Kooper Caraway resigned from his post as executive director of the SEIU Connecticut State Council, the union said in an announcement published on Facebook on Thursday, with no additional details about Caraway's exit. Caraway previously served as president of the South Dakota Federation of Labor AFL-CIO and as a labor representative for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 65, according to his LinkedIn page.
Caraway became the youngest president of a state federation of labor in the U.S. when he was voted in as South Dakota Federation president, according to the state's AFL-CIO website.
Caraway's comments at a rally in New Haven this month appeared in an Oct. 15 Wall Street Journal opinion article, which claimed some SEIU leaders were sharing messages of support for Hamas. According to the opinion piece and a video circulating on social media of Caraway at the rally, Caraway said, "Our bosses, our government want us to think that their enemies must be the enemies of working class people, but they are not."
"Our enemies are not in Gaza," Caraway said in another clip of the video. "Our comrades are in Gaza."
The video shows Caraway speaking into a megaphone with another person holding a sign behind him that says "Free Gaza." According to the video, Caraway claimed individuals "who built this labor movement" and civil rights activists "were called terrorists by this country."
As part of the state council's post about Caraway's resignation, it included a recent statement from SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry.
"SEIU believes that all Israelis and Palestinians deserve safety, freedom from violence, and the opportunity to thrive," Henry said in the statement Tuesday. "Our union includes many who have family members, Israeli and Palestinian, who have been impacted by the recent violence. We stand against antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and hate in all its forms around the world."
The union "unequivocally condemns" Hamas' attack on Israel earlier this month and "all violence against innocent civilians, no matter their background," Henry said.
Caraway, the SEIU Connecticut State Council and the international union did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Workers United, another SEIU affiliate, is entangled in a dispute with Starbucks Corp. over a tweet by the union stating "Solidarity with Palestine."
Starbucks and the union sued each other in federal court Wednesday. The coffee chain claimed that the union used the company's trademark in the Starbucks Workers United logo without permission and that the similarities between the union's logo and Starbucks' trademark could confuse customers.
The union accused Starbucks of defaming the labor organization by making "false public statements indicating that Workers United supports terrorism and violence." Workers United said the solidarity tweet was deleted between 30 and 40 minutes after the post was made, noting that union leadership didn't authorize the social media post.
--Editing by Khalid Adad.
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