New England Jewish Labor Committee Welcomes New Executive Director, Lauren Banister

Brothers, Sisters, Mishpoche - 

After nearly 3 years as Executive Director of the New England Jewish Labor Committee, I am writing to announce my transition out of leadership to launch a new chapter in my life by going to law school. 

I am so proud of our time together over these past few years, from our successful return to in-person labor seders to our careful and impactful engagement with antisemitism, our growing presence in progressive Jewish and labor landscapes, and our finding creative ways to engage with new communities and develop new leaders. We introduced new engagement events like happy hours and Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway, we supported countless labor campaigns and pickets, we connected Jewish communities to ongoing labor struggles in their neighborhoods and connected labor with Jewish organizations to build more support and solidarity. We’ve grown our board with younger labor leaders and continue to identify new prospects. And, we’ve been able to hire staff to help us build and launch our newest endeavor, a training program for young Jews who want to make a real impact in labor by learning organizing basics rooted in a deep understanding of Jewish history and culture. I’m extremely grateful to our Associate Director Miriam Cohen for her general support and her leadership in building this exciting new program. We’ve made a lot of noise over the past few years, we’ve made a lot of friends, and we’ve stayed united during difficult and divisive times. All in all, I think I am leaving the NEJLC in a stronger position than when I started.

I am also happy to announce we have hired a fantastic new Executive Director, Lauren Banister. I trust that Lauren, along with our dedicated board and staff, will continue to build our presence and our impact across New England. We are fortunate to have had some overlap as she transitions into leadership, she has my full faith and confidence and I will continue to be available to her as a source of support and connections.

I cherish the advice and counsel I’ve received from my board and our many allies across New England. These are relationships I will continue to value and rely on as I move into this next chapter of my life. I don’t know exactly what my involvement in our work will look like over the coming years, but I know that this institution has an important role to play, and I am excited to see what comes next.

See you in the streets!

Jonathon Feinberg

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A Message from Lauren Banister, New NEJLC Executive Director:

Dear Allies, Friends, and Future Friends,

I’m thrilled to be joining the New England Jewish Labor Committee as the new Executive Director.

I come to NEJLC with deep connections to both Jewish values-driven advocacy and labor organizing, including being part of two staff unionization efforts and serving as a bargaining member and steward in one. Most recently, I led national advocacy campaigns for synagogues and Jewish institutions to advocate for federal basic needs programs.

As a union organizer, I saw the power and impact of the JLC community firsthand, when voices from across the country came together to support our union recognition effort. I’m thrilled to join the 90-year legacy of this organization in connecting Jewish communities to the fight for economic and social justice.

I am also grateful to be joining at a time of such robust programming and engagement thanks to Jonathon’s leadership. I look forward to getting to know our networks of volunteers and partners, and to working with Miriam and the board to grow our engagement, launch a new training program, continue the Labor Seder tradition, and keep showing up in solidarity for workers throughout New England. 

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NEJLC Welcomes Rabbi Preston 'Pesach' Neimeiser to our board!

Rabbi Preston “Pesach” D. Neimeiser was born in Tallahassee, Florida the second son of two activists dedicated to the American labor movement. As one of the inaugural fellows of the Nachshon project, he studied at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He served as a rabbinic intern at Kol HaNeshama in Jerusalem and as an educator and youth professional at Temples Emmanuel and Shaaray Tefila in New York City and Temple Beth-El of Great Neck. As a fellow of the JOIN for Justice seminary fellowship, he learned the tactics of grassroots organizing and partnered with the organization OneTable to host interfaith Shabbat dinners for aspiring clergy across faiths and denominations. Rabbi Neimeiser was ordained by Hebrew Union College in May 2021 and currently serves as Associate Rabbi at Temple Beth-El in Providence, Rhode Island. Welcome to the team!

An update about NEJLC leadership

I am writing with some personal news. After three and a half years with the New England Jewish Labor Committee, I have decided that this is the right time to move on from the NEJLC. This was a difficult decision for me, and I am incredibly grateful to have had the honor to serve the Jewish and labor communities in the fight for economic justice. 

