Published by Jewish Insider on 11/13/2025 The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, a union representing over 3,000 legal workers, has acknowledged “inappropriate” communication around Israel and antisemitism as part of a settlement reached on Thursday brought on behalf of three union members who sued to block an anti-Israel resolution proposed weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. Under the agreement, ALAA, part of Local 2325 of the United Auto Workers, will pay the plaintiffs $315,000 in monetary damages and will refer all disciplinary charges brought against members to the union’s outside counsel for review. The union also agreed to implement mandatory training for its executive board to understand its obligation to ensure its members rights are being protected. “The training is not on antisemitism per se, but the expectation is that there will be discussions about how discriminatory animus could motivate violations of union members’ bill of rights,” Rory Lancman, director of corporate initiatives and senior counsel at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told Jewish Insider. The lawsuit was filed in September 2024 by the Brandeis Center. In their federal court complaint, plaintiffs described being targeted as “snitches,” “losers,” “disgusting,” “dictators in training” and “Zionist ghouls” in the ALAA’s internal discussion boards. The resolution, which was passed by a majority of ALAA members in November 2023, called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, denounced Israel’s “colonial apartheid occupation” of Gaza, opposed “any future military aid” to Israel and called for the U.S. to cut ties with the Jewish state. Plaintiffs said they were accused of “spreading lies and misinformation” by talking about “Jewish babies being murdered, and women being raped” on Oct. 7. This settlement comes following a U.S. district court ruling in July that federal labor law claims brought by union members against the ALAA could proceed, rejecting the ALAA’s motion to dismiss. The case is part of a larger trend of rising antisemitism and opposition to Israel in labor unions, many of which historically had been supportive of Israel, dating back nearly a century, when many American unions donated money to the Hisdarut, Israel’s national labor union. In February 2024, the AFL-CIO, which represents more than 12 million workers, called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center, called the reversal of Israel support in labor unions a “bitter irony.” “Labor unions are supposed to be advocates for social justice and workplace equality,” Marcus said in a statement. “To find the oldest hatred in such places is deeply antithetical to their mission. This settlement is a landmark in the fight against antisemitism in this sector. I am gratified by this outcome and resolved to support Jewish workers at any union around the country that is seeing this problem arise. Based on what we are hearing around the country, there will be more of these cases coming.”