Jewish Labor Committee

The Jewish Labor Committee joins a range of Jewish communal organizations in condemning the unprincipled opportunism of Israel's Prime Minister in working to secure the participation of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party as part of the maneuverings leading up to the upcoming Israeli elections. Otzma Yehudit adheres to the racist policies of the late Meir Kahane. We specifically support the statement issued last week by eight kindred organizations -- Partners for Progressive Israel, Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, J Street, the National Council of Jewish Women, the New Israel Fund, Reconstructing Judaism, and T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights -- and we join in their call on the American Jewish community to affirm that "Kahanists Have No Place In The Knesset."

Encouraged by additional statements from a range of groups within the United States as well as in Israel, we invite our members and friends to join us in this, and join with tens of thousands of Israelis who are working to keep Kahanists out of public life - by signing the online petition here: https://secure.nif.org/onlineactions/L2Bxc4DgMEGB0FwO7wLKDg2?ms=via_JLC

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February 22, 2019

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, keen to shore up his electoral position, orchestrated the unification of the extreme right-wing party Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Power”) with the National Union so that it could enter the Knesset in a consolidated right-wing bloc. This is dangerous and deeply concerning. Otzma Yehudit is the latest iteration of a political party based on teachings of racist demagogue Meir Kahane.

For decades, the consensus in Israel was that these racist extremist organizations should have no place in the Knesset. We are outraged that right-wing political parties and their leadership have reversed course and opened the door for Kahanists to enter into the Israeli political mainstream.

Our organizations do not advocate for or against any candidate or party in any election. We stand together for the principles enshrined in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Kahanism, empowered in government, represents a clear and present danger to those values.

Kahane’s party, Kach, was banned from the Knesset in 1988, was outlawed as a terrorist organization in Israel in 1994, and still appears on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Modern day Kahanists are working to divide Israeli society by stoking racial fears. They seek to strip all non-Jewish Israelis of basic rights; many encourage violence toward Arabs and LGBTQ Israelis. These Jewish supremacist organizations often use incitement to violence to promote their racist agenda. That’s why the US State Department, the EU and the Canadian government all list Kahanist organizations as terrorist groups.

Today's Kahanists have been convicted numerous times for support for terror organizations and incitement to racism. Michael Ben-Ari, a leader of Otzma Yehudit and candidate for Knesset, was denied a visa to enter the US due to the State Department's "prerogative to ban terrorists from entering the country."

As Americans, we have seen the devastating effects of elected officials embracing white nationalist groups. In America, deadly right-wing extremism poses a clear and present danger to our democratic society. In Israel, it is Kahanists -- and the political mainstream that embraces them -- that pose the most direct threat to Israel’s democratic fiber.

We call on our colleagues in the American Jewish community and Jewish organizations to stand for democracy and equality and join us in affirming that Kahanists have no place in the Knesset.

February 11, 2019: Washington, DC -- The Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) has secured the explicit endorsement for the Federal Minimum Wage to be raised to $15/hour from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, at the JCPA's annual conference recently held in Washington, DC. The Jewish Labor Committee is a founding member organization of the JCPA.

The resolution - text below - updated a 2014 resolution that supported an increase in the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10/hour.

The Jewish Labor Committee prepared the updated resolution, and submitted it with the co-sponsorship of a number of national and local Jewish agencies, including the National Council of Jewish Women, the Rabbinical Assembly (the international association of Conservative rabbis), the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and the Union for Reform Judaism, plus four local bodies: the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley (Los Gatos CA), and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. All are affiliated with the JCPA.

The four-day annual conference, which ran from Feb. 9th through Feb. 12th, drew some 250 professionals and volunteers from across the United States; sessions reflected the range of policy issues being dealt with at the national and local level. JCPA, the national hub of the Jewish community relations network, represents 125 local Jewish community relations councils (JCRCs) and 17 national Jewish agencies, including organizations representing all four major denominations of religious Judaism.

Continue reading "National Jewish Umbrella Agency Calls for Increasing the Minimum Wage to $15 / Hour" »

January 10, 2019: New York, NY -- the letter below was just sent to all U.S. Senators.

Dear Senator,

We are deeply concerned that approximately 800,000 Federal Government employees are working without pay or temporarily furloughed because of the current government shutdown. A crisis not of their own making, this jeopardizes the livelihoods of their families and undermines the economic well-being of their communities, which rely on their steady paychecks -- as well as members of the broader public who depend upon their services.

We call on Senator Mitch McConnell to bring the Consolidated Appropriations Bill of 2019 to a vote without delay, and on all members of the Senate to rise above partisan concerns to support and vote in favor of this bill, ending this unconscionable interruption in the nation's business.

