantageous position, which it often exploits to crush the aspirations of the workers.

Imagine, Senator, a political election in which Candidate A has total and exclusive access to the voters for 8 hours a day and can require voters to attend meetings at which he tells the voters all the reasons why voting for Candidate B would be bad for them and their community. Meanwhile, Candidate B has little or no information about who the voters are, can only have access to them by chasing them down individually at the beginning or end of each day, and has no systematic means for rebutting Candidate A’s claims.

Imagine further, Senator, that Candidate A was found to have violated the law by intimidating voters or firing those who expressed support for Candidate B. And that the penalty for flagrant violations of the law consisted merely of a requirement to publicly apologize, months after the fact.

Senator, would you call such an election “free and fair”? Of course not. Yet that imaginary scenario mirrors the current NLRB election process. It is a broken process, a process that has been steadily eroded by a multi-billion dollar “union avoidance” industry. Why would any employer abide by labor law when the costs of non-compliance are so low?

The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to decide how they want to form a union, free from fear of reprisal. It would require employers to recognize and bargain after the workers obtain a simple majority on duly signed and authenticated union authorization cards. It would provide real penalties for violations of the law. It would require that the parties achieve a first contract in 90 days.

The Employee Free Choice Act would, in sum, restore workplace democracy and fairness. It is a way of balancing the scales of justice, of giving workers rights that most of us would take for granted.

Thus, we urge you, Senator Specter, to add your name to the growing list of sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act. It is the right thing to do.

Rabbi Marjorie Berman
Philadelphia, Pa.

Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy
Tzedek v’Shalom, Newton, Pa.

Rabbi Reba Carmel
Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi Meryl M. Crean
Elkins Park, Pa.

Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Jonathan Gerard
Easton, Pa.

Rabbi Gail Glicksman
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Shai Gluskin
Philadelphia, Pa.

Rabbi Leonard Gordon
Germantown Jewish Centre

Rabbi Erin Hirsh
Director of Education
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Rabbi Linda Holtzman
Mishkan Shalom

S. Tamar Kamionkowski, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Academic Dean, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Myriam Klotz
The Institute for Jewish Spirituality

Rabbi Yaacov Kravitz
Melrose Park, Pa.

Rabbi Alan Lapayover
Congregation Tiferes B’nai Israel

Rabbi Yael Levy
Mishkan Shalom

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling
Philadelphia, Pa.

Rabbi Yitzhak Nates
The Narberth Havurah

Dr. Adina Newberg
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Hava L. Pell
Camp Hill, Pa.

Rabbi Linda Potemken
Congregation Beth Israel
Media, Pa.

Rabbi Amber Powers
Dean of Admissions and Recruitment,
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Issac Saposnik
Philadelphia, Pa.

Rabbi Rav Soloff
Landsdale, Pa.

Rabbi Margot Stein
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Rabbi Jeff Sultar
Beth Am Israel, Penn Valley, Pa.

Rabbi David A. Teutsch
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Joshua Waxman
Or Hadash, Fort Washington, PA

Rabbi Arthur Waskow
The Shalom Center

Rabbi Avi Winokur
Society Hill Synagogue

RABBINICAL STUDENTS, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Joshua Bolton
Benjamin Davis
Isabel De Konick
Boris Dolin
Brian Fink
Ilanit Goldberg
Rebecca Gould
Ari Hendin
Leslie Hilgeman
Shulamit Izen
Daria Jacobs-Velde
Joshua Jacobs-Velde
David Katz
Saul Oresky
Malka Packer
Danielle Parmenter
Michael Ramberg
Michael Ross
Jessica Shimberg
Alanna Sklover
Neora Snitz
Erica Steelman
Rachel S. Weiss
Alissa Wise

NOTE: Institutions for identification purposes only