Union Board Demands Fred Hahn’s Resignation

August 22, 2024 TruthUSA

Ontario union leader Fred Hahn has been asked to step down from his position after sharing a video on social media that his board has called “problematic.”

The national executive board of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said on Aug. 22 that it voted to ask Hahn to resign.

“CUPE’s national executive board made the difficult decision to ask for Fred Hahn’s resignation as General Vice President because he reposted a deeply problematic video that was a clear violation of our union’s equality statement,” a statement on CUPE’s website said.

“Nothing about this decision negates Fred’s lifelong commitment to CUPE members and union activism.”

The video posted by Hahn has since been deleted, but it showed a Jewish Olympic diver with a Star of David on his arm. The diver jumps off a diving board and heads toward the water. He turns into a bomb and explodes, hurting civilians, according to media reports.

Hahn said that he removed his post and regrets any offence it caused.

“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 said in an Aug. 19 statement on Facebook.

“My intent was never to associate Jewish people with the violence enacted by the state of Israel. It remains my strongly held view that it is a terrible mistake, and anti-Semitic, to conflate abhorrent actions by the state of Israel with Jewish humanity or identity.”

Premier Doug Ford said he supported CUPE’s decision.

“I applaud CUPE National for asking Fred Hahn to step down,” he said in an Aug. 21 post on X. “Now it’s time for Fred to put his members first and do the right thing by resigning from all his positions of leadership.”

Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini posted a video on Aug. 20 of an interaction he had with Hahn where he discussed Hahn’s remarks on Jews.

In the 45-second video, Hahn said he was representing his members and that he was not talking about Jews but rather the state of Israel.

An Aug. 22 letter posted to social media by CUPE Hamilton says Hahn’s actions have created division in the union.

“Fred’s actions have contributed to the fracturing of the CUPE Ontario labour movement,” the letter said. “We further request that CUPE Ontario focus their efforts on supporting the work of their membership and building solidarity within membership on shared labour issues.”

Hahn was first elected president of CUPE Ontario in 2010. He is also the general vice president on CUPE’s national executive board and a vice president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, according to CUPE’s website.

It’s not the first time that Hahn has been criticized for online comments.

Statements posted by Mr. Hahn on social media include one on Oct. 8 on X indicating favour of “the power of resistance around the Globe” the day after Hamas launched land, air, and sea attacks against Israel.

He also posted an image on Instagram with the text “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a phrase associated with the desire for the destruction of Israel.

Hahn responded to critics saying that he never celebrated violence, but was critical of governments “who misuse their power over people.”

He issued an apology for the posts in an open letter on Oct. 21.

He said he “unequivocally” condemns the Hamas attack on Israel and “the disproportionate retribution by the state of Israel on the people of Palestine.”

Hahn said he was sorry for causing stress to CUPE members with friends or family in Israel or Palestine.

Source link