OTTAWA — Efforts by CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn to mend fences isn’t going over well with disgruntled locals.
This week, Hahn issued a plea to meet with locals who’ve called for his resignation over his history of controversial and alarming statements regarding Israel that have left Jewish union members feeling unsafe and unheard.
“Between a historic cost of living crisis, an active genocide, and workers across this province standing up to bad bosses and demanding more, this last year has been unprecedented in our movement,” Hahn wrote in the letter viewed by the Toronto Sun.
“The last few months have been unprecedented, because the internal processes of our union have been discussed on the front pages of many newspapers, with right-wing politicians weaponizing our internal debates to try and break our solidarity.”
He offered to attend local executive meetings to clear the air and answer questions.
Among those demanding Hahn’s resignation was CUPE Local 2974, representing paramedics in Windsor-Essex — who declined Hahn’s offer.
“Everyone should be allowed to make mistakes, I don’t think anyone should be expected to be infallible,” Local 2974 President James Jovanovic said.
“We should have opportunities to make mistakes and seek forgiveness — but there has to be a willingness to self reflect, to learn from mistakes and grow — and I haven’t seen anything since Oct. 7 last year where he shows any remorse, growth or willingness to learn from those mistakes.”
“As we all think about reasons to be thankful this #thanksgiving2023, I know I’m thankful for the power of workers, the power of resistance around the globe,” he tweeted on Oct. 8.
Hahn gained infamy for problematic social media posts, including a tweet one day after the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
“Because #Resistance is fruitful and no matter what some might say, #Resistance brings progress, and for that, I’m thankful.”
In August, Hahn shared a Facebook post depicting an AI-generated Olympic diver wearing a Star of David turn into a bomb and fall on houses — criticism of Israel’s ongoing campaign to eradicate Hamas terrorists from Gaza.
That post sparked demands from CUPE’s national executive for Hahn to step down, saying they’ve lost confidence in his ability to represent the national union.
Hahn’s unapologetic remarks earned a public rebuke from Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini, who urged Hahn to represent his entire membership and to “stop hating Jews.”
Hahn also garnered criticism for speaking at a Toronto anti-Israel rally over the weekend, where attendees held up signs celebrating deceased Hamas leader and terrorist Yahya Sinwar.
Hahn is the target of an ongoing human right complaint filed by 25 Jewish CUPE members, alleging years of antisemitism by union leadership.
In response to the Sun’s inquires, Hahn stressed the importance of communication.
““The way we build worker power is by having conversations in our union, which is why we offered to meet with locals,” he said. “Otherwise, the letter speaks for itself.”
While his executive hasn’t made a decision on Hahn’s offer, CUPE 3987 President Jamie Cleroux said the explosion of antisemitic hate crimes in Canada since Oct. 7 is disturbing.
“It’s concerning, because the war that’s happening in the Middle East is half a world away, yet there’s fear within our communities here in Canada,” he said. “That’s very worrisome for me, but it’s more worrisome for those who are affected by it.”
Despite not having any Jewish members in his local, Cleroux said he’d like to see CUPE end advocating for overseas causes and return to improving conditions for their members.
“Within CUPE, we need to respect all members, we need to take care of what’s important — our jobs, job security, wages, benefits, working conditions, which is my goal, my focus as a local president,” he said. “I think that should be the focus of Mr. Hahn.”
“I’ve lost faith in in his leadership abilities,” Cleroux added.
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