Jewish Labor Committee

[l-r: Educators' Chapter member Matias Wolkowicz, Volunteer Helen Murphy, Associate Director Arieh Lebowitz. Photo courtesy Next Left Notes / Bud Korotzer]

August 19th, NYC: JLC joined nearly 100 people at a demo in front of a newly opened Trader Joe's store in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, to inform consumers about the human rights abuses against farm workers harvesting the tomatoes sold by the company, and to demand that the company sign a fair food agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), which is the central organization fighting for these farm workers, who need better wages and more humane standards in the fields. The protestors also called on the company to buy only from growers who meet these standards. Other large corporations such as Whole Foods, Subway, Burger King and McDonald's have already signed similar agreements with the CIW.

Continue reading "Protesters Call on Trader Joe’s to Adopt Humane Conditions for Tomato Pickers" »

August 16, 2010, New York, NY: Stuart Appelbaum and Martin Schwartz, President and Executive Director, respectively, of the Jewish Labor Committee, today issued the following statement.

We join the many voices in our support of the planned Cordoba Initiative, a Muslim community center to be built a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.

As Muslims in New York and around the world mark the holy fast of Ramadan, we are mindful that from George Washington’s day to Barack Obama’s, the defense of freedom of religious expression has been a part of the fabric of American society, both when it was respected and when it was denied.

The right of anyone in the United States to observe their religious traditions without government interference has been a distinctive feature of American society, and, indeed, the diverse faiths and cultures of the U.S. have made the country stronger and more vibrant. We cannot allow either passion or trauma to dictate public policy about the Cordoba Initiative.

Continue reading "In Support of the Cordoba Initiative / Park 51 / Muslim Cultural Center" »

Floyd Glen-Lambert, president of the Western Region of the Jewish Labor Committee, and Elissa Barrett, executive director of California's Progressive Jewish Alliance, join hundreds of demonstrators outside the state capitol in Phoenix. JLCers from a number of states participated in demo. Photo by Ryan Torok, from Los Angeles' Jewish Journal.

July 29: Showing support for undocumented Hispanic immigrants in Arizona, a group of clergy and social activists from L.A.-based Jewish and interfaith organizations joined hundreds of people, from workers unions, advocacy groups and more, in traveling from Los Angeles to Phoenix on July 29. Read more here.

Thousands protest how Hyatt management and owners take unfair advantage of tough times.

Chicago JLC Area Director Eli Fishman [center, in blue shirt] joining Hyatt Demo.

July 22, 2010: Rabbis, cantors and other Jewish communal leaders were among thousands of workers and supporters across North America taking part in rallies, often including non-violent civil disobedience actions as part of a 15-city coordinated day of action. They joined UNITE HERE union members working in hotels — cooks, bellman, dishwashers, and housekeepers, among others — and allies from the Jewish community, along with leaders of many other faiths and community organizations, who participated in events in Chicago, Honolulu, San Francisco, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Miami, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Santa Clara and San Diego. Jewish Labor Committee activists participated in a number of these rallies.

Why were they demonstrating? Workers in Hyatt hotels across North America have endured staff cuts, reduced hours, and excessive injury rates. And Hyatt wants to force more givebacks and lock workers into unfair contracts even as the economy rebounds.

In August 2009, Hyatt fired the entire housekeeping staff – 98 workers – at its three Boston-area hotels and replaced them with non-union contracted workers earning a minimum wage without benefits. Many of the housekeepers had worked for Hyatt for 20 or more years and earned between $15 and $16 an hour plus benefits. Rabbi Barbara Penzner, Chair of the New England JLC’s Rabbinic Cabinet, considered this such an egregious betrayal of basic dignity and respect for workers that she created a petition calling on all Jewish institutions and individuals who might otherwise stay at the three Boston-area Hyatt hotels to find other accommodations until Hyatt rehired the housekeepers. The petition campaign grew, and eventually over 220 rabbis and cantors signed on. A delegation of rabbis and Jewish community leaders led by Rabbi Penzner met with Hyatt executives in December 2009 to ask that the housekeepers be re-hired and the Hyatt Corporation treat its employees fairly in their hotels across the country. Neither requests were honored to date.

Continue reading "JLC activists, Rabbis, Join Protest for Hyatt Workers" »

June 7th: The letter below, from Jewish Labor Committee President Stuart Appelbaum and Secretary Randi Weingarten, was sent out earlier in the day. We would be glad to receive your thoughts on these matters. Email us here.

The Jewish Labor Committee is deeply troubled by the tragic events that took place on board the ships attempting to break through the Israeli blockade of Gaza a week ago. We are also alarmed by the harsh condemnation of Israel accusing it of sole responsibility for the death and injuries that resulted. We call on world leaders and our friends in the international labor movement and the organized Jewish community not to rush to judgment.

