Posts tagged Israel
Commentary: Call for End to Israel Aid Is More Proof Organized Labor Is Progressivism and Progressivism Is Organized Labor
July 24, 2024 // The UAW called for a cease-fire in Gaza in December of last year, with some UAW locals calling for one mere days after the Hamas attack on October 7. The UAW, in particular, has a large contingent of higher-education workers in its ranks, with college campuses being hotbeds of anti-Israel activism. The UAW represents about the same number of workers at the University of California system as it does at General Motors. The UAW Arab Caucus, which also supports the BDS movement, called for the union to change its stance from calling for a cease-fire only to also calling for a halt to all U.S. military aid back in February.
Judge orders University of California workers to end strike protesting response to anti-Israel protests
June 11, 2024 // A California judge ordered University of California academic workers to end their strike after they have been walking picket lines at several campuses in protest of the university system's response to anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses. Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall Sherman handed the ruling down on Friday, according to CNS. The university system filed suit earlier last week aiming to end the strikes by the workers' union, United Auto Workers Local 4811, after two unsuccessful attempts to obtain an injunction against the union from the state Public Employment Relations Board.
University of California academic workers expand strike over response to pro-Palestinian protests
May 29, 2024 // The union is demanding “amnesty” for all academic employees, students, student groups, faculty and staff who face disciplinary action or arrest due to protest,” along with the protection of free speech and political expression on campus. It is also calling for divestment from UC’s “known investments in weapons manufacturers, military contractors, and companies profiting from Israel’s war on Gaz,” and disclosure of all of the UC system’s funding sources and investments. The union quickly filed an unfair labor practice charge against UCLA following the clashes earlier this month and later submitted similar violations over police action at UC San Diego and UC Irvine encampments.
UAW chief slams mass arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses
May 3, 2024 // The leadership at UAW 4811, the union chapter representing postdoctoral scholars and researchers of the University of California campuses, voted on Wednesday to hold a strike authorization vote as early as next week should the “circumstances justify.” “Should the university decide to curtail the right to participate in protected, concerted activity; discriminate against union members or political viewpoints; and create or allow threats to members’ health and safety, among others, UAW 4811 members will take any and all actions necessary to enforce our rights,” UAW 4811 wrote in a statement.
United Auto Workers Divided Over Biden Endorsement
February 20, 2024 // On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Fain announced Biden’s endorsement at the UAW National Community Action Conference in Washington DC, only to be interrupted by shouts of “ceasefire now,” from UAW members in protest. Leading up to the endorsement, hundreds of rank-and-file UAW members had signed a petition, pressing union leadership to only endorse candidates that are publicly and vocally supportive of a ceasefire. In December of 2023, the UAW International Union endorsed a ceasefire in Gaza. Soon after, Fain himself joined a group of lawmakers outside of the state Capitol to demand a ceasefire. Now, members say Fain’s actions feel dissonant and disconnected from members’ principles.
NYC profs see Supreme Court as ‘only hope’ in fight with ‘antisemitic’ teachers union
January 26, 2024 // In 2021, one such teachers union, Professional Staff Congress/CUNY (PSC), adopted a "Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People" which the group of six professors viewed as antisemitic, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel. These professors chose to then resign from the union, but under state law are still required to affiliate with and be represented in bargaining by that same union. "My family and I suffered severe anti-Semitic harassment and persecution at the hands of the Soviet Union for over fifteen years," professor of mathematics Avraham Goldstein said in a statement. "I hoped it was all in my past. But now I am forced to associate with a union that makes anti-Semitic political statements in my name without my permission or consent."
UAW, Fain endorse Biden, say Trump ‘stands against everything we stand for’
January 24, 2024 // The United Auto Workers union's leader endorsed U.S. President Joe Biden's reelection bid on Wednesday with a fiery speech in Washington that was also harshly critical of Republican former President Donald Trump. In a full-throated endorsement of the Democratic incumbent, UAW President Shawn Fain cited Biden's pro-union record and his decision to become the first president to join a union picket line this summer during a successful autoworkers strike for higher pay. "Instead of talking trash about our union, Joe Biden stood with us," Fain said. Fain and Biden previously had sharp differences over electric vehicle policy, and the endorsement could be a strong boost to Biden in Michigan and other manufacturing states.
The Next Target for Protests Against Israel: Ports
November 8, 2023 // “Workers have committed to not load, unload, or facilitate the tasks of any boat containing weapons,” the Spanish publication El Diario reported. The announcement in Barcelona follows a group of transport unions in Belgium — which included some port workers — that about a week ago “called on their members to refuse to handle military equipment being sent to Israel,” according to Reuters. The effort to stop the Cape Orlando, a military ship with a long wartime resume, started Friday at the Port of Oakland when a wave of people descended on the docks early that morning, armed with megaphones, banners and Palestinian flags. Operating on a tip that the ship was allegedly bound for Israel and hundreds of protesters organized by the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) in the Bay Area showed up early in the morning determined not to let the Cape Orlando leave.
Israel war: NYC school union head justifies Hamas attack in ‘private’ email to teachers
October 30, 2023 // The union chapter leader for a New York City school is under fire from teachers and members of Congress for sending an email to colleagues alleging "illegal Israeli colonialist occupation" is what "led to" the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks against the Jewish state. The Oct. 17 email by speech teacher Judi Cheng at M.S. 131 Dr. Sun Yat Sen, a middle school in New York City's Chinatown, is raising alarm bells among educators, many of whom have contacted the principal, Benjamin Geballe, to express concerns over antisemitism. Cheng, the school's representative for the United Federation of Teachers, sent it to union members and claimed she was "speaking only for myself, from a personal point of view, not as chapter Leader," according to communications obtained by the Washington Examiner.
American Federation of Teachers Affiliate Endorses Violence Against Israel
October 25, 2023 // As a labor union concerned with the dignity of life for workers everywhere, GTAC’s leadership unequivocally supports a free Palestine and demands an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. We condemn the ongoing settler colonial project, known as the nation-state of Israel, which does not represent all Jewish people and is not synonymous with biblical Israel.