To: Tracey Specter, Board President

Support Teachers at Perelman Jewish Day School

Teachers deserve fair treatment and bargaining rights. It’s unacceptable for Perelman’s board to attack teachers and the union. Your actions violated the trust between you and your teachers, undid four decades of collaboration, cooperation and open communications and violated major Halakhic authorities, as well as the official position of Conservative Judaism on employees' rights to choose to belong to a union.

Be a light unto the nations. Work with teachers to strengthen PJDS, not against them.

Why is this important?

Perelman Jewish Day School teachers have been unionized for nearly four decades. Suddenly in March the schools board of directors withdrew recognition of the teachers’ union.

Neither parents nor teachers had a voice in this decisions. The board met in secret for nearly a year, while refusing to sit down with the teachers’ negotiating team.

Conservative Judaism is clear on workers' rights and employee unions. In a 2008 Teshuva, the Rabbinic Assembly ruled that Jewish employers are required to treat employees with respect and dignity, not interfere with union organizing and should hire union employees whenever possible. A school that teaches Jewish values should demonstrate Jewish values as well.

The school should immediately reverse course and work with the teachers, rather than attacking them.