Continue reading "JLC on the Gaza Flotilla / Israel Defense Forces confrontation" »

May 27th: The New England Jewish Labor Committee has lent its full support to warehouse workers at the Shaw’s Supermarkets' Methuen Distribution Center, some of whom went on a five-day, 60-mile march to protest increased health insurance costs included in a proposed final contract between the workers, members of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 791. Workers on strike were stripped of their benefits in April, several weeks after the union rejected a contract requiring employees to assume the full cost of health insurance increases.
The New England JLC and Temple B’nai Brith [TBB] cohosted a breakfast today for striking warehouse workers, including marchers, at the Somerville, MA, congregation. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Joanne Goldstein both spoke to the workers via phone.

Shaw's workers with State Senator Patricia Jehlen (powder blue outfit), Sheila Decter (in red) with the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Representative Carl Sciortino (suit), Marya Axner, Director of the New England Jewish Labor Committee (holding Jewish Labor Committee placard), Ruby Polterak (red hair, red shirt) with Temple B'nai Brith.

Continue reading "New England JLC supports warehouse workers at Shaw’s Supermarkets' Methuen Distribution Center" »

April 29th: Jewish Labor Committee helped bring a simple message from America's main street to Wall Street today: Good Jobs Now! Wall Street Must Pay!

Carolyn De Paolo, Coordinator, United Hebrew Trades - New York Jewish Labor Committee; Martin Schwartz, Executive Director, JLC; Arieh Lebowitz, Associate Director, JLC. (Image from photograph by Thomas Good, National Writers Union - UAW Local 1981)

Led by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, some 15,000 union members and allies on the ground and another 16,000 virtual marchers from an array of trade unions and an organizations including National People’s Action (NPA), NAACP and Move On took over Wall Street during the afternoon rush hour for a march and rally. When the marchers got to Wall Street, there were so many that they filled up two streets.

Continue reading "31,000 Deliver Message to Wall Street: Fix The Mess You Made" »

There was a good article about this year's commemoration here:
"Choosing Not to Forget What Is Painful to Recall," by Clyde Haberman
The New York Times, March 25, 2010

A plethora of useful items, including a listing of additional events, can be found at the website of the
Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition

And here
Resources

Greg Rosenbaum, CEO of Empire Kosher Poultry, holds the Philadephia Jewish Labor Committee's Labor Human Rights Award with members and staff from UFCW 1776 at the LHRA reception in Philadephia on November 19, 2009. Mr. Rosenbaum was joined by Senator Robert P Casey, who received the award together with him.
The award acknowledges the recipients’ contributions to labor and human rights and recognizes the practice of living one’s life to the benefit of the larger community.

Pledges Support for Israel, Calls for Support of U.S. President Obama’s Peace Initiative

(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).

Continue reading "AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Speaks Out Against Calls to Boycott Israel" »

London, UK - At the inaugural Executive meeting of Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine (TULIP) on Monday 12th October 2009, the three trade union leaders decided to launch a TULIP Solidarity Fund. The fund will work to practically support Israeli and Palestinian trade unions undertaking projects of mutual interest that foster peace and hope in the region.

Continue reading "Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine launches TULIP Solidarity Fund" »

As part of an effort to recognize the recent national labor leadership elections in Pittsburgh, celebrate the Jewish New Year, and stand in support of the state and people of Israel, thirty Philadelphia-area labor, government, and community leaders gathered at the Israeli Consulate in Philadelphia on Thursday, September 24, to honor the relationship between the U.S. and Israeli labor movements.
Sharing hosting duties were Patrick Eiding, President of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, along with Consul General Daniel Kutner; the event was MC’ed by Deputy Consul General Raslan Abu Rukun.
Patrick Eiding related the close organizational and personal relationships between Philadelphia labor, the local Jewish community and the Israeli trade union movemwent. Edward F. Mooney, Vice President of District 13, Communications Workers of America, and Bernard Fisher, Past President of the local Coalition of Black Trade Unionists discussed their participation in a July 2007 labor leaders’ study trip to Israel. The personal remembrances of Mooney and Fisher were “life changing,” they reported, discussing how they explored all sides of the issues, from Jewish and Arab, Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.
Israeli Consul General Kutner gave a brief account of Israel’s founding of Israel, and the role of decades of hard work by the pre-state Israeli labor movement to build a socially just society.

