House Republican Subpoenas Union Over Vote In Favor Of Gaza Cease-Fire

Rep. Virginia Foxx called the cease-fire resolution “antisemitic,” even though it was supported by several Jewish union members.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) on Monday subpoenaed a union over its vote to support a cease-fire in the ongoing war in Gaza ― a resolution that Foxx called “divisive” and “antisemitic.”

The subpoena represents an escalation in months of legal and political pushback against the resolution, which a union of public defenders and social workers in New York approved by a large margin in December.

In late January, Foxx, who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter to the union ― the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, Local 2325 of the United Auto Workers ― writing that the resolution “alienated a sizeable portion of your members” and that it had forced Jewish members of the union “to take a position critical on their faith, Israel, and Israel’s sovereignty.”

Though a handful of ALAA members had publicly objected to the resolution, several organizers in favor of the measure within the union were Jewish, and the resolution ultimately passed by a nearly 2-to-1 margin on Dec. 19. Just a couple of weeks prior, United Auto Workers, ALAA’s parent union, itself became the largest union to call for a cease-fire. Regional UAW director Brandon Mancilla called Foxx’s letter “McCarthyism plain and simple.”

Foxx wrote Monday that she was formally subpoenaing information about the resolution after the union declined to respond to her January request for documents and information related to the vote. She said that the information sought would be used “to help the Committee consider and develop potential legislation aimed at ensuring that bargaining unit members are aware of their rights and that unions respect the rights of their members.”