What’s Labour Got To Do With Palestine? Unions and Foreign Policy

In recent years, global union leaders have affirmed their support for Palestinian trade unions and the Palestinian people. Scores of unions and labour federations have endorsed BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) as a key form of solidarity with Palestinian workers. Unions in Canada, the United States and around the world called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Some unions have taken direct action, such as refusing to handle military equipment, in efforts to stop arms exports to Israel. In response, conservative critics have asked, “What’s labour got to do with Palestine?” Some in the labour movement have called for unions to stick to the bread-and-butter issues of wages and working conditions.

Through the lens of Israel-Palestine, this webinar explores the past, present and future of labour internationalism and union influence on matters of foreign policy.

Featuring:

Riya Al’Sanah is a Palestinian organiser with the Workers in Palestine initiative and doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter. Her work focuses on the Palestinian labour movement and issues in political economy.

Jeff Schuhrke is a labor historian and assistant professor at the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies, SUNY Empire State University in New York City. He is the author of Blue-Collar Empire: The Untold Story of U.S. Labor's Global Anticommunist Crusade.