Continue reading "Philadelphia-area Labor Leaders Meet to Support Israel" »

Stuart Appelbaum addressing rally in New York's Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
September 24, 2009: New York - Thousands of people, including New York Governor David Paterson and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, gathered outside the UN building on Thursday to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's participation in the General Assembly session. The "Stand for Freedom in Iran” called for freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of the press; immediate cessation of human rights abuses, the release of demonstrators from prisons and protection for minority communities; prosecution of those responsible for the murder of Neda Agha-Soltan and the many other victims engaged in the recent protests; full compliance and cooperation by Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Security Council resolutions including an end to all uranium enrichment in Iran; an end to incitement to genocide and support for terrorism.
Speakers included Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, UFCW - and President of the Jewish Labor Committee - and J. David Cox, Sr., National Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO. Additional rallies are being held in Washington, DC; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; and Chicago, Illinois; and in in Vienna, Paris, Germany, Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Holland, and Norway. President Appelbaum's remarks appear below.

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.

Continue reading "Rally at United Nations: "Stand for Freedom in Iran”" »

Monday, Sept 21, 2009: New York - The Jewish Labor Committee notes the statement by the British Trades Union Congress of September 17, 2009. We welcome the TUC's affirmation of support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and emphasis on security for all parties. Yet, the resolution simultaneously seeks to impose military and economic sanctions against only one party to the conflict - the state of Israel and its democratic trade union center, the Histadrut. The resolution thus undermines the very end that that the TUC and trade unionists around the world fervently desire: a democratic, two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question.

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.

Friday, September 11, 2009 -- Yesterday, the Jewish Labor Committee brought leaders from California, Pennsylvania, and New York to Washington, DC, to participate in two major advocacy efforts for human rights at home and abroad.

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

Continue reading "JLC Fights for Workers Rights in the U.S. and Human Rights in Iran" »

The executive director of the Jewish Labor Committee makes her case for legislation that would remove obstacles to workers ability to join unions.

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.

Continue reading "Celebrate Labor Day by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act" »

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.”

Continue reading "Vigil in Brooklyn for workers at four nursing homes in New Jersey working without contract for two years." »

In a recent editorial, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette Northwest Edition suggested that the supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act are Nazis. That is not a misprint, as it says in the final paragraph of the editorial: “Have you noticed? Political parties supposedly dedicated to the workers' welfare have a way of undermining their rights. They may begin by bullying management but wind up dictating to labor, too. And everybody else. 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, historically inaccurate and, more than anything, illustrates the desperate lengths that some anti-EFCA advocates have to go in order to attract attention their cause.

Continue reading "Are supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act like Nazis?" »

June 29, 2009 – New York: The Jewish Labor Committee congratulates its president Stuart Appelbaum for becoming the first lay-leader of a national Jewish organization and international labor leader in the United States to openly affirm that he is gay. Appelbaum’s announcement came as part of the ongoing effort to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples in New York State. Last month, President Appelbaum joined the board of directors of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation, the non-profit educational affiliate of ESPA, New York State’s LGBT lobbying group.

“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.”

Continue reading "Jewish Labor Committee Congratulates President Stuart Appelbaum for Affirming His Gay Identity" »

The Jewish Labor Committee has been working both nationally and locally to support the Employees Free Choice Act (EFCA). Hundreds of people across the country have signed onto the JLC’s petition {you can add your name here}.

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.

Continue reading "“Rabbis for Workers’ Choice” debuts in Philadelphia" »

Trade union leaders from three continents have announced the launch of a new global movement "to challenge the apologists for Hamas and Hizbollah in the labour movement" and to fight for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The movement is called TULIP - Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine, and recently had a launch in New York on the steps of City Hall.
The leaders are Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (USA-Canada), and Michael J. Leahy, OBE, General Secretary of Community ( United Kingdom ).

(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.

Continue reading "TULIP - Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine" »

{Any rabbis or rabbinical students interested in adding their names to this letter, click here.}

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.

Continue reading "Philadelphia-Area Rabbis and Rabbinical Students Speak out for Employee Free Choice Act" »

The Jewish Labor Committee is part of a coalition of Jewish organizations' campaign aiming for “Progress by Pesach” on comprehensive immigration reform. The campaign will call on the new Administration in Washington to direct Immigration and Customs Enforcement to curtail the use of workplace raids as a primary tool of immigration enforcement. "PbyP" has a goal of 10,000 signatures on a petition -- see below -- by April 8, the first night of Passover.

Your participation would be very helpful - and simple. Please print out this petition {note: 8-1/2" x 14"} and background article {8-1/2" x 11"} - you may want to print more than one of each - and add your name to our petition. If you can secure the support of others willing to sign on, that would be great. But please send the petitions -- even if not all of the spaces are filled in, even if it's just one person - you - signing onto the sheet -- back to us soon. Send it back to us via fax -- 1-212-477-1918.

Continue reading "Progress by Pesach – for just and fair immigration reform" »