I am making this announcement now in order to give the NEJLC adequate time to select its next Executive Director, and we will update you about a timeline for this transition. 

When I started at the NEJLC we lived in an entirely different world: the COVID-19 pandemic had not shaken our economy and killed over one million Americans. I am proud to have successfully stewarded the NEJLC through this crisis. We were part of the MA COVID Response Alliance, and pushed to ensure that Massachusetts workers would have emergency paid sick leave. We fought together for One Fair Wage – getting the bill out of committee for the very first time to bring wage justice for tipped workers. And we had successful, if virtual, Labor Seders, honoring leaders in the Jewish and labor communities.

And critically, the Fair Share Amendment passed and won at the ballot box just on Election Day.

None of this would have been possible without you, all of our supporters, and the great efforts of our Board and volunteers. I want to thank you, and especially the Board Co-Chairs Ora Gladstone and Ashley Adams, for the incredible work you do for the Jewish Labor Committee.

Today, we face rising antisemitism, ever increasing pressure on workers, and growing inequality. The work is far from over. I look forward to continuing the fight with you and seeing where the next Executive Director takes the NEJLC. 

In Solidarity,

Ari

NEJLC Stands with State Senate staffers as they seek recognition for their union

Massachusetts State Senate Staffers held a press conference Wednesday, June 29 to push for recognition of their union from Senate President Karen Spilka. Ari Fertig, Executive Director of the New England Jewish Labor Committee, joined the chorus of supporters in support of these efforts to unionize with IBEW 2222. You can watch his speech here:

The Massachusetts State House Employee Union is calling on Senate President Karen Spilka to support the staff’s right to organize and begin collective bargaining before the end of session on July 31st. NEJLC stands in solidarity with all who wish to unionize.

New England Jewish Labor Committee advocates for One Fair Wage

By Reena Bromberg Gaber

With the gold rotunda and a Celtics banner looming, members of both the New England Jewish Labor Committee and the national One Fair Wage organization, gathered on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to advocate for swift passage of the Act for One Fair Wage. 

NEJLC Executive Director Ari Fertig with former Director Marya Axner, Co-Chair Ora Gladstone and Reena Bromberg Gaber

Workers and allies gathered on June 15 to urge support from legislators and to raise awareness about the need to eliminate the subminimum wage. The New England Jewish Labor Committee was out in force to support this critical legislation.

Yamila Ruiz, director of communications for OFW, began the rally by explaining what this bill is all about. While most Massachusetts minimum wage-earners are paid $14.25 per hour, those in service industries that expect tips are paid only $6.15, what’s known as the subminimum wage. 

Those workers rely on tips to pay rent and feed themselves and their families. But receiving a tip, no matter what size, is dependent on the whims of the customers—and those that are dependent on their customers, not their employers, fall victim to multitudes of harassment. Tipped workers are forced to take that harassment in order to receive their wage. 

To get involved with the New England Jewish Labor Committee and the fight for One Fair Wage click here.

Calling this a “sub-human wage,” Ruiz urged those listening to lift up the disproportionately affected workforce, especially immigrants, women, and people of color. Additionally, she thanked congressional champions of the bill, especially Patricia Jehlen, Senator of the Second Middlesex District, the lead sponsor of the bill. 

Jehlen joined the group on the steps to express the importance of this work and the longtime work of the group. She urged her hopefulness for continued success in the current session and in the upcoming congressional session, beginning August 1st. 

Additional speakers included Marie Billiel, a tipped worker facing sexual harassment throughout her workday. Harassment came from both colleagues and customers, affecting how much she would be tipped and citing managers making employees “cry for sport.” Billiel ended her speech by saying, “six-fifteen is not enough,” and recognizing the work done by all gathered on the steps.

