Fred Hahn is under attack. The Canadian Union of Public Employees National Executive has asked him to resign as Vice-President over a video he posted on X. This is an outrageous attack on the most effective and consistent labour leader I have ever known, and I’ve known quite a few. As President of CUPE Ontario, he is present at every picket line, every protest of any significance on a range of struggles from Palestine to pro-choice.
Workers can depend on him; social movement organizers can depend on him. Even as he rises in position, he maintains his militancy and solidarity with anyone and everyone under attack. The request from CUPE National asking Fred to resign is a serious attack not only on freedom of speech and democracy but on the very essence of union solidarity.
In the Spring of 2023, a small CUPE union local representing custodians and gardeners at Toronto Metropolitan University walked out after management refused a reasonable wage increase. As an instructor and former professor there I attended the first rally they held. There were few people there, but Fred Hahn was there.
When the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) organized a protest against the U.S. Supreme Court for striking down Roe V Wade, Fred Hahn was there. Fred is always there when solidarity is needed. And of course, when labour stood up for the U of T encampment against the university’s threats to call the police in, Fred Hahn was there.
Now Fred is under attack, and it is crucial that we stand in solidarity with him. He posted a questionable video and people mistook his meaning. He apologized but that wasn’t enough. Zionist groups who have organized against him since October 7 have now succeeded in persuading the CUPE National Executive to try to get rid of him.
Fred posted on X, ““My intention in posting it was to call attention to the reality that, while the Russian Federation was barred from participating at the Paris Olympics, the state of Israel was permitted to participate–which appeared clearly to me to be a double standard.” He pulled down the post.
According to Zionist groups even calling the Palestinian resistance to what many countries are calling a genocide is antisemitic. These groups have fought for years to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. In my view this has contributed to a rise in antisemitism because they equate Israel and Judaism. But not all Jews support Israel and there are thousands of young Jews in the U.S., in Britain and in Canada who strongly oppose Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza.
The Zionist groups attacked Fred for another post he wrote just after October 7. Nevertheless, Fred was re-elected as President by a large majority by his own union. Clearly his union members want him to be their leader.
Many of us share Fred’s views so why has he been under such sustained attacks? There is little mystery as to why Doug Ford and his minions are viciously attacking Fred Hahn. He is an effective union leader that they would be happy to get rid of.
But why CUPE National? No doubt they are getting complaints from some Jewish members. Perhaps they are intimidated by the well-organized Zionist lobby. Zionist groups are whipping up fears of antisemitism and Fred’s post could be misinterpreted. But he apologized. He withdrew the post.
Independent Jewish Voices who always stand up against antisemitism posted on twitter supporting Fred and saying,
The rights of workers across Canada to speak out against genocide must be protected as a fundamental principle of free speech.
What is at stake here is a militant, fighting labour movement in solidarity with other social movements locally and globally. The Canadian Labour movement was for decades exactly this kind of movement. We never would have won the decisive victory we did on abortion without the support of the OFL and Canadian Labour Congress. Then too, people tried to argue that abortion was not a trade union issue. I can list many other struggles where we got tremendous support from labour.
There are those in labour who have adapted to a neo-liberal approach restricting labour struggles to economic and workplace issues alone.
A new generation of women labour leaders like OFL President Laura Walton, Unifor President Lana Payne and Ontario Public Service Employees Union President JP Hornick are reviving that militant, labour movement that works in solidarity with others to win a more just and peaceful society. They have joined Fred in reviving the militant labour movement that my generation learned to rely on. CUPE National’s action is a threat to this new solidarity.
Fred Hahn is not an antisemite. I am a Jew and a CUPE member and I have never seen any sign of or support for antisemitism from Fred. He is a solid supporter of the Palestinian resistance to Israeli genocide and every other human rights issue. Supporting him is essential to supporting the fight for a more just society.