Why labor unions are backing pro-Palestine protesters after mass campus arrests

Several major unions have criticized pro-Palestinian campus protests and mass arrests of students and faculty across the country following their own calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. There is.

Experts say the union’s support for pro-Palestinian protesters and calls for a ceasefire build on the labor movement’s long history of anti-war activism and reflect a shift in its approach to Israel.

“The history of progressive union positions goes back to the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and especially the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,” said Will Blucher, assistant professor of labor studies at Rutgers University.

However, he said, “Many mainstream AFL/CIO unions are reluctant to get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or other global political issues, while other unions openly support U.S. foreign policy.” I support it,” he added.

That has changed as union members have become more politically active and leadership has become more progressive, Blucher told The Hill.

Some of the country’s largest labor unions, including the United Auto Workers (UAW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association, have issued statements calling for a ceasefire since the war broke out last year. There is. October.

Some of these unions last week saw university administrators form an encampment on the university’s Quad in protest of the war, urging universities to divest from Israeli companies and defense companies that supply weapons to Israel. They have expressed concern about the police being dispatched to the protesters.

Last Tuesday, tensions reached a fever pitch as protesters occupied Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall and violence erupted at the University of California, Los Angeles, after counter-protesters attacked and attempted to clear the encampment. reached.

New York police eventually raided Hamilton Hall and arrested the protesters. Los Angeles police also cleared the UCLA encampment and made arrests. In total, more than 2,000 people were arrested.

UAW President Sean Fein, who rose to prominence last fall during the union’s weeks-long strike against automakers, criticized the university’s response to protesters last Wednesday. Approximately 100,000 of the UAW’s more than 300,000 members are academics. According to NPR.

“The UAW will never support mass arrests or intimidation of people exercising their right to protest, strike, or speak out against injustice,” he said in a post on social platform X.

“Our union has been calling for a ceasefire for six months,” he continued. “This war is wrong, and so is this response to students and faculty, including many UAW members.”

“We call on the powers that be to release the arrested students and staff. If you can’t stand the protests, stop supporting this war,” Fein added.

The SEIU, which represents approximately 100,000 educators, graduate students, and university employees, similarly criticized the treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters and expressed solidarity.

“Suppression of free speech sets a dangerous precedent for all those seeking justice, whether it’s students demanding university accountability or workers organizing for better working conditions,” SEIU said in a statement Thursday. ” he said.

“As protests erupt on campuses across the United States against the terror and injustice facing Palestinians, SEIU proudly stands in solidarity with students, faculty and staff who are exercising their right to speak out,” the union said. continued.

Eric Baker, a lecturer at Harvard University who studies the history of labor management, points out that labor unions have historically been involved in anti-war activities.

The UAW in particular has a “long anti-war tradition,” he said, pointing to former UAW president Walter Reuter’s opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s and the union’s opposition to apartheid in South Africa.

The union itself emphasized these themes after joining other labor organizations in December to call for a ceasefire.

“From opposing fascism in World War II to mobilizing for apartheid in South Africa and the CONTRA war, the UAW has consistently championed justice around the world,” Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla said at the time. said in a statement.

But the increase in student worker unionization distinguishes the current situation from previous protests, Baker said.

“I think we now have a real bridge between the campus movement and the labor movement,” he told The Hill.

“This bridge, this synergy between campus activities and labor activities, to me, doubles the power of the students compared to the past few years when they were working in parallel,” he said. Added later.

Mr. Blucher also notes that campus union members and leaders, who have traditionally been reluctant to address the Israeli-Palestinian issue, have become politically involved in global issues in recent years, and have been directly involved in campus unions. He also suggested he was asking the union to take a position on unrelated issues.

Blucher said this is consistent with concerns about academic freedom, as universities are cracking down on protesters.

“I want to emphasize that when it comes to campus protests, it’s not just about sympathizing with the unions or calling for a ceasefire,” he said. “It’s really an issue of academic freedom.”

He argued that faculty and graduate student union members have the right to “share their opinions and express their positions without facing backlash from the university or university authorities.”

Students “also have a right to have a voice on campus,” Blucher said.

“They have the right to organize around this issue, and they have the right to peacefully protest, including setting up camps on campus, engaging in other forms of protest, and even civil disobedience. It also includes the right to participate,” he added.

UAW Local 4811, a group of 48,000 University of California system faculty members, has filed unfair labor practice charges against UCLA over its treatment of protesters, including some of its members, and plans to go on strike early next week. There will be a vote to approve the. .

“Our members have been beaten, concussed and pepper sprayed by both counter-protesters and police,” the union said in an X statement. “As a union, it is our responsibility to stand by them and demand that the Unification Church stop this egregious practice.”Unfair Labor Practices. ”

“To calm the situation, the UC must substantively address the concerns raised by protesters, which focus on the UC’s investments in companies and industries profiting from Gaza’s suffering. It must be done,” he added.