After 20 years as an elected officer of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, Fred Hahn announced Thursday that he will not be running for re-election as the union’s president. Hahn is the longest serving officer of CUPE at the provincial or national level. CUPE Ontario members will vote for their new president in the upcoming convention in May.
“This union has never belonged to any one person. Its strength has always come from the courage, clarity, and determination of its members,” Hahn wrote in a letter to CUPE members. “It’s time for you all to choose the next generation of leadership to take on the challenges our members continue to face. This choice is an important one, friends – and I know in making it you will never retreat from the militant force we have built; never relenting on our fight for justice here and around the world.”
Hahn got his start in CUPE leadership in 1998 as a member of the Ontario Executive Board. In 2006, Hahn was elected to be the Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE Ontario, making him the first openly gay officer of CUPE.
Over the decades, Hahn led CUPE Ontario through the fight to keep Hydro One public, defend municipal workers’ pension and the fight against a bill by Doug Ford which attempted to impose a collective agreement on education workers.
“This is who we are. We fight for free collective bargaining. We fight forward—at the table, in the streets, and in the legislature,” Hahn wrote. “We practice social unionism rooted in justice, solidarity, and internationalism. We stand firm against bullies of every kind, and the world needs that strength now more than ever.”
In recent years, Hahn has faced some controversy related to his stance on Palestine. The National Executive Board of CUPE called on him to step down from his position with the board after he posted a video to his Facebook that was denounced as being antisemitic.
On August 11, 2024, Hahn reposted a video that showed an Olympic diver with a Star of David tattoo on his arm. As the diver jumps off a diving board, and somersaults in the air, he turns into a bomb. The video then shows the aftermath of a bombing, including images of injured children being carried away.
Hahn took the video down and expressed deep regret for any pain it caused. In a later Facebook post explaining his decision, Hahn said his intention was to highlight that the state of Israel was permitted to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics despite the country’s genocide in Gaza. Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 2023 have claimed more than 70,000 Palestinian lives according to Gaza health authorities.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs released a petition in reaction to this video that called for Hahn’s resignation. The group claimed that CUPE had become a breeding ground for radicalization and extremism under Hahn’s leadership.
Labour for Palestine also launched a petition, this one aimed at defending Hahn. The group highlighted that Canadian labour organizations have historically played a strong role in global social movements.
“This attack on Fred Hahn represents an attack on the strength the labour movement has built in its principled stance for Palestinian liberation,” the Labour for Palestine petition reads. “Now more than ever, we cannot allow our unions and union leaders to bow to outside interference.”
In his letter announcing the end of his CUPE Ontario presidency, Hahn also highlighted the need for Canadian organizations to stand in solidarity with movements across the world.
“Solidarity is not symbolic; it is physical and collective,” Hahn wrote. “This is the kind of unionism that frightens those in power. We are called ‘radical,’ ‘uncompromising,’ ‘socialist,’ even ‘communist.’ We are told to stay in our lane—as though workers’ lives are not shaped by the same forces of exploitation, colonialism, and inequality we confront every day.”
Although Hahn’s time in CUPE leadership is set to end, he said he will continue to be present and supportive in CUPE members’ struggles.