Stuart Appelbaum
President, Jewish Labor Committee

Ashley Adams
Co-chair, New England Jewish Labor Committee, Boston, MA

Margarita Aguilar
Secretary, Metro Labor Communications Council*, New York, NY

Marya Axner
Somerville, MA

Harlan Baker
Campus Representative, University of Southern Maine, Part Time
Faculty Association / AFT Local 4693*, Portland, ME

Rabbi Renee Bauer
Madison, WI

Rabbi Marjorie Berman
Clarks Summit, PA

Steve Eisenbach-Budner
Tivnu: Building Justice*, Portland, OR

Cantor Devorah Felder-Levy
Los Gatos, California

Rita Freedman
Silver Spring, MD

Joel Freedman
Silver Spring, MD

Rabbi Miriyam Glazer
Professor Emeritus of Literature, Communication and Media,
American Jewish University*, Los Angeles, CA

Rabbi Peter S. Knobel
Rabbi Emeritus, Beth Emet the Free Synagogue*, Evanston, Il

Avram Lyon
Morristown, NJ

Gail Malmgreen
New York Labor History Association*

Ivor R. Moskowitz
Delmar, NY

Gerald Newsome
Local 195 IFPTE*, Milltown, NJ

Carol Rosenblatt
Coalition of Labor Union Women*, Washington, DC

Donald Siegel
Boston, MA

Rabbi Brian Walt
West Tisbury, MA

Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub
Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Uri L'Tzedek: Orthodox Social Justice*

* For identification purposes only

l-r: Robert D. Aronson, incoming Board Chair of HIAS, the refugee and immigrant aid organization; Henry A. Garrido, AFSCME District Council 37 Executive Director; and Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union. (Miller Photography)

November 29, 2018: New York, NY -- The Jewish Labor Committee held its 47th Human Rights Awards Dinner in New York City tonight. Three honorees were recognized: HIAS, the refugee and immigrant aid organization, AFSCME District Council 37 Executive Director Henry A. Garrido, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Stuart Appelbaum, President of the JLC and of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), chaired the event. He welcomed those in attendance by noting a sense of solidarity in the room. “At a time when the world seems to have gone wrong in so many ways,” Appelbaum said, “it is good to come together with people who share a different vision – and are convinced that it doesn’t have to be this way.” Appelbaum went on to explain the legacy of the JLC, formed in response to anti-Semitism in 1930s Europe, and its relevance today.

He then introduced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who presented the first award of the evening to Mary Kay Henry, President of SEIU.

Continue reading "Jewish Labor Committee's 47th Human Rights Awards Dinner" »

Jewish Labor Committee Sends Condolences to Tree of Life Congregation
Condemns Domestic Terrorist Act in Pittsburgh and the Climate that Breeds It

October 27, 2018: New York, NY -- The Jewish Labor Committee sends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed by the domestic terrorist who attacked the Tree of Life Congregation during Shabbat services earlier today, and to the entire congregation and the larger community.

This violent terrorist act in Pittsburgh was not the first, although it was the largest such attack against the American Jewish community. Deflecting people's fears, frustrations and anxieties toward Jews, refugees or any minority in society is not new.

We are mindful that this terrorist act was motivated not only by hatred of Jews, but also by hatred of refugees and other migrants, and of those organizations, congregations, and communities aiding them. And this bigotry did not arise from nowhere. Anti-refugee sentiment, expressed in hate-filled rhetoric by the most senior members of the government, has been echoed and amplified in social media and given legitimacy by the mainstream press. The coded messages of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia are given free rein not only in extreme alt-right shadows, but increasingly in the conservative mainstream.

The rapid rise of anti-Semitic acts in the United States, including this most recent case of domestic terrorism by a hate-filled home-grown extremist, must be condemned and rejected not only by those directly affected, but by all Americans. We call on all men and women of good will to join us in rejecting anti-Semitism, and all manifestations of racial, ethnic, religious and political bigotry. Not only in Pittsburgh, but across the United States, we need to stand together and confront such hatred, and the violence it breeds.

You may make your reservation using a credit card: space is on the RSVP form, and you can also send us an email and write where to call you and when would be good.

Program ads and RSVP Deadline: November 12, 2018
Any questions, just call us at 212-477-0707.

