Education and Workforce Vice Chair Burgess Owens (UT-04) participated in a Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing titled “Unmasking Union Antisemitism” in Washington. During the session, Rep. Owens criticized union leaders for focusing on antisemitic and anti-Israel agendas rather than addressing the needs of their members.
“It is really disgusting that some unions are spending their time advancing antisemitic and anti-Israel priorities instead of addressing immediate needs of their members. … Do your job, stop the antisemitic activity among your ranks. You’re paid a very good salary to protect your members against hate. You’re failing to do so now and your cowardly silence is deafening,” said Rep. Owens.
Owens questioned Glenn Taubman, Staff Attorney at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, about whether workers in states with mandatory union membership could be required to pay dues to organizations that promote hate, including those with extreme affiliations.
“If you are in the 25 or so states that have forced unionism and you have a KKK union, you’ll pay them or you’ll be fired. … The bottom line is, the default position is pay that union or you will be fired,” said Mr. Taubman.
Rep. Owens also referenced testimony from David Rubinstein, a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University, who discussed challenges he faced when seeking religious accommodation from his union.
“Cornell University promised that I could religiously object by doing no more than tick a box on a form. And yet that form never materialized. … Even after I complied with invasive demands, they pushed for further intrusive information. At that point, I had no choice but to file legal charges,” said Mr. Rubinstein.
Burgess Owens has represented Utah’s 4th district in Congress since 2021 after succeeding Ben McAdams. He was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1951 and currently resides in Salt Lake City. Owens graduated from the University of Miami in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
