American Jewish World Service Voluntarily Recognizes the AJWS Union

Workers at American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the leading global Jewish human rights organization, have unionized with OPEIU Local 153. On June 23, 2021, AJWS management formally and voluntarily recognized the AJWS Union. 

Hannah Fajer, a Policy Associate and spokesperson from the AJWS Union, stated, “My colleagues and I are excited to have joined together to form the AJWS Union. Every day, we uplift our core values of dignity, humility, inclusivity, accountability, and courage. We are proud to work for a progressive human rights organization that supports labor rights, and we are eager to further align AJWS’s internal practices with the organizational values that drive our work around the globe.”

AJWS is inspired by the Jewish commitment to justice, including the value of b’tzelem elohim — a belief that every person is made in the Divine image, as well as by the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both AJWS’s Jewish values and the Universal Declaration teach us that every individual is worthy of dignity and respect. The more than 550 grantee-partners AJWS supports around the world pursue justice in their communities every day, and we are proud to join them in their fight for equity and human rights for all people. In forming and voluntarily recognizing this union, the staff of the AJWS Union and AJWS’s management seek to align how we express our values in the world, embracing the dignity of our workers in creating a more just and equitable organization for all.

AJWS Union looks forward to negotiating their first contract in the coming months and, in so doing, continuing the long history of progressive Jewish labor organizing.