August 16, 2018: New York, NY -- Today, the Jewish Labor Committee joined with 36 national Jewish organizations to send a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to allow at least 75,000 refugees to be admitted to the United States in 2019. The letter reconfirms the American Jewish community’s shared commitment to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

The letter reads in part, “Our country has long been a leader in providing protection and assistance to those fleeing persecution and violence. In fact, the American Jewish community owes its existence to the times in our nation’s history when the U.S. welcomed refugees from all national and religious backgrounds. It is because of our history as refugees, our biblical commandment to “welcome the stranger,” and our longstanding involvement as a community in resettling and welcoming refugees, that we call on you now to give today’s refugees a chance to rebuild their lives in safety and freedom in the United States.”

Continue reading "National American Jewish Organizations Call on President to Admit 75,000 Refugees in 2019" »

Monday, July 23, 2018: New York , NY -- The Jewish Labor Committee deplores the divisive measures recently adopted by Israel ’s parliament. The Knesset has narrowly passed a new Basic Law (akin to a constitutional amendment) proclaiming that Israel is the “nation-state of the Jewish people,” where the “right to exercise national self-determination is unique” to Jews. Arab and Jewish members of the Knesset loudly denounced this law, some calling it “racist.” While we disagree with this assessment, we share their condemnation of this new law, and call on other friends of the State and people of Israel to do the same. At a time when democracy, respect for diversity, and solidarity are under threat around the world, and there is no visible movement towards a mutually acceptable negotiated two-state resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the passage of such a law seems doubly ill-conceived and ill-timed.

Continue reading "Israeli Identity Politics vs. a Democratic Israel" »

June 18, 2018: Philadelphia, PA -- The Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee, in conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League, the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and the Labor School at Penn State University, held its first anti-bias training in many years at the offices of Workers United/AFL-CIO in Philadelphia. The participants in this four-hour pilot program came from several unions, including SAG-AFTRA, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), AFSCME Council 47, and others, as well as a number of community groups.

Philadelphia JLC, the ADL, the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and Penn State University's Labor School joined together last year to create this anti-bias educational program, led by professional facilitators from the ADL, organized primarily for union members, to help understand and challenge bias, and promote tolerance and respect for diversity in the labor movement, and in our communities.

This new initiative of the Philadelphia JLC hearkens back to the JLC-organized Labor Committees to Combat Intolerance in some two dozen communities across North American from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s.

Continue reading "JLC, ADL and Penn State University Start Anti-Bias Educational Program in Philadelphia" »

June 27, 2018: New York, NY -- The Jewish Labor Committee deplores today’s decision in Janus v AFSCME Council 31. The Court overturned a 41-year unanimous decision (Abood v. Detroit Board of Education) that held that union “fair share” fees are constitutional. Today, the court ruled that anything that a union representing public employee does to improve working conditions – any effort to improve safety in the workplace, to restrict excessive overtime, to ensure fair wages or otherwise improve workers’ lives on the job – is political and that "fair share" payments to cover these union services are a violation of fee payers’ free speech.

Unions are required by law to represent and negotiate on behalf of all public employees – members and nonmembers alike. So everyone who benefits should contribute to the cost of representational activities like contract negotiations and grievance representation. Before this case, no one was forced to be a union member or pay any fees that fund political activities. Fair share fees enabled employees who didn’t want to contribute in any way towards the union’s political and lobbying activities to pay a lower amount that excluded any dues money spent on such activities.

Non-members will now be able to “free ride” on the dues paid by their coworkers and deprive unions of the resources needed to fight for worker rights in the workplace.

This, of course, is the goal of the network of anti-union and wealthy special interests that was behind this case: to weaken the labor movement. Unions stand up for working people. The goal of the virulently anti-union organizations that pushed this case was in their words to “defund and defang” unions in order to undermine their power.

The court clearly relied more on politics than jurisprudence in deciding this case. We urge all public employees to become union members and stand with their coworkers in the fight for social and economic justice.

Program Coincides with 50th Anniversary of Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

April 4, 2018: Memphis, TN -- After bells tolled in this city for the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Jewish Labor Committee helped commemorate history: the JLC, AFSCME, the I AM 2018 coalition, and the Church of God in Christ hosted a unique Labor Seder here in Memphis. It combined the observance of Passover with a rededication to the work, words, and legacy of Dr. King. Over 100 people participated in this National Faith-Labor Leadership Passover Seder at the very meeting place where Dr. King and the Memphis sanitation workers gathered five decades earlier to secure the right to organize and bargain collectively. Jewish community figures, labor leaders, organizers, clergy of many traditions and others joined to explore the Passover imagery and themes of the Exodus that often imbued Dr. King’s words. The meeting place, Memphis's Clayborn Temple, a former Presbyterian and AME church and now a nonprofit cultural center for the community, was the starting point for marches and meetings in 1968 by striking AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers and their supporters.

