Local 602’s Rachel Zilberman helps create new Employee Resource Group on Jewish Culture and Heritage
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Locals
Local 602’s Rachel Zilberman has the distinction of helping create the Jewish Culture and Heritage Employee Resource Group (ERG), the State’s eighth ERG.
“The whole topic … just exploded in October. We decided we needed something for people who identified as Jews,” Jewish Culture and Heritage Employee Resource Group Co-Chair Zilberman said. Zilberman is an IT data specialist with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
Zilberman said she did not sleep at all the night between Oct. 6-7 as she spoke with family members in Israel who were hiding in a safe room in their home. In the following days, she learned that a childhood friend’s son, grandson and son-in-law had been murdered.
According to the ERG’s mission statement, a primary goal of the Jewish Culture and Heritage ERG’s mission is to eliminate antisemitism in the workplace and create a welcoming work environment where all employees with Jewish culture or heritage feel comfortable to bring their whole selves to work. The Jewish Culture and Heritage ERG aims to support the unique needs of Jewish employees and create an inclusive work environment across Minnesota’s state government.
Zilberman grew up in Israel and her late husband was from New York. Their son is a Marine serving on active duty in Washington, DC.
Currently, the Jewish Culture and Heritage ERG has just over 100 members. The next meeting, planned for early August, will concentrate on the importance of storytelling in the Jewish culture. Master storyteller Howard Lieberman will speak at the virtual meeting.
In early fall, the presentation will be about the history of Jews in the U.S. Labor Movement. From Jewish women helping lead the garment workers’ strikes in New York City a century ago to SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher leading the strike against the movie studios last year, Jewish Americans have contributed greatly to labor rights in the United States.
Sharon Rosenblum, Department of Human Services, is the ERG’s other co-chair.