The country is at war, the economy is in free-fall, people are out on the street without work, Jews are being murdered in their beds and busses; even more are maimed and wounded for life and their families? lives shattered - and the Histadrut had to add to the nation?s woes with a public sector strike.
Did we really need to take another blow to the head from the Histadrut? And over what? Cost of living increases? Not even. They got that in October 2002, but they went on strike again and garbage piled up in the streets again, all for political reasons. This time, Finance Minister Netanyahu threatened to go to the Knesset to enact legislation to require a vote of the members before a union could go out on strike and the Histadrut leadership crumbled. The workers took a cut in pay and the Histadrut also accepted dismissals in the government bureaucracy. That?s what the members got. They got kicked twice. What did the government give to compensate for the double blow to the rank and file? Netanyahu agreed not to seek the threatened legislation and also agreed not to interfere with control of the public sector workers? pension fund. In short, the workers? ?representative? caved in on everything in the workers? interest in order to preserve its own control over the workers and their money.
Clearly, the Histadrut Labor Federation does not represent the workers. They pretend to, of course, but they do not. The Histadrut owns almost half of Israeli industry. How can they possibly even claim to represent the workers? But they do, and the workers seem to believe it. This fraud has been perpetrated on the Israeli worker for nearly a hundred years and the workers are in the habit of believing it.
Is it in the interest of the Histadrut rank and file to cripple the economy and stall the country? Is it in the workers? interest that their funds be used to strengthen the Labor party?s institutions and further the political agenda of the Left? You?ve been had, brothers. You are being used for political purposes by people who are the biggest employers in the country and probably the dirtiest, with the possible exception of the government.
And they claim to represent the workers. Extraordinary!
Stop being used. Don?t believe it any more. Don?t let them claim to represent you any more.
Then who will represent you? Do it yourselves. Do you want a labor union that will represent you? Organize it yourselves. You don?t need the Histadrut. You need only the determination to take control of your lives and a labor lawyer to advise you. Get one and do it.
Do it now. The future of the country depends on you.
The future of the country depends on us all. The Histadrut will not save us, it will sink us. The government will not save us. They will save themselves, at best.
Let?s do it ourselves, starting now. Start with the Histadrut.
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Ya'akov-Perez Golbert is a practicing lawyer in Jerusalem. He was a full professor of law in Los Angeles until his aliyah in 1984. He represents several non-governmental organizations and is a founder of Netzah Yisrael Lo Yishaqer.
Did we really need to take another blow to the head from the Histadrut? And over what? Cost of living increases? Not even. They got that in October 2002, but they went on strike again and garbage piled up in the streets again, all for political reasons. This time, Finance Minister Netanyahu threatened to go to the Knesset to enact legislation to require a vote of the members before a union could go out on strike and the Histadrut leadership crumbled. The workers took a cut in pay and the Histadrut also accepted dismissals in the government bureaucracy. That?s what the members got. They got kicked twice. What did the government give to compensate for the double blow to the rank and file? Netanyahu agreed not to seek the threatened legislation and also agreed not to interfere with control of the public sector workers? pension fund. In short, the workers? ?representative? caved in on everything in the workers? interest in order to preserve its own control over the workers and their money.
Clearly, the Histadrut Labor Federation does not represent the workers. They pretend to, of course, but they do not. The Histadrut owns almost half of Israeli industry. How can they possibly even claim to represent the workers? But they do, and the workers seem to believe it. This fraud has been perpetrated on the Israeli worker for nearly a hundred years and the workers are in the habit of believing it.
Is it in the interest of the Histadrut rank and file to cripple the economy and stall the country? Is it in the workers? interest that their funds be used to strengthen the Labor party?s institutions and further the political agenda of the Left? You?ve been had, brothers. You are being used for political purposes by people who are the biggest employers in the country and probably the dirtiest, with the possible exception of the government.
And they claim to represent the workers. Extraordinary!
Stop being used. Don?t believe it any more. Don?t let them claim to represent you any more.
Then who will represent you? Do it yourselves. Do you want a labor union that will represent you? Organize it yourselves. You don?t need the Histadrut. You need only the determination to take control of your lives and a labor lawyer to advise you. Get one and do it.
Do it now. The future of the country depends on you.
The future of the country depends on us all. The Histadrut will not save us, it will sink us. The government will not save us. They will save themselves, at best.
Let?s do it ourselves, starting now. Start with the Histadrut.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ya'akov-Perez Golbert is a practicing lawyer in Jerusalem. He was a full professor of law in Los Angeles until his aliyah in 1984. He represents several non-governmental organizations and is a founder of Netzah Yisrael Lo Yishaqer.