Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
SWEATSHOPS AND CHILD LABOR
Adopted by the 108th Annual Convention of the
Central Conference of American Rabbis
June, 1997
Background
Issues of workers’ rights are spoken to specifically in the Torah. We are ever mindful of
the biblical commandment that, “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer,
whether a fellow countryman or a stranger in one of the communities of your land.”
(Deuteronomy 24:10) Adhering to these fundamental Jewish values, and recognizing
that the hardships faced by our grandparents in the sweatshops of New York City are
reflected in the experiences of today’s immigrants who labor in fields and factories to
guarantee a better future for themselves and their children, our community has long
sought to secure safe and equitable conditions for our nation’s workers. Our tradition and
our experience teach us that we betray the cause of justice unless we work to end the
oppression of workers throughout the world.
The Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) and the CCAR (CCAR) have
long called for the elimination of abusive labor conditions and practices. In 1909, the
UAHC spoke out strongly against the deplorable exploitation of children in the
workplace. In 1961, the UAHC denounced discrimination against migrant farmers,
calling on the federal government to help end these abuses and raise the status of these
farm workers to a position of dignity and equality. And in 1969, the UAHC joined, and
continues to support, the grape boycott intended to help secure better wages and working
conditions for grape pickers.
Unfortunately, the conditions that have prompted these actions in the past persist today.
Labor abuses, such as the continued prevalence of sweatshops and child labor, are as
repugnant to us now as they were before. In this country, workers are often forced to
work in unsafe conditions, for upwards of twelve hours a day, at times for as little as
seventy cents an hour. Abroad, children are frequently forced to labor in dangerous
conditions, made even more hazardous by their young age. In many countries, children
work in near slavery, for no pay and as prisoners in factories. As people of faith, it is our
responsibility to act on our principles and ensure that all workers, regardless of industry,
regardless of rank, are treated with dignity and fairness.
THEREFORE, the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism resolves to
Encourage independent third party monitoring programs, by groups such as human
rights organizations, labor unions, and religious organizations, which conduct
independent and unannounced audits of factories and provide information on their
findings to consumers;
Support legislation to make manufacturers, including retailers who act as manufacturers,
responsible for their contractors’ violations (while retaining any right of indemnity they
have against the contractors);
Urge UAHC member congregations to combat the exploitation of children in the
workplace and the prevalence of sweatshop labor through such activities as: generating
congregational awareness campaigns around the issues of sweatshop labor and child
labor; sensitizing congregants to the history of sweatshops and child labor in the United
States, specifically in the Jewish community; and participating in coalitions and other
activities that seek to put an end to these workplace abuses;
Commend industry programs which monitor production in their industry to ensure that
no sweatshop or child labor is being used; and,
Encourage UAHC congregants to take part in preferential purchasing from companies
which monitor manufacturing in their industry.
And calls upon the U.S. federal government and state governments to
Enact legislation that will allow for adequate staffing and funding to enforce existing
workers’ protection statutes;
Enact legislation and take appropriate administrative measures to ban the import into the
United States of products found to be made with child labor or sweatshop labor;
Enact legislation that will correct the egregious violations of workers’ rights, both child
and adult, which occur in the agricultural industry; and
Ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International
Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 138, which seek to set international standards
for child labor.