To: Mark Hancock, Candace Rennick, the CUPE National Executive Board, CC: Fred Hahn, Yolanda McClean, the CUPE Ontario Executive Board;

The Executive Committee of CUPE 1281 is shocked by the recent decision of CUPE National to call for the resignation of Fred Hahn as a Regional Vice President of the CUPE National Executive Board (NEB). CUPE National’s decision adds fuel to the fire of the widespread repression of Palestinian solidarity and is a boon to reactionary employers, media and politicians looking to silence us. Further, this decision comes after Fred has endured months of badgering and harassment for his vocal support of Palestinians who are experiencing genocide by Israel. CUPE Ontario was a trailblazer by supporting the call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions at the 2005 Convention. This has been the work of our Union for decades and we are proud of it.

CUPE 1281 represents workers at social justice-oriented organizations across Ontario and Canada. We are known for our active presence within CUPE Ontario and CUPE National, and for our long history of working in alignment with broader social justice movements. We stand together with those working to dismantle labour exploitation, ableism, racism, gender based oppression, homophobia, imperialism and colonialism. We know that these struggles are interconnected and ending all forms of oppression must be the goal of our Union which is why we have consistently spoken out about mobilizing for justice for Palestinians. Part of this work is to recognize Hasbara when we see it in the media. Hasbara (Hebrew: ַה ְס ָבּ ָרה ) has no direct English translation, but roughly means “explaining”. It is a communicative strategy that “seeks to explain actions, whether or not they are justified”. As it focuses on providing explanations about one’s actions, hasbara has been called a reactive and event-driven approach. In 2003, Ron Schleifer called hasbara “a positive sounding synonym for ‘propaganda'”. According to Al Jazeera, “it’s also a strategic communication method used to influence perceptions and tilt narratives in favour of Israel.” This approach to media manipulation works not only to portray Israel in an exclusively positive light, but shame those who criticize it and label them as anti-semitic for speaking out against its crimes.

The conflation of Jewish identity with that of the state of Israel and the Zionist movement is in itself anti-semitic, but is also ironically another often used hasbara tactic. Used in order to silence people from speaking out against the actions of the Israeli government and those that endorse zionism. Its crucial that we call out and name Hasbara when it is presented to us. Much like how the US manipulated the media during the lead up and over the course of the Iraq war, Israel is now using Hasbara to smear and attack people like Fred who voice their support for the Palestinian people and an end to genocide and it is shameful that the NEB has decided to go along with this narrative instead of doing the dignified thing and challeging it.

The CUPE 1281 Executive believes that the NEB’s decision was inconsistent with the ways that we as a Union deal with breaches of the Equality Statement, if indeed there was a breach. We have a Code of Conduct with a clearly stated process to rectify grievances. Our National Constitution is silent on how NEB members can be removed from office, so this decision also flies in the face of the democratic process. Fred Hahn was elected to the National Executive Board at the National Convention in October 2023. The CUPE Ontario Convention was held in June and Fred was re-elected CUPE Ontario President by the majority of members. In this call for his resignation, the National Executive Board is acting in a way that undermines the fundamental democratic processes at the heart of our Unions at the same time as undermines our internal processes for resolving disputes.

The CUPE 1281 Executive calls on the NEB to overturn the motion to call for Fred’s resignation and to work to rectify the situation we find ourselves in where anti-worker media and politicians are reveling in our division.

In Solidarity,

Christy McMorrow President, CUPE Local 1281