CMHR Workers Reject Pressure Campaign and Political Interference
Union of National Employees stands behind members' professionalism and expertise in developing the Palestine Uprooted exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNE Local 50773's membership overwhelmingly voted to stand behind our members and the museum's leadership in defending Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present. Our members built this exhibit as part of the job they are trained and entrusted to do, and our local rejects the political pressure campaign targeting that work.
“We stand with our members and their commitment to the highest standards of professional integrity and judgment in their work and expertise.”
Krysty Thomas, PSAC Prairies Regional Executive Vice-President
“The intensity of the pressure to silence Palestinian Canadian voices and discredit this exhibit says a great deal about exactly why the exhibit is necessary in the first place,” said Béla Gyarmati, Chief Shop Steward, UNE Local 50773. “Since the exhibit opened, the museum, its leadership, and our members have faced sustained pressure from elected officials and internationally organized advocacy campaigns calling for the exhibit to be altered, condemned, or removed. Our local rejects this pressure and the disingenuous accusations that members are contributing to antisemitism.”
An open letter released last week, signed by dozens of human rights and civil society organizations, including UNE and numerous Jewish organizations such as Independent Jewish Voices, the Jewish Faculty Network, and Rabbis for Ceasefire, affirmed the same principle: the museum's curatorial independence must be respected, and that political interference in that process has no place in a public institution.
This result reflects the mandate our members hold at CMHR: to advance understanding of human rights through education and honest, evidence-based dialogue.
“Our members are public service workers entrusted with difficult, important work. Highlighting different realities and lived experiences is exactly what a human rights museum is meant to do. That judgment deserves respect, not interference or politicization from outside the institution. We stand behind members of PSAC-UNE Local 50773, behind their work, fully and without hesitation — because Canada is stronger when museums are free to hold complex histories.”
— Alex Silas, PSAC National Executive Vice-President and UNE Trustee
UNE stands fully behind our members and the results of their work.
About UNE Local 50773
UNE Local 50773 represents workers at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg. The local is chartered under the Union of National Employees (UNE), a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
Media Contact: Yousrah Manset - Yousrah.Manset@une-sen.org Communications & Research Officer, Union of National Employees
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
