U.S.-based Jewish Labour Committee defends unions

Editor’s note: This letter is from Stuart Appelbaum, President of the US-based Jewish Labour Committee and VP of UFCW International, in response to a recent Alberta Jewish News article about CJA teachers.

by Stuart Appelbaum

This letter stems from my concern about the notice that the Calgary Jewish Federation’s board of directors sent to the community explaining why it opposes certification of Calgary Jewish Academy (CJA) teachers for unionization by the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union Local No. 401.This notice appeared in the Oct 30^th article in the Alberta Jewish News, “Calgary Jewish Federation opposes UFCW certifying CJA teachers for collective bargaining.”

I am President of the Jewish Labor Committee, a U.S.-based organization with roots in both the Jewish community and the trade union movement. The JLC, founded back in 1934 to oppose the rise of Nazism in Germany, acts as the bridge between the organized Jewish community and the trade union movement. We support workers’ rights and human rights, and oppose antisemitism and other forms of hatred, bigotry and discrimination. We support the right of the State of Israel to exist and defend itself, and we work toward a just and peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. I might add that I am also an Executive Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and I served for many years on the Executive Committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Let me be clear: we support the teachers and related staff at the Calgary Jewish Academy who are pursuing union membership to secure better working conditions, job security, and a higher measure of dignity and respect on the job.

The CJA employees are pursuing their legal right, just as many workers across Calgary, across Alberta, and indeed across North America have done for well over a century. They stand on the shoulders of Jewish and non-Jewish trade union advocates who have played and continue to play a major role in making workplaces better, fairer and more just, and thus strengthening our families and communities. Jewish tradition and text, including the Torah and Talmud, clearly urge the fair and ethical treatment of workers, and respect the right of workers to speak out against injustice.

Just as the Calgary Jewish Academy has a Board of Directors, which acts collectively to manage the ongoing operation of their fine institution, including relations with its employees, we believe strongly that the teachers and other employees need and deserve to belong to a union, to speak out collectively on their behalf.  We understand that Local 401 has applied to the Labour Relations Board of Alberta to certify that they want to join the local, and an election is coming up.

The Calgary Jewish Federation has stated publicly that it “fully supports the happiness and health of CJA’s staff at all levels, ensuring our community continues to have a highly successful community school,” and “we also fully support the teachers and administration in ensuring their voices are heard and their choices respected. ”Clearly, the CJF has concerns, and it has made them widely known. But it has not clarified its position on the fundamental right of workers to unionize.

We call for an election process in which the union has every opportunity to make its case, including addressing questions and concerns of all parties, and in which the CJA workers can make their choice without being subject to misinformation or coercion.

It has been charged that some union locals have endorsed positions that are abhorrent to the Jewish community. Let me be very clear — of the thousands of national and local unions in North America, the vast majority has not said anything about the Middle East conflict. And of those who have, most have been staunch in their support of the State of Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorist attacks.

I welcome respectful questions from the Calgary community, including from teachers, parents and students, as well as members of the Board of Directors of the Calgary Jewish Academy and the Calgary Jewish Federation. Our shared tradition calls on us to learn from each other, as we seek fairness and the well-being of all.

Stuart Appelbaum, President, Jewish Labor Committee