Continue reading "National Faith-Labor Leadership Passover Seder Held in Memphis, TN" »

Dear friends,
As the first night of Passover and Good Friday fall on the same day this year, we wish our members and friends observing these holidays a sweet and meaningful Passover and a happy Easter.
Jewish tradition tells us that we should remember our treatment as resident foreigners (“strangers”) in ancient Egypt and thus treat others fairly and justly.
This is especially true, as we understand the text, in today’s society, whether in the United States, Europe, or the Middle East.
And so we support efforts in the U.S. to raise wages for the least-well-paid among us, often immigrant and migrant workers, and to raise the minimum wage, and to enact comprehensive immigration reform, to decrease income and wealth inequality, to end discrimination and to promote dignity, security and representation on the job and in the larger community.

February 26, 2018: New York, NY - As attorneys argue a U.S Supreme Court case today that could decimate public sector unionism in the United States, the Jewish Labor Committee denounces the forces at work behind this lawsuit and supports the efforts of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) to defend against it.

Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 was backed by conservative industrialists and think tanks, including Richard Uihlein, an Illinois shipping supply magnate, and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Under current law, public sector unions generally have the right to collect a fee, a “fair share,” from all workers they represent in collective bargaining. No worker is required to join the union. Moreover, both union members and fair share participants can opt out of paying political action or other costs not associated with contract issues.

Jonathan D. Rosenblum, executive director of the Jewish Labor Committee stated: “In most of the world, the ‘right to work’ means the right to obtain a sustaining job. Only in America has that term been hijacked to mean the right to defect from community by refusing to support with dues payments (or service fees) the elected workplace association-- that is, the union.”

Rosenblum added: “The Janus case is part of a long-standing campaign by conservatives to undermine quality state-based public sector jobs that historically have been especially important to women and minorities."

Continue reading "Jewish Labor Committee Denounces Janus Court Case against Public Sector Workers" »

January 17, 2018: Washington DC - Over 100 Jews who have travelled from all across the United States are in DC TODAY to join the brave immigrant activists fighting to pass a clean Dream Act and protect a generation of Dreamers from deportation. Inspired by the ancient cry of our ancestors seeking liberation, we will demand: “Let My People Stay.”

What:
The Jewish Labor Committee's New England Co-chair, Rabbi Barbara Penzner, with Bend the Arc Jewish Action, is leading the Jewish community in a bold, escalated civil disobedience action in Washington TODAY 1/17 at 10:30 EST in solidarity with the immigrant community.

WATCH LIVE ON FACEBOOK HERE: http://www.jewishaction.us/117live

Why:
To show Speaker Paul Ryan, Leader Mitch McConnell, and members of Congress that the Jewish community strongly supports protections for immigrants and opposes white supremacy.

Graphic, by Erik Brandt, via Temple Hillel B'nai Torah's Immigrant and Refugee Solidarity Committee. For more information on the image, go here.
#LetMyPeopleStay #DACA #DreamActNow #CleanDreamActNow

Broad coalition of Jewish groups and leaders pen letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of Burma sanctions, refugee assistance and accountability around crimes against the Rohingya people

Photograph courtesty American Jewish World Service

January 5, 2018: Today, a broad coalition of organizations from across the Jewish community — including leaders of major organizations and the Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox movements — released a letter urging the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2017 (S. 2060). Twenty-four national organizations, including American Jewish World Service, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Jewish Labor Committee, signed this letter, alongside 48 local organizations and 246 rabbis and communal leaders. The letter urges Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and Ranking Member Ben Cardin to champion this legislation, advance it through the Committee process, and ensure its passage in the full Senate.

Continue reading "Jewish Organizations Call on Senate to Advance Burma Sanctions to Address Crisis of the Rohingya People" »

New England JLC Director Marya Axner and (l-r) St. Louis Islamic Foundation leader; Dr. Ghazala Hayat, AFSCME Local 199 President Se'Adoreia "CeeCee" Brown; Interfaith Worker Justice policy advisor Julian Medrano

October 23, 2017: St. Louis, MO -- As part of the quadrennial AFL-CIO National Convention in St. Louis in October, we helped to create and staff a “post-Charlottesville” workshop on racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. On October 23, 2017, more than 40 national delegates -- including Native American, Latino/a and African-American attendees -- heard presentations by JLC President Stuart Appelbaum and New England JLC Regional Director Marya Axner. Other speakers included St. Louis Islamic Foundation leader Dr. Ghazala Hayat, AFSCME Local 199 President Se'Adoreia “CeeCee” Brown, and Interfaith Worker Justice policy advisor Julian Medrano. AFSCME President Lee Saunders attended the workshop.

