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!
Save the Date: Fight for $15 hearing on Tues. Oct. 13 at the State House
Join the Jewish community in supporting the Fight for $15.The Jewish community is on board with the Fight for $15. In addition to the JLC's support and involvement, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis both publicly stated their support for the Fight for $15 campaign. The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action has made this a priority.Now, we need YOU to come out and make sure these bills actually pass!On Oct. 13, the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will hear testimony on Fight for $15 bills. These include multiple bills to create a $15 per hour minimum wage for workers; a bill to ensure fair scheduling for workers; and a bill to raise the tipped minimum wage.Join the JLC and our partners from the Raise Up MA Coalition at the State House on October 13th to show your support for these bills.What is the Fight for $15?The Fight for $15 has grown from an effort to raise standards in the fast-food industry, into a broader movement to improve wages and conditions for low wage employees across Massachusetts. In 2013-2014, the state legislature passed the highest State Minimum Wage in the country, as well as Earned Sick Time. But a minimum wage is NOT a living wage. We need to fight for better working conditions too.What will the day look like?Where: Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02133When: 11:30 am Rally and march. 12:00 pm Lobby - meet with your legislators. Meet in Room 437. 1:00 pm Attend the hearing in Room A-1. 2:30 pm Assemble at Grand Stair Case and proceed to a fast food action.Let us know if you can make it by emailing newenglandjlc@jewishlabor.org or calling 617-227-0888.
Jewish Community Must Join the Fight for $15 Minimum Wage
— by Stuart ApplebaumFrom The Philadelphia Jewish Voice Jewish law and tradition are clear about our duty to fight for the basic rights of all working people.Shantel Walker makes $9 per hour at the Papa John’s restaurant in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood where she’s worked for the for the last 15 years, almost half her life. Because her wages are so low, she often has to choose between eating lunch or buying a Metrocard to get to work. She shares a one-bedroom apartment with family members, but still worries about making ends meet every month.But Ms. Walker is not staying silent and letting her challenges get her down. She is standing up and joining with other fast-food workers across the country in calling for fairness and respect on the job. Since late 2012, fast-food workers have been walking off the job as part of regular one-day strikes and their ranks have recently been supported by home health care aides, adjunct professors, airport baggage handlers and other low-wage workers. Their demand? $15 per hour and a union.The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is nothing close to a living wage. If someone earning the minimum wage is fortunate enough to be able to work full-time hours (and many are not), they would earn only $15,080 per year, which is under the poverty line for a family of two. At the current minimum wage, workers struggle paycheck-to-paycheck, and if they are able to pay all their bills at the end of the month, they are not able to save anything for an emergency, let alone for their retirement.Rising wages will allow millions of people across the country to lift their heads up and look towards the future with hope. But it will also benefit our economy at-large. A $15 per hour minimum wage will inject billions of dollars into local economies as many are finally able to buy new clothing for their children and other basic necessities. It will also ease state budgets, as millions who currently rely on state assistance will finally be able to afford groceries and rent.The history of American Jewry demands that we join with workers in their struggle for justice. When many of our ancestors first came to the United States, they worked low-wage jobs in the garment sector and other industries. Their experiences of struggle and pain encouraged many to organize and form unions that then fought for and won many of the basic wage and safety standards that we now take for granted. These gains enabled our families to raise their standards of living to where they are now, but we must never forget what it took to get here.The good news is that workers’ voices are having an impact. Already, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle have passed ordinances to raise their minimum wages to $15. Even more cities and states have passed smaller minimum wage increases that are an important first step for improving workers’ lives. But our obligation is not over until every working person has the ability to support their family without undue burden.At the very least, Jewish law and tradition means that we need to stand in solidarity with people such as Ms. Walker, who are taking a stand for the chance for a better life. Stuart Appelbaum is President of the Jewish Labor Committee.
15th Annual Labor Seder
Check 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.
JOIN THE FIGHT FOR $15 ON APRIL 14, 2015
Wednesday, April 14, 2015
4:00 PM to 6:00 PMBOSTON: Rally near Northeastern & Ruggles MBTA stops.*
*Boston and regional bus/event information TBA.
Save the date and stand with us for economic justice! Too many low wage workers are trapped in poverty. We are tired of being pitted against each other in a race to the bottom. Rain or Shine. Family friendly.
Facebook: Low pay isn't okay; join @WageAction #April14 to ensure #MA residents make enough to survive
#Fightfor15 #WageAction
Twitter and Instagram: Last June @WageAction took to the streets & we'll be doing it again on #April14. Join us!
The Only Hope for Peace is a Negotiated Two-State Solution
March 18, 2015, New York, NY – Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Jewish Labor Committee, issued the following statement the morning after Israel’s national elections:While it is too soon to know which party will be able to form a governing coalition, it appears that Likud is in better position to do so after Tuesday's Israeli elections. We couldn't disagree more strongly with Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that there will never be a Palestinian state under his watch and we believe that regardless of last-minute campaign rhetoric, the only hope for peace is a negotiated two-state solution.The Jewish Labor Committee, an independent secular organization, is the voice of the Jewish community in the labor movement and the voice of the labor movement in the Jewish community. Whether through its national office in New York or local offices and lay-led groups across the United States, the JLC enables the Jewish community and the trade union movement to work together on important issues of shared interest and concern, in pursuit of our shared commitment to economic and social justice.