After facing calls from a national union to step down, controversial union leader Fred Hahn is refusing to resign his post as general vice-president and president of CUPE Ontario.
On Wednesday, Hahn was asked by CUPE’s national committee to resign following a controversial anti-Israel post he uploaded to social media, saying they’ve lost their confidence in Hahn’s ability to represent his union’s members.
Hahn has recently come under fire for a video he uploaded to social media in which an Israeli athlete was depicted diving off of a diving board, spliced with a video of an Israeli bomb being dropped in Gaza before hitting the water.
In a letter sent to CUPE’s email list, Hahn claims that he is being falsely maligned as an antisemite by supporters of Israel and that the national committee’s demand that he resign is anti-democratic because of his recent re-election as CUPE Ontario’s president.
“As has happened to our union in the past, those who spoke up against the actions of the state of Israel last fall were quickly labeled antisemitic and vilified, especially online. I was one of those people,” said Hahn.
“Because I respect the democracy of our union, I maintained then, as I do now, that the members should decide. Delegates to the national convention passed an emergency resolution strengthening our union’s support for Palestine and our call for a ceasefire, and I was proud to be re-elected by Ontario delegates as the General Vice-President from our region.”
Hahn frames his position as merely opposing genocide against the Palestinian people and reflecting the views of his union’s members.
“As spring approached and young people on university campuses took brave action to call for divestment from genocide, our union and the entire labour movement stood with them. Once again, I was targeted online and in the media for expressing the views of our members in support for Palestine and against genocide,” said Hahn.
Hahn says that his detractors are conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and that they are lying about his views.
“I want to be clear – I utterly reject the charge of antisemitism; anyone who knows and works with me knows it to be a lie. It remains my strongly held view that it is a terrible mistake, and antisemitic, to conflate abhorrent actions by the state of Israel with Jewish humanity or identity,” said Hahn.
Despite Hahn’s appeal to democracy, CUPE chapters are beginning to turn against the longtime union president.
CUPE local 5167 issued a statement denouncing Hahn’s “horrific and insensitive actions” and called for his immediate resignation.
“The role of a CUPE Union Leader is to represent members first, and foremost. As those members, we do not condone these horrific and insensitive actions that are hurtful and divisive,” reads the statement.
“CUPE Local 5167 Executive calls for the immediate resignation or removal of Fred Hahn as the President of CUPE Ontario. Fred’s personal viewpoint on the Palestine and Israel conflict does not reflect the scope of our union.”
CUPE 2974 representing paramedics in Windsor-Essex expressed their disappointment that Hahn is not resigning and challenged the democratic character of Hahn’s election.
“Fred Hahn has declined to step down, despite the request directly from
@cupenat, because he has been emboldened (without limit?) by his recent reelection through a skewed delegate system,” wrote CUPE 2974.
Kathryn Marshall, the lawyer representing CUPE members in a human rights complaint against their union expressed disappointment that Hahn did not step down, attacking the union leader for failing to set aside his ego.
“Yet again Fred Hahn has put his ego and personal prejudices ahead of the needs of his members. We are disappointed, but not surprised,” wrote Marshall.