Labor Seder

Four Questions About Labor Rights

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On March 23, we celebrated the 17th Annual Labor Seder, at which we celebrated the Passover holiday and the struggles of workers, drawing parallels between the liberation of Jews from slavery in ancient Egypt and current struggles of employees trying to win equitable pay and better working conditions.JewishBoston.com invited us to write four questions about labor rights as part of their collection of questions written by Jewish social justice organizations for the Passover Seder.We encourage you to read through our questions (below), to incorporate them into your Seder this year, and to use them to facilitate conversations with friends and family about workers' rights and the values of our Jewish traditions this Pesach.If you'd like to use our haggadah at your Seder, view and download a copy here.


Four Questions About Labor Rights

Like slaves, many workers have no say in their working conditions.Like slaves, workers give up their dignity to serve the bottom line. Passover is an ideal time to engage in the struggle for workers' rights and economic justice. We can look at what is going on with people who work in all kinds of jobs, including our own. This holiday calls us to become involved in advancing the dignity of workers.

Judaism values work and workers. Go around the table: What kind of work do you do, and do you feel respected at work?

We spend much of our lives working, so it's important that people are respected for their work, no matter their position. Respect for one's work is demonstrated in many ways, such as paying workers decent wages, listening to how they think the work could best be done and allowing time and flexibility for people to pay attention to their families and their own health. At the Jewish Labor Committee, we understand that low-wage workers and middle-class workers are often taken advantage of, and that it's important to stand up for all workers. We work in the Jewish community to gather support for workers.

Many people who have jobs don't get paid enough to pay for basic needs or work in unsafe conditions. What are the ways that unions, government policy and consumer demand can help change workers' conditions?

For the better part of a century, the Jewish Labor Committee has worked to engage the Jewish community in supporting union campaigns, legislation and consumer boycotts that have improved the lives of thousands of people. When businesses and legislators see that the Jewish community takes a stand on worker issues, it makes a significant difference. In the past year, the New England Jewish Labor Committee supported Verizon workers, janitors and Harvard University dining-hall workers to win union contracts that improved their wages, provided job security and improved or continued their health-care benefits. Currently, in the Massachusetts Legislature, we are working to pass an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as pass the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act to help employees when they or their family members are ill, or when a new child comes into the family.

The story of Passover teaches us that slavery is wrong. Where does slavery currently exist in the U.S. and in the world, and what's being done to stop it?

It's hard to imagine that slavery exists today, but it does, even in the United States-on farms, in prisons and in homes. In recent years, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, whose work the Jewish Labor Committee has been involved with for the past five years, exposed and halted slavery on farms in Florida. There are also domestic workers across the U.S. and in Massachusetts who are not allowed to leave the households where they work because their employers have taken their passports and cell phones to prevent them from leaving. The Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers, along with the New England Jewish Labor Committee, is one of the groups fighting against this.Our criminal-justice system does not protect prisoners from working for nothing or almost nothing, producing large profits for corporations in much the same way African-American slaves worked as slaves in the U.S. before the Civil War. We have many social-action groups in Massachusetts synagogues that are working for criminal-justice reform. There are also organizations, such as the National Council of Jewish Women, who are working to stop the practice of girls and young women being taken into the sex industry against their will.

In our society, people who have different work lives than we do may be invisible to us. What might we gain, as individuals and as a society, by getting to know people who earn their living in different ways than we do?

Part of the reason our country is experiencing such a big political divide is that we don't have much real contact with people of different socio-economic classes than our own. As economic inequality has grown, we have less easy opportunities to build relationships with people who have different kinds of jobs. Reaching out to people and hearing each other's stories will help bridge that divide. This helps everyone feel more connected, hopeful and less alone.


Chag pesach same'ach! Happy Passover!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 17th Annual Labor Seder last night!

We were so pleased to honor Barbara Madeloni, Rabbi Margie Klein Ronkin, and the Harvard dining workers of UNITE HERE! Local 26.

Here's how you can get involved in our work:

To see events that we are hosting, co-sponsoring, and/or participating in and to join us, visit our Google calendar and check your email regularly.To stay up-to-date on what we're doing, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.To become a member, click here.

To donate, click here.

Register for the 17th Annual Labor Seder!

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Register here!

The New England JEWISH LABOR COMMITTEE 

17th Annual Labor Seder

Thursday, March 23, 2017

5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Temple Israel

477 Longwood Avenue

Boston, MA 02215

Honoring: Barbara Madeloni, President, Massachusetts Teachers Association & Rabbi Margie Klein Ronkin, Moishe Kavod House & ECCO and recognizing Harvard University Dining Services Workers and UNITE HERE! Local 26Gold Co-Sponsors: UNITE HERE!, Massachusetts Teachers Association, IBEW 103Co-sponsors:  Boston JCRC, Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Moishe Kavod House, Boston Workmen’s CircleClick here to view the Facebook event page.

