Ranking Member DeSaulnier Opening Remarks at 10th Hearing on Antisemitism

Ranking Member DeSaulnier Opening Remarks at 10th Hearing on Antisemitism

WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) delivered the following opening statement at today's Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee hearing entitled, "Unmasking Union Antisemitism."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome back to all the witnesses, thanks for being here.

"Let's start by saying, no one should be threatened, harassed, or attacked because of who they are, who they worship, or what they stand for. I agree we should do more to combat antisemitism in America. I also agree with Ranking Member Scott of the full Committee, who has correctly pointed out that, while we have had many hearings on antisemitism, we have not had one addressing racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia, or similar harms confronting workers and student groups.

"As we discuss these issues today, I want to remind my colleagues that the labor movement is a large, diverse coalition of workers, of Americans, including Jewish Americans, that has been a significant force in the battle against antisemitism.

"We are fortunate to have Dr. Joseph McCartin here as one of our witnesses. He is a labor historian and history professor at Georgetown University who also serves as the Executive Director of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. Dr. McCartin's written testimony details how the labor movement has been among the most important forces countering antisemitism and how labor unions are fundamentally diverse. And on a personal note, I would like to note he graduated from one of the best Catholic Jesuit colleges in the United States, Holly Cross, which I went to as well.

"As Dr. McCartin mentions in his testimony, one of the most notable labor leaders and one of the most amazing Americans in our history, a Jewish immigrant from London, was Samuel Gompers, a cigar-maker by trade and the son of Dutch-Jewish working-class immigrants by way of London. He was the first president of the American Federation of Labor, and he is reported to have said, 'To be free, the workers must have choice. To have choice, they must retain in their own hands the right to determine under what conditions they will work.'

"Throughout history, unions have been pivotal in advancing the conditions and rights of workers, from establishing the five-day work week to championing minimum wage laws, banning child labor, and protecting workers from being maimed and killed at work. The labor movement has been instrumental in building and sustaining America's middle class. The Labor movement created the American middle class. Which is now under relentless attack.

"Since returning to office, President Trump and his Administration have attacked workers' right to organize and exposed them to exploitative workplaces. For example, President Trump has stripped nearly half a million federal workers of their hard-won protections in one of the worst if not the worse, acts of union-busting in modern American history. He has also undermined the National Labor Relations Board, which is responsible for cracking down on illegal union-busting for millions of private sector workers.

"At a time of obscene wealth inequality in the United States, union workers enjoy approximately 20 percent higher wages and are more likely to have access to benefits such as health insurance, paid leave, and pension plans.

"Union-represented workers also have the right to resign from union membership, the right to object to dues beyond representational activities, known as the 'Beck' right, which the Chairman referred to in his opening, and even the right to request a religious accommodation for nonpayment of union dues. Unions are legally required to inform workers of their 'Beck' rights. Conversely, employers have no obligation to directly inform their workers of their right to organize a union and stand up for better working conditions without retaliation.

"Our economic system has been rigged against the working class for decades, and as lawmakers, we should work to strengthen workers' rights to balance the playing field so that workers can afford to provide a better life for themselves and their families, to buy a home and retire in dignity and give their children a better life than they had.

"I look forward to today's discussion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back."

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