Earlier in October, our Director Marya Axner spoke at a session at the AFL-CIO national convention in St. Louis. She was asked to speak about the nature of antisemitism and its implications post-Charlottesville. She spoke about how antisemitism has been used to divert workers from uniting to fight for their rights and address the problems of economic inequality.We are proud to be a representative of the Jewish community when it comes to speaking on justice, racism, antisemitism, and labor in the United States and beyond.
Northeastern Dining Hall Workers Win a Contract with Guaranteed Minimum Salary of $35,0000
We supported the Northeastern Dining Hall workers of UNITE HERE Local 26, who were able avert a strike and win a contract with a guaranteed minimum yearly salary of $35,000 and affordable health benefits.
From UNITE HERE, Local 26 website:"Boston, MA—Today UNITE HERE Local 26 members on Northeastern University’s campus ratified a 5-year agreement just hours before they were scheduled to begin a strike.Workers voted 316 to 2 to authorize a strike on October 4 over a set of demands that was inspired in part by the 22-day strike at Harvard University. A key issue was workers’ low incomes, leading many to rely on public assistance to survive, even if they worked full-time. Health care was the other main rallying point, as workers demanded affordability, citing lack of funds to seek medical care, or reliance on government health care.The agreement includes wage increases that will bring full-time workers to $35,000 annually by 2019, and a dramatic increase to the number of full-time schedules available. The new contract will provide a total of $5.65 in hourly wage increases to all workers, across-the-board.On health care, the agreement now provides an insurance plan that is paid for by the employer at 97 percent. In addition, workers were able to maintain access to a platinum level plan with no takeaways...."
In Our Care: Celebrating Domestic Workers
On September 10th, the Jewish Labor Committee joined with our partners at Matahari Women Workers' Center and Smith College to share an oral history project two years in the making.
Together, we had a dialogue about the daily experience of domestic work, both for workers and their employees. Workers, many of whom have worked in homes or families for decades, shared their stories about the challenges and gifts of working in a family's home. We also discussed the experience of employing a domestic worker, and learned together about the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which was passed in Massachusetts in 2014. We look forward to continuing the work of educating employers so that people are more aware of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and how it might affect them.
Don't hesitate to contact us at the Jewish Labor Committee, New England, (NewEnglandJLC@jewishlabor.org, 617 227-0888) if you want to host a living room talk or a synagogue presentation on this topic.
Countering White Supremacist Gatherings in Boston: Friday & Saturday
As you have likely heard, there is a "Free Speech Rally" planned for this Saturday in Boston Common. This event couches its hateful and bigoted intentions in the language of free speech; We are sending out information about three gatherings and actions planned by broad coalitions of people of faith, labor unions, and other activists aiming to counter this hate.We recognize that certain actions may not fall within your Shabbat observance practices.Click here to read the Jewish Labor Commitment statement on the events in Charlottesville last Saturday.
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization: gbioInterfaith Gathering of Unity, Love, and Strength
When: Friday, August 18th | 5:00 p.m.Where: Temple Israel in Boston, 477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02215At GBIO's Spring Delegates Assembly in April, GBIO adopted the, "Out of Many, One" campaign to fight against threats to vulnerable communities. On Friday we will continue in the spirit of this campaign as we stand together as an organized powerful voice in Greater Boston. We will hear inspiring words from faith leaders across Greater Boston, as we stand together against all forms of hatred, to affirm the power of love and righteousness. All members of clergy will be invited to stand together on the bima (raised platform), in full spiritual regalia.At 6 p.m., Temple Israel invites the interfaith community to join them for "A Sabbath of Love and Light," a Shabbat worship experience open to all, devoted to the values of justice and compassion. Please extend this invitation to your family and friends. This is the time for us to be together with all who wish to counter messages of hatred by kindling the light of compassion and human dignity for all.Additionally, a group of interreligious leaders have prepared a statement which the GBIO Strategy team has endorsed. Please see below and click here to share and invite other signatories.
Moral Movement Massachusetts Evening Interfaith Prayer Service
When: Friday, August 18th | 7:00 p.m.Where: Boston Common, 139 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02111The Moral Movement MA, and interfaith group committed to championing issues of moral importance including economic justice and and end to police brutality, invites you to the Boston Common at Friday at 7 pm - following the GBIO Gathering of Unity (see above) - to pray that the Common be sacred and peaceful ground on Saturday morning. Members and supporters will walk the perimeter of the Common and then stand at the center to offer our deepest hopes that this be a moment of spiritual evolution in our country. Participants will pray to keep moving forward, and not back, in the hope that when the morning comes, there will be a brighter day.
March and Rally Against Hate
When: Saturday, August 19th | 10:00 a.m.Where: Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, 1350 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02120.Individuals from the Jewish Labor Committee will be part of a contingent of labor folks meeting at the Roxbury Crossing train station and joining the march and rally. Please note that with all protests there are always risks involved and we want to make sure JLC members are taking care of each other. Please contact Ashley at asha34@aol.com or 617 935-1256 if you are planning to go.
Logistics:STARTING PLACE: Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, 1350 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02120ENDING PLACE: Boston Common, 139 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111MEETING TIME: 10:00 a.m. (those who can't march may join us at the Boston Commons, but PLEASE beware of neo-Nazi/white supremacist/far-right presence)LENGTH OF MARCH ROUTE: 1.9 milesSOCIAL MEDIA: #FightSupremacy #BostonResist
Jewish Labor Committee Condemns Bigotry, Prejudice, Racism, and Anti-Semitism In Wake of Violence in Charlottesville
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.
Victory: MA Supreme Judicial Court Rules Against ICE Detainers
On Monday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that ICE detainers are illegal. An ICE detainer is a request that ICE makes of local and state law enforcement to hold a person in custody for up to 48 to allow for the investigation of their immigration status.Ending ICE detainers is a key piece of the Safe Communities Act. The court's ruling affirms the legality of ending ICE detainers in the state. But SCA includes additional important provisions.Please continue to contact your state senators and representatives to urge them to pass the Safe Communities Act!
Click here to read the statement & summary from MIRA: Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
Click here to read more.