It’s easy to forget about the true purpose of Labor Day. For most, it’s just a Monday off, an extra day to have family over, go to the beach or mark the end of summer. But at its core, Labor Day honors American workers and was established through the efforts of New York labor unions in the late 19th century.
Though Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, it’s far from a relic of another time: the fight for labor rights and better working conditions still rages on across the country. And though one might not think of Judaism when discussing the labor movement, many Jewish workers, union members and activists are deeply involved with the movement because of their deeply-held Jewish values.
Jewish people have a long and storied history of involvement in the American labor movement. According to the Jewish Currents article “A Short History of Jews in the American Labor Movement” by Bennett Muraskin, unions meant to advocate for Jewish workers first popped up in the garment, painting and acting industries in the late 19th century. One of the most well-known Jewish leaders in the labor movement was Samuel Gompers, who founded and served as president of the American Federation of Labor for nearly 40 years.
Trade unions specifically for Jewish workers have dwindled over time, with one of the largest remaining ones being the Jewish Labor Committee. But Jewish labor activists have found their way into more secular unions focused on their respective industries.
“It’s all about folks having a democratic voice in their work lives, where they spend an enormous amount of time,” explained Benjamin Forstenzer, executive director of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County.
Forstenzer has worked for many Maryland-based unions, including the state chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the healthcare workers’ union 1199SEIU.
“If their experience at work is bad, then their life is bad. If they’re treated with a sense of dignity and respect at work, then their life has a sense of dignity and respect,” he added.
In terms of Jewish values, Forstenzer connects the labor movement to the idea of tikkun olam, and says that making the world a more fair and just place is key to the philosophy of repairing the world. His grandmother and father before him were also union organizers, and for a brief time, he and his father would attend the same meetings as representatives for their respective unions.
Claudia Balog, a research director at 1199SEIU, noted that the union was founded in 1932 by Leon Davis, a Jewish immigrant who came to the United States to escape persecution in Russia.
“Teachings about fairness, justice and emancipation are foundational in Jewish learning, and it’s not an accident that Jewish immigrants were often leaders in U.S. unions and solidarity movements,” she said. “[Davis] risked jail time to extend union rights to tens of thousands of mostly Black hospital workers. On a personal level, I live in a deeply segregated city with a healthcare workforce that faces systemic racism and poverty. Unionization and collective bargaining are important tools for low-wage workers in our hospitals and nursing homes to improve their working conditions and build a pathway to economic equality.”
Labor activism in the Jewish world also extends outside of labor unions. Jews United for Justice announced in August that they were starting their Labor on the Bimah initiative for the year, during which over 15 Maryland and Washington, D.C., area congregations will be hosting panels, discussions and Torah study programs focused on the issues of fair taxation and labor rights.
JUFJ has long been involved in the labor movement — it is part of the Fair Share Maryland coalition, which advocates for the state’s wealthiest corporations and families to pay their “fair share” in taxes to better support small businesses and lower-income households. In their first few years of operation, they supported efforts by Unite Here to organize D.C.-area parking attendants. JUFJ staff are unionized themselves, belonging to the local chapter of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union.
In Baltimore specifically, Labor on the Bimah arrives just in time to oppose ballot measures that would shrink the city council and cut property tax revenue. Some of the participating synagogues include Beth Am Synagogue, Kol HaLev Synagogue and Columbia Jewish Congregation.
“Labor on the Bimah grew out of ‘Labor in the Pulpit,’ a national initiative sponsored by the AFL-CIO and the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, [later Interfaith Worker Justice],” explained Rachel Kutler, JUFJ’s Baltimore director. “For a period, Labor on the Bimah was JUFJ’s contribution to and the Jewish component of that program. Many years of work between JUFJ staff, local congregations and communities has made Labor on the Bimah what it is today and we are proud that it is part of a much broader effort to re-center workers’ rights on Labor Day.”
While labor rights have come a long way since the first Jewish labor activists got involved in the movement, there is still a long way to go to achieve true labor justice. Efforts by retail and service workers to organize have gained traction across the U.S., and while they have faced resistance, they’ve also achieved unprecedented victories.
“There’s definitely been a resurgence in the way that young folks are willing to talk about and participate in organizing, whether it’s the Apple Store that just unionized in Towson or the efforts to unionize Starbucks,” Forstenzer said. “This is a currently available tool that, if used properly with organizing into a union, can change a person’s trajectory.”