Saru Jayaraman, founder and director of the OFW campaign and author of the new book with the same name, came in from California for the day, in order to lend her rousing support. Jayaraman gave a brief history of the legacy of tipping, connected with the history of prolonging slavery for Black people, in the post-Reconstruction era. Additionally, she drove the point that this reliance on tipping for workers’ wages, is an infamously and uniquely American system. 

Continuing on to explain the impact the passage of OFW had in other states, including Jayaraman’s home-state of California, she cited smaller losses for the restaurant industry, throughout COVID, and a dramatic decrease in sexual harassment. 

Rachel Miller Munzer, part owner of Mamaleh’s Delicatessen, articulated the success that Mamaleh’s has had with paying their employees the full minimum wage. However, she urged other restaurant owners to do the same. Without a mandated minimum wage, the “playing field is not level.”

Ari Fertig, Executive Director of the NEJLC, spoke to the Jewish community’s support of the bill, and that “this is an issue that all people, all members of any faith group or any community ought to get behind.”

He continued, “and we’ve been told: it’s a long shot. It’s probably not going to happen. But we were told it’s never going to get out of committee. Well, it got out of committee.”

With at least sixty cosigners to the bill, and its favorable report out of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, the Act for One Fair Wage is awaiting attention in the Ways and Means Committee. This marks the Massachusetts One Fair Wage bill’s first time making it out of committee, a momentous feat celebrated throughout the day.

Fertig ended by saying, “we’re going to do it, we’re going to dig in…We’re going to do the work as a coalition and as a community…we can get it done!”

Members of the OFW and JLC then braved the labyrinth of the State House and went to work, speaking with Senators and Representatives about prioritization of the bill. 

Staffers and aides in the offices of congresspeople shared excitement about the bill and the need for one fair wage. Some shared understanding, based on their own experiences or their family members’ experiences. Some shared understanding based on needs and wants of their constituents. 

Congressional offices were urged by OFW and JLC to push prioritization for the rest of the session, ending July 31st, and on into the new session.

Momentum following the lobby day was coupled with hope and optimism about the future of the bill. OFW and JLC members are confident in its swift passage in the next congressional session, based largely on support from members of the Massachusetts legislature. 

Ora Gladstone, co-chair of the JLC board and attendee of both the rally and lobbying, was encouraged by the support of the One Fair Wage organization, as well as the media and press attention to the rally. While she is concerned about “what happens when you leave the [congressperson’s office],” she felt the interest from many of the offices. 

Gladstone said, “the way I am here today is the way I started,” standing with a grassroots group of people to demand justice and change. 

As the gold rotunda blocked the sun, marking the end of the day, our lobbying members felt accomplished in light of the people they talked to today. We look forward to celebrating the announcement of the passage of this bill during the next session of the Massachusetts state government. 

For more, see the news articles and video that this event generated below:

BOSTON HERALD: https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/06/15/bhr-l-wages-0615/

POLITICO MA: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/massachusetts-playbook/2022/06/16/big-names-wade-into-key-races-00040112

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE: https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2022/06/15/bhr-l-wages-0615/

LOWELL SUN: https://www.lowellsun.com/2022/06/15/bhr-l-wages-0615/

WWLP (NBC): https://www.wwlp.com/news/state-politics/restaurant-workers-rallied-to-increase-minimum-wage-of-tipped-workers/

ABC 10: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/f49f3ae1-a24a-47fc-8c22-bebc7ffa936e?token=b23244e2-4eed-4d12-89ae-77c47c4e770b

ABC 10 - 2: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/3b76b652-512d-4573-b06b-2bff24409188?token=b23244e2-4eed-4d12-89ae-77c47c4e770b

FOX 23: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/ab3466bc-4fd6-4d67-aa55-0f04e61e546b?token=b23244e2-4eed-4d12-89ae-77c47c4e770b

FOX 23 - 2: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/44f7e4b1-ec23-44d7-a82f-88c5ee0ec308?token=b23244e2-4eed-4d12-89ae-77c47c4e770b