Mr. Appelbaum opened the workshop, calling for attendees to speak out and stand strong whenever racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or other expressions of bigotry or identity-hatred rear their heads. Ms. Axner spoke about the history of anti-Semitism and its current manifestations. She pointed out that anti-Semitism has long been used to divert workers from uniting to fight for their rights and address the problems of economic inequality.

Reception 6 p.m. - Dinner 7 p.m.
Make your reservations now. Click HERE for an RSVP form.
Just fill in the form, print it out, and either send it back to us via fax — 212-477-1918 — or as an email attachment to dinner@jewishlabor.org.
You may make your reservation using a credit card: space is on the RSVP form, and you can also send us an email and write where to call you and when would be good.

Any questions, just call us at 212-477-0707.

Photo courtesy Jobs With Justice

September 7, 2017: New York , NY - The Jewish Labor Committee condemns President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

This program gave 800,000 young people — children and teens who had arrived in the U.S. ten or more years ago at age 15 or younger — a chance to legally study or work.

“It is inexplicable and unconscionable that we would again upend their lives and return these young people to limbo,” said JLC President Stuart Appelbaum. Appelbaum called on Congress to promptly pass legislation assuring continued legal status for these “Dreamers.”

“Our ancestors were the Biblical 'strangers in a strange land,’ ” said Appelbaum, who is also the President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. “As we move from Labor Day to the High Holidays, we recall our own American immigrant stories. By closing doors, canceling promises, and building walls, we betray our moral and ethical obligations to these young people.”

Protest against announced repeal of DACA, NYC, ‎Sept. ‎6‎, ‎2017 Photo by Harrie van Veen/Creative Commons

JLC Executive Director Jonathan D. Rosenblum (black t-shirt, holding JLC placard), Chicago JLC Area Director Eli Fishman (in sunglasses), and Chicago JLC Chair Mike Perry (holding JLC placard)

September 4, 2017: Chicago, IL -- Jewish Labor Committee staff and lay-activists joined thousands of union members and other workers fighting for a fair wage and union rights on the job at today’s Fight For $15 Labor Day Rally in Chicago’s Loop. Chicago JLC participated in a Jewish Contingent, along with Chicago’s Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and the Chicago Workmen’s Circle branch.

Activists at the rally included Moral Monday founder The Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, The Reverend Jesse Jackson, former Governor Pat Quinn, and SEIU Healthcare Illinois president Greg Kelley.

Continue reading "JLC Marches in Chicago on Labor Day 2017" »

Graphic by Brittney Willis.

The Jewish Labor Committee wishes everyone a happy Labor Day Weekend. This holiday has many meanings in the United States - a long weekend, a barbeque with friends and family, or the last day to wear those white pants you got on sale.

For us, and many others across the country, Labor Day most of all means a day to celebrate workers and to restate the goals and accomplishments of the labor movement. We remember those who fought and sacrificed to secure many of the things that we take for granted, including an eight-hour workday, the right to unionize, even the two-day weekend.

Continue reading "Happy Labor Day!" »

Photograph via Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee

August 16, 2017: Philadelphia, PA - Thousands of Philadelphians gathered at Congregation Rodeph Shalom to begin a their trek down Broad Street in protest of white supremacy and in solidarity with the victims of the previous week’s confrontation in Charlottesville, VA. The Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee participated with scores of other social justice and faith-based organizations.

Protestors gather outside of Arch Street United Methodist Church after marching down Broad Street as part of the "Philly Is Charlottesville" rally. Photograph by Kriston Jae Bethell

August 15, 2017: New York , NY - In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville this past weekend, Jewish Labor Committee President Stuart Appelbaum issued the following statement:

The Jewish Labor Committee joins with all people of good will in our outrage at the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, surrounding the so-called “Unite the Right” rally on August 12, 2017. There is no place in our society for bigotry, prejudice, racism, and anti-Semitism. This language and those people who espouse it must be condemned at every turn.

Our heart goes out to the victims of the neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists who marched shouting hateful slogans against African-Americans and Jews.

They must be condemned, and defeated, in the press, on the streets, in the classrooms, in the workplaces, and in the halls of government, from the highest levels in the White House to every town hall and union hall across the United States.

Poster by Mitchell Loeb, 1934. The Jewish Labor Committee, the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Labor Chest to Combat Nazism and Fascism, and others made use of it in outreach campaigns.