Fred Hahn, the President of CUPE Ontario, is again under attack by the right wing for his support of Palestine. Shamefully, this attack has been supercharged by a section of the leadership within his own union.
On August 11, Hahn shared a video on Facebook that attempted to draw attention to the hypocrisy of banning Russian athletes from the Olympic games. While the video made a legitimate critique of Israel and the IOC, its execution was clumsy. Hahn later removed the post and issued an apology after listening to Jewish allies, but the right exploited the moment to try to oust a democratically-elected trade union leader from his position. Hahn’s re-post was shared by a management-side employment lawyer, who is currently suing CUPE, to whip up an attack on Hahn. Within days, Zionist organizations were defaming Hahn as an antisemite, with the media widely repeating the slur.
On August 20, the CUPE National Executive Board (NEB) passed a resolution demanding Hahn’s resignation as a General Vice-President from the NEB, with the threat that CUPE National President Mark Hancock would remove him if he didn’t resign on his own. Almost immediately, the news was shared with the Toronto Star with quotes confirming the story from Hancock.
At the exact same time as the CUPE National vote to oust Hahn, Ontario’s Labour Minister David Piccini confronted Hahn at a conference in Ottawa, telling him he should resign. Premier Doug Ford posted approvingly on his social media of Piccini’s unprecedented attack and, at a press conference later that week, called Hahn “a disgusting human being”—a not-so-subtle homophobic attack.
This unleashed a new round of attacks in the media, with every major news outlet publishing op-eds calling for Hahn to be removed. Five CUPE locals came out in support of the NEB’s attempt to remove Hahn. Most of these were small and not affiliated with CUPE Ontario and show no signs of engaging their members on the issue. One of them, CUPE 5167, the municipal local in Hamilton, is where the executive had tried to disaffiliate from CUPE Ontario at their last annual general meeting, but were defeated by their own members. In other words, the executive was trying to use the current crisis to push a policy that their own members had already decisively rejected. It is doubtful the executives of these locals have run these statements by their members. It is worth noting that some of the locals and the CUPE airline sector had not only voted for Hahn to step down, but also called for a reversal of the union’s democratically decided position on Palestine.
At the same time, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) organized a campaign to directly pressure NEB members to remove Hahn, while other Zionist groups organized a protest at CUPE Ontario’s office. These attacks on Hahn, inspired by CUPE NEB’s calls for his resignation, were like fuel on a fire for the right wing. They felt emboldened to go after other union activists, attacking the principle of international solidarity in unions (and not just on Palestine) and the right of the trade union movement to take public stances on political questions. The right wing also upped its attacks on racialized leaders, such as Toronto Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik.
Hahn no stranger to right-wing attacks
Hahn has been a target of the right for his effectiveness as a trade union activist and for his principled political stances. The right has repeatedly tried to use the latter to punish him for the former: whenever Hahn takes a stance on an issue, the right sees its chance to channel the inevitable backlash into a campaign against a leader who is a vocal opponent of their ruling-class agenda.
To that end, Hahn was the subject of relentless personal attacks as a gay man, from Doug Ford’s Caucus and supporters to anti-Trans and homophobic bigots, after Hahn helped lead a mobilization against the hate-fuelled “One Million March” last September. Social media trolls flooded his profile to accuse him of being a “predator” and “groomer” simply for saying that Trans children have a right to safety. After posting his support for Palestinian liberation last October, Zionist organizations, racists, and the right-wing media used the false conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism—a move that many Jewish organizations have vehemently opposed—to start a vicious smear campaign against Hahn in an attempt to label him an “antisemite” and a “Jew hater.” Behind closed doors, CUPE’s NEB tried to discipline Hahn and remove him from the NEB in October. In response, a member-driven campaign forced the NEB to abandon their undemocratic attempt.
How to stop a witch-hunt
We should be clear: in no uncertain terms, this is a witch-hunt. People who support Palestine are being demonized and attacked. This is happening at time when over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced in a genocide in Gaza.
The only way to stop a witch-hunt is not to give an inch. Strength, not compromise or meekness, is the only way to defeat people whose only goals are to crush unions and criminalize Palestine solidarity.
After this latest attack, support for Fred was swift and decisive. A host of Jewish people and organizations spoke out in Fred’s defence, including Independent Jewish Voices, feminist and journalist Judy Rebick, and Holocaust survivor Suzanne Weiss. Over 190,000 emails were sent to the CUPE NEB, demanding a reversal of its call for Fred’s resignation.
After seeing the sheer amount of support for Hahn, his opponents were in disarray and soon began scrambling. After being inundated with emails, the CUPE NEB put out a statement attempting to distance itself from Ford and the Conservatives, despite Ford’s public support for CUPE’s decision.
