TORONTO – A national union leader has refused to step down despite his organization calling for his resignation over an online post that it said violated its policies.
On Tuesday, the national arm of the Canadian Union of Public Employees passed a motion asking vice-president Fred Hahn to resign.
In a message to union members late Thursday afternoon, Hahn said he will not resign because he believes the decision must be made by members, who democratically re-elected him earlier this year.
His response came after Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Hahn a “disgusting human being” at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday – while praising one of his ministers for recent criticism of Hahn over the Israel-Hamas war – and asked union members to vote him out.
CUPE has said it will not take advice from Ford, who they claim is a “union hating” premier, but demanded Hahn’s resignation because he reposted “a deeply problematic video” that violates its equality policy.
Hahn has also served as CUPE Ontario president since 2010 and was re-elected earlier this year.
He recently apologized for posting an altered video on social media that shows an athlete with a Star of David tattoo diving into a pool, at which point an explosion occurs, and what follows appears to be the aftermath of a missile strike with injured children being whisked away.
In his note to union members, Hahn said he is not antisemitic.
“I want to be clear – I utterly reject the charge of antisemitism,” Hahn wrote. “Anyone who knows and works with me knows it to be a lie.”
Because he was elected to his role, he said he is not going anywhere.
“There is much work to be done – and because I respect the democracy of our union, the choice of our members, I will be here to continue to fight side by side with all of you,” he wrote.
Hahn said in a Facebook post earlier this week, after he deleted the altered video, that he was trying to suggest that allowing Israeli athletes to compete in the recent Paris Olympics while banning the Russian Federation was a “double standard.”
“My intent was never to associate Jewish people with the violence enacted by the state of Israel,” he wrote. “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.”
Hahn’s post angered many, including the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center who supported the national union’s motion asking Hahn to resign, alleging his “antisemitism and the toxic environment he created for Jewish CUPE members are no longer acceptable.”
It is not the first time Hahn’s social media posts since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel have landed him in trouble.
The day after the attack, Hahn posted that he was thankful for the power of resistance around the globe because resistance is “fruitful” and “brings progress.” He later said he doesn’t endorse violence and that everyone deserves to live in peace, while CUPE Ontario said it was being “targeted by a highly organized pro-Israel lobby.”
Following that post, a few dozen CUPE members filed a human rights complaint last year against the union and Hahn, alleging they “engaged in systemic discrimination by promoting and engaging in antisemitism.”
The complaint accuses CUPE and Hahn of a “long pattern of discrimination against Jewish union members.”
CUPE said its decision to ask for Hahn’s resignation does not negate his commitment to the union.
“Nothing about this decision changes CUPE’s clear, consistent position on the bombardment of Gaza by Israel, either: CUPE continues to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; a release of all hostages from Gaza; and an end to the blockade of Gaza and the restoration of humanitarian aid,” the union wrote in a statement earlier Thursday.
An online letter-writing petition saw more than 60,000 letters in support of Hahn sent to CUPE.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2024.
