“We cannot have a situation in which a rabbi will have to be accompanied by an attorney everywhere he goes in fear anything he says or does will lead to a lawsuit.…A shochet [ritual slaughterer] and mashgiach [kosher food inspector] are trusted agents of the [city’s chief] rabbi and it is unthinkable that an outside organization will try to compel a rabbi to follow its dictates against his will."
Israel’s Shochtim Want To Unionize, Rabbis Vehemently Oppose
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Shochtim (Jewish ritual slaughterers) in Israel are trying to start a union but their effort is strongly opposed by the chief rabbis of many Israeli cities and towns, Yeshiva World reported based on a report on the Israeli Orthodox website Ladaat.
“We cannot have a situation in which a rabbi will have to be accompanied by an attorney everywhere he goes in fear anything he says or does will lead to a lawsuit.…A shochet [ritual slaughterer] and mashgiach [kosher food inspector] are trusted agents of the [city’s chief] rabbi and it is unthinkable that an outside organization will try to compel a rabbi to follow its dictates against his will,” one of those chief rabbis, who is said to be representative of the rabbis opposing unionization, reportedly told Ladaaat.
The rabbi went on to ask what would happen if a mashgiach is suspended for failure to perform his job duties, and the union demands his reinstatement and threatens to strike? Unionization will lead to the destruction of kosher food supervision, the rabbi insisted, because that supervision will be run by the union and not the rabbi.
But rabbis must be the unquestioned authority regarding spiritual matters, including kosher food supervision – not a union or a labor court, the rabbi concluded.