John Robson: Unions Have No Business Supporting Anti-Israel Protests

John Robson argues that unions should not be supporting anti-Israel protests.

May 8, 2024 TruthUSA

Commentary

Allow me to highlight the peculiar incident involving public-sector unions in the campus protest. While it may not seem unusual for Ontario government unions to support Hamas due to their radical tendencies, it’s important to maintain the ability to be surprised by what doesn’t typically surprise us to see the world clearly.

I find it surprising to witness these unions standing up against exploitative governments to protect bureaucrats. Despite state employees often having better pay, job security, and pensions, they don’t always seem content. It’s even more bizarre to see organizations that aim to defend Canada’s labor elite encouraging participation in pro-Hamas demonstrations.

For example, Fred Hahn, the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario and a VP of CUPE nationally, wore a keffiyeh to show support at the “People’s Circle for Palestine encampment” at U of T. This behavior by Hahn, who also openly praised the Oct. 7 atrocities on social media last fall, is concerning.

It’s also a pattern observed within his union, where the leadership is encouraging members to participate in a demonstration organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, favored by progressives. There seems to be something sinister happening here.

One public-sector union spokesman from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union even issued a threat to a professor who documented non-student presence at the U of T “encampment” with “street-based consequences” on X, warning to “Watch your back.” This behavior might result in termination in most other organizations, but public-sector unions are fully aligned with radical ideologies.