This post is in honor of the best Democrat I ever knew, Jim Wishner. Jim was a non-practicing Jew. We lost him to cancer last year.
Jewish Labor Committee
The Jewish voice in the labor movement, and the voice of the labor movement in the Jewish community.
http://www.jewishlaborcommittee.org/2011/02/support_collective_bargaining_1.htmlFebruary 17, 2011: JLC on the scene at the ongoing mass protests in Wisconsin against Governor Scott Walker's attempt to eviscerate the collective bargaining rights of public employees. In Madison, A sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin - Madison who's an officer with United Faculty & Academic Staff (AFT Local 223) is among the more than 50,000 Wisconsinites who, according to the state AFL-CIO, "have poured into the state capitol to express their opposition to Governor Walker’s attempt to rob the state’s workers of their rights."
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch, a congregational rabbi in Madison, WI, issued the following statement in support of Wisconsin workers:
"Jewish tradition, from the Hebrew Bible, to Talmud, to our modern American religious movement, supports fair and appropriate treatment of workers, as well as the right to bargain collectively. Our faith tradition knows that from these important and just practices come many benefits: from increased standards of living to increased productivity and profits. Judaism supports the rights of all workers to speak with employers, negotiate in good faith, and come to a final agreement that has everyone’s assent. I therefore I cannot support Governor Walker’s proposal in his Budget Repair Bill to remove collective bargaining rights for public workers."
See his writing on "The Jewish Connection to Labor Issues" here:
http://rjrblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/jewish-connection-to-labor-issues.html