28. Jewish Non-Profit Employees Union
In my last post I proposed a hechsher tzedek — a certification of ethical compliance — for Jewish non-profits. This certification would recognize exemplary behavior by our communal institutions with regards to labor practices, financial responsibility, transparency, efficacy, etc.
While such a certification can go a long way in terms of acknowledging the efforts of compliant organizations and incentivizing reforms, there would nonetheless remain those who would shrug off their ethical responsibilities and jeopardize the well-being of their employees, communities and institutions. In these instances, we cannot merely count on these institutions to reform themselves, we must actively seek to reform them.
It is for this reason that I have long dreamt of creating a Jewish non-profit employees union. That is: a union for the employees of non-profit Jewish organizations, whether they be Jewish or non-Jewish, and whether it be a day school, synagogue, summer camp, JCC, Federation, advocacy organization, etc.
American Jews have a more than a century-old tradition of labor organizing, informed by a definitively pro-labor religious heritage, yet this has all but vanished from consciousness amidst our modern day affluence. Today, we are, by and large, no longer exploited factory workers. Through our labors we have ascended the class strata to become “Jewish professionals” whether in service or by trade. But in the process, we have lost touch with our past and reduced the issue of workers’ rights to the province of seemingly fringy Jewish social justice groups.
While I, for one, am fortunate enough to work for a model organization at which I marvel every day, many Jewish non-profit employees still suffer from traditional class inequities, and are all too often subject to the conscious or oblivious tyrannies of wealthy executives, donors and board members who, even in their best moments, can be tone deaf, blind, or even outright contemptuous towards workers’ concerns.
The employees of Jewish non-profits should not have to be idealistic to the point of self-detriment, sacrificing their livelihoods, their personal lives and their dignity in order to serve their communities. They should be granted the same respect, rights, protections and benefits as any other civil servant or for-profit worker. They should also have the ability to hold their employers accountable when those employers fail to reflect the values their very institutions exist to communicate.
There are thousands if not tens of thousands of Jewish communal employees across America. It is high time we organize and exercise our power. If the endeavor upon which we are embarked as Jewish communal servants is truly in the community’s interest, then we should not be instruments of others’ designs, but partners in creation. Unionize and demand staff representation on every board of directors, now!
