Since 1998, JUFJ has worked to put “labor” back into Labor Day by engaging our local Jewish communities in a collective conversation about our texts, our historical experiences, and the challenges facing workers today via our Labor on the Bimah program. This year, we have created materials that you can bring to your own congregation to talk about some exciting expansions in paid family and medical leave in both DC and Maryland. We are also participating in several actions and events around worker rights throughout the month of September, and we invite you to join us in this month of bringing together Jewish values and labor justice! See details below.
JUFJers across DC and Maryland have been working to pass and implement fair taxation laws for over two decades. Our Jewish tradition teaches us that we are obligated to support the needs of everyone in the community where we live, and that everyone should have the resources necessary to thrive, no matter our race, faith, wealth, or zip code. We are called to fight for a tax system in Maryland and Washington, DC that ensures those with the most pay their fair share to invest in true shared wellness, quality of life, safety, and prosperity for all of us.
But many elected officials, to protect the interests of their wealthy and corporate backers, support a tax system that places an overwhelming and unfair burden on Black and brown, working class, poor, and marginalized communities. They pretend that resources are just too scarce for everyone in our region to thrive, but we know that’s not true. That’s why JUFJ community members have joined with labor unions, small businesses, faith leaders, community leaders, and many others to demand more equitable tax systems that ensure everyone’s needs are met. For 26 years, we have come together across all of our differences, winning paid family and medical leave, increased wages, progressive property taxes, sick leave, and so much more. Now is the time to demand that elected officials stop listening to the wealthiest donors and create a fair and equitable tax system.
Learn more and access our Labor on the Bimah resources packet here.
List of Participating Congregations
Adat Shalom will be hosting an oneg discussion around economic justice issues. For more information, you can visit their website.
Am Kolel will host a Labor on the Bimah service and labor speaker on Saturday, August 31, 2024. For more information, please visit their website.
Beth Am will host two local labor leaders during Shabbat morning services Aug. 31st at 9:30 AM. Courtney Jenkins, President of the Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO, and Ray Baker, Maryland Director of the Baltimore/DC Building Trades Council, will speak about their personal stories and their work and share info about two campaigns they are leading in collaboration with JUFJ. For more information, click here.
Bethesda Jewish Congregation will host a Labor on the Bimah service on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 7:30 PM, and will include a teaching on labor and fair taxation laws. For more information, please visit their website.
More information to come.
B’nai Israel will host a sermon on Shabbat morning; Saturday, August 31. You can watch the livestream here.
More information to come.
JUFJ Maryland Policy Director Matan Zeimer will be speaking during Shabbat services on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 7:30pm about the importance of economic justice and fair taxation.
East Bank will include remarks from a JUFJ staff member during Shabbat services on Friday, August 30.
Hill Havurah will highlight our taxation campaign in an upcoming newsletter.
More information to come.
Labor leader and JUFJer Claudia Balog will be leading a discussion centering economic justice issues at services on Saturday, August 31, 2024.
Oseh Shalom will host a drash and oneg discussion at Shabbat Services on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 7:30pm. You can join services on site or virtually. To learn more, click here.
Sixth & I will host a drash and oneg discussion at Shabbat Services on Friday, August 23, 2024 at 7:00 pm. You can join services on site or virtually. Click here for more information.
Temple Emanuel will host a Labor on the Bimah Service on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 6:30pm, with featured speaker Matthew Clash-Drexler, Member of Bredhoff & Kaiser, a preeminent union-side law firm. For more information, please visit their website.
Temple Micah will host a sermon for Friday evening 8/30/2024 in honor of Labor on the Bimah. For more information, please visit their website.
Temple Sinai will host a Labor on the Bimah Torah Study & Kaddish Minyan on Saturday, August 31 from 9:15 to 10:15am. For more information, click here.
A JUFJ Maryland Policy Director will join Tikvat Israel on Saturday, August 31, to discuss current tax fairness campaigns and how they are rooted in Jewish values. For more information, please visit their website.
Washington Hebrew will host a Labor on the Bimah service and discussion of campaigns over snacks after the service. For more information, visit their website.
Is your congregation missing from the list? Fill out the form here, or email Ioana at ioana.stoica@jufj.org