Thank you for coming to the 16th Annual Labor Seder!

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Thank you for joining us in celebration and song at the 16th Annual Labor Seder! We were proud to honor Attorney General Maura Healey and Rabbis David Lerner and Victor Reinstein of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis for all their work in fighting for workers' rights and dignity. And of course, the ‪#‎Fightfor15‬ in Massachusetts for its incredible work in fighting for a living wage for all workers!To see more photos of the event, see the Annual Labor Seder page on the site, or visit our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/New-England-Jewish-Labor-Committee-149370321806179/We hope your Passover is filled with joy and liberation!

15th Annual Labor Seder

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Labor2015picCheck out photos from the 15th Labor Seder on Flickr!What makes it possible for people to move out of slavery and into liberation? What are the ingredients that go into a successful movement against economic injustice? What moves people to action and what gives people hope?In the Passover story there were many people working together to strategize the coming out of Egypt and walking to liberation. There were Puah and Shifra, the midwives who refused to kill the Jewish newborn sons, there was Miriam who put her brother Moses in a basket so that he wouldn’t be killed. It was Bitya the daughter of Pharoah who lifted him from the basket and took him home, it was Jethro of Midian who took Moses in when he was fleeing those who wanted to kill him, it was Moses himself who answered God’s call to liberate the Jewish slaves. And then it was the hundreds of thousands of Jewish slaves who bonded together and had the courage to leave Egypt and walk into the sea and then into the desert, not knowing what the future would bring. There were many people from different backgrounds that played a role in the story of liberation.Our 15th Annual Labor Seder was our most successful Labor Seder. More than 300 people attended—up by approximately 20 attendees the previous year. We raised almost they same amount of money as last year. Many people said that this was the best, most spirited Labor Seder ever.This year we held our Labor Seder at IBEW 103. As in past years, elected officials, union presidents, Jewish community leaders, religious leaders, workers and students attended. Barbara led the Seder beautifully and we shortened the program at the request of several attendees. Almost everybody took home their Labor Seder Haggadah. We honored Mayor of Boston, Martin J. Walsh. He spoke movingly about the struggles of working people. We recognized these three campaigns: “Fight for $15”, Faculty Forward, and the Doubletree Workers Campaign. As it happened, the DoubleTree workers had just received a neutrality agreement from management, paving the way for a vote for UNITEHERE Local 26 to be there union representative.Year after year the Labor Seder continues to be a unique and powerful event. Perhaps it is the compelling Passover story—one of liberation from oppression—which so closely parallels the current struggles of workers and affects people on a deep level. Perhaps it is the connection attendees build with people from different communities that makes this evening so magical. Perhaps it is also the joy of celebrating a diverse community’s shared commitment to economic and worker justice. It takes all of these pieces for the Labor Seder to be the successful and moving event that attendees come to expect year after year.

New England Jewish Labor Committee 15th Annual Labor Seder

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Join the Greater Boston Jewish and Labor communities to celebrate our shared traditions and strengthen our work together.

To register for the 15th Annual Labor Seder click here

View our event on Facebook

Tuesday, March 24th, 20155.00-8.30 p.m.(5-6.00 schmooze time)

IBEW Local 103 256 Freeport Street Boston, MA 02122

Dinner will be served

The Jewish tradition obligates us to relive the Exodus and liberation story of Passover in every generation. The Labor Seder is a unique interfaith opportunity through which labor and Jewish community leaders and activists continue to build bridges. We hope that you will join us at the table to learn more about current worker struggles right here in Greater Boston, find ways to get involved in meaningful campaigns for social justice, and rejoice with us in the ancient and joyful holiday of Passover.

Honoring:Boston MayorMARTY WALSH

Recognizing:The Workers of Harvard-owned DoubleTree HotelUnite Here Local 26 Campaign

The Fast Food Workers'Fight for $15' Campaign

The Adjunct FacultySEIU 509 Campaign

Gold Co-Sponsor: UNITE HERE Local 26

Co-sponsors:  Moishe/Kavod House, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Boston JCRC, and Boston Workmen’s Circle

Suggested Ticket Donation: $54 ($18 for low-income). All are welcome regardless of donation.

To RSVP, register on this website or email Marya Axner, Regional Director at NewEnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org or call (617) 227-0888

To buy an ad email Marya Axner, Regional Director at New EnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org or call (617) 227-0888

Deadline for ads: March 9th, 2015

Send checks to: Jewish Labor Committee, 18 Tremont Street #320, Boston, MA 02108 or pay through this website.

Event is Kosher, wheelchair accessible.