CUPE vice-president vows to carry on despite calls to resign

A union leader in Ontario says he rejects a call for his resignation from a national position over a video he shared on social media.

Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario and a general vice-president of CUPE's national executive board, issued a statement on Thursday following a vote by the board askinghim to resign. The video that Hahn reposted on Facebook has caused discord in the union and has been called hurtful by several Jewish CUPE members.

"I have always had faith in the members of CUPE Ontario and been proud of the faith they placed in me by repeatedly, and democratically, electing me at both the provincial and national level," Hahn said in the statement.

"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."

Hahn said he maintains that "the members should decide" andnoted that he was re-elected by Ontario delegates to CUPE's nationalconvention as the general vice-president from the region. He added he wasre-elected president of CUPE Ontario at its annual convention at the end of May.

Hahn said democracy deserves to be respected and the board's decision has left him sad and angry.

"Trade unionists I have come to know and respect voted this week to overturn the democratic decisions of CUPE members. It is unprecedented in our union's history and I'm worried countless CUPE members who are active in the Palestinian solidarity movement could be left more vulnerable and exposed by the precedent as they face similar situations as work," Hahnsaid.

Hahn also rejected the accusation that he is antisemitic.

"I want to be clear I utterly reject the charge of antisemitism; anyone who knows and works with me knows it to be a lie. 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."

National board says decision not taken lightly

According to CUPE's communication director Karine Fortin, the national executive board voted on Tuesday to ask Hahn to resign in light of a social media post on Aug. 11 and its impact on members.

"Our board has regrettably lost confidence in Fred's ability to represent our union. This is not a decision we take lightly," CUPE said in a statement on Wednesday.

The video, which appeared on Hahn's Facebook feed during the Paris Olympic Games, shows an Olympic diver on a diving board. The diver, who has a Star of David tattoo on his arm, jumps off the board and somersaults in the air.

As he heads to the water, he apparently turns into a bomb. Instead of a splash, there are clouds of dust, mayhem and destruction on the ground. Bleeding children are carried away.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Hahn expressed regret for reposting the video on his Facebook feed, saying he understands that it has caused pain among some who viewed it.Hahn has deleted the video.

"My intention in posting it was to call attention to the reality that, while the Russian Federation was barred from participating at the Paris Olympics, the state of Israel was permitted to participate which appeared clearly to me to be a double standard," he said Sunday.

CUPE's national officers say video 'deeply problematic'

In a statement on Thursday, CUPE's national officers said their call for Hahn's resignation had nothing to do with comments by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Labour Minister David Picciniabout Hahn. The decision to ask Hahn to resign came before Ford and Piccini attacked him, the national officers said.

On Wednesday, Ford called on Hahn to resign from all of his elected roles after calling him a "bully" and a "disgusting human being" earlier in the day. On Tuesday, Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini confronted Hahn, calling him antisemitic and saying "your members deserve better."

"CUPE's national executive board made the difficult decision to ask for Fred Hahn's resignation as General Vice President because he reposted a deeply problematic video that was a clear violation of our union's equality statement."

The current Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants broke into Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others, according to Israeli tallies.Of those taken, about 110are still believed to be in Hamas-controlled Gaza, though Israeli authorities say around a third are dead. More than 100 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinians who were imprisoned in Israel during a weeklongtrucein November.

Israel's military responsein Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated much of the territory.