In an attempt to imitate the tactics of the member-led defence of Hahn, CIJA hastily assembled its own “Fire Fred” email tool, but not understanding that union leaders are democratically elected to their positions and cannot be “fired.” CIJA also held a rally at CUPE Ontario headquarters calling for Hahn’s termination, which drew an embarrassingly small crowd of 42 attendees.
With the working class behind him, Hahn issued a statement declaring that he would not be resigning his post.
Attacking unions and union solidarity
So why is the right wing so hell-bent on getting rid of Hahn? He’s an effective, principled leader who has shown up time and time again for workers. As Judy Rebick recently put it:
“[Fred is] 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.”
It would be enough of a loss for Fred to step down, and a boon for the right. But the way this attack is unfolding could have long-lasting impacts on every worker across the Canadian state.
Hahn is a democratically elected leader. He has his positions in CUPE National and CUPE Ontario on the strength of member elections. Regardless of anyone’s opinion of him, it was the workers who came together and used their voices to declare that they want Hahn to represent them. CUPE Ontario reaffirmed their support for Hahn earlier this week by passing motions in support of him continuing to hold his roles at both the national and provincial levels, including in a statement: “We passed these motions as recognition of the democratic will of our members.”
The right’s attempt to force Hahn out of office is an attempt to undermine this democratic will. It is an attempt by people outside of the union—a government, no less—to interfere with the fair processes by which workers elect their representatives and let their voices be heard. By calling for Hahn’s resignation, the CUPE NEB is opening the door for a Conservative, anti-worker government with open contempt for unions to pick and choose the leadership of the working class.
Giving the right wing a backdoor route to interfering with union democracy will have long-lasting consequences. Worse, the failure of the highest levels of leadership in the rest of the labour movement to speak out in Hahn’s defence sends a clear message to Ford: the labour movement is divided, we won’t speak up for one of our own, and you should move ahead with whatever other attacks you’re planning for workers.
Attacking solidarity with Palestine
Moreover, giving the right wing and Zionists the ability to force Hahn’s resignation would be a huge blow to the remarkable Palestine solidarity efforts by workers across the Canadian state. The right has been at the throats of anyone who supports Palestine. People have been harassed, threatened, and lost their livelihoods over standing up for Palestine for years, but especially now as the genocide unfolds in Gaza.
It is no coincidence that Hahn is under attack as both the Vice President at CUPE National and the President of CUPE Ontario, both of whom have shown support for Palestine. CUPE National and CUPE Ontario are both signatories on the “Ceasefire NOW!” statement. At CUPE’s most recent national convention, members voted to pass an emergency resolution calling on the Canadian government to demand a ceasefire. CUPE Ontario members previously passed a motion affirming the union’s support for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. These stances have brought CUPE under fire by the right and by Zionists.
Those opposed to Palestinian solidarity and an end to the genocide in Gaza have not been able to win over the working class, and CUPE’s stances as informed by its membership are proof of where workers stand. However, in attacking Hahn, the right sees an avenue to silencing Palestine solidarity while bypassing workers altogether. Forcing Hahn’s resignation would not only undo the democratic election that saw Hahn take his position, but it would also create a chilling effect for workers who want to take up CUPE’s pro-Palestine stances in earnest: stances that were democratically debated and passed by workers.
Hahn’s removal would embolden the right and Zionists to keep attacking and harassing everyday workers who bravely take stands for Palestine. To them, it would be proof that anti-Zionism can be successfully passed off as antisemitism. It would give more ammunition for the right wing, Zionist talking point that those who take a principled position on opposing genocide are spreading “antisemitic hate speech.” A coalition of Arab-Canadian organizations said it best in a recent open letter to CUPE: “Your attack on Fred has put all of us at risk.”
Defend Fred Hahn!
It is up to us—rank-and-file workers, union members, people who stand with Palestine, people who stand with workers—to put pressure on the right to stop their transparently obvious attacks on workers and unions, and to put pressure on the CUPE NEB and the rest of our labour leaders to come out strong in support of Fred. The sheer volume of emails CUPE National received in support of Fred has already forced CUPE National to reckon with the hornet’s nest they kicked by calling for his resignation. We need to keep pushing and show labour leaders and the right that Fred has the support of workers everywhere—and if they do not back down, we are ready to mobilize.
Throughout his career and advocacy, Fred Hahn has stood for every one of us. Now, it is time to show the world what we mean when we say that an injury to one is an injury to all. We cannot let anti-union, anti-Palestine forces use this moment to weaken our rights, our unions, or our solidarity. As the working class, our task is clear: defend Fred Hahn!
Click here to send an email to the CUPE NEB and let them know: we stand with Fred!
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