About THE JEWISH LABOR COMMITTEE
The Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee is comprised of men and women of varying ages who express their concern for working people through their careers, their activism, and their commitment to social justice.
Board Members
Lynne Fox President, PJLC
Lynne Fox is the Manager of the Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United, and is an International Executive Vice President of Workers United, positions which she has held since 1999 and 2009, respectively. She is also a member of the International Executive Board of SEIU. Prior to that, Lynne served as General Counsel for the Joint Board from 1994 to 1999. From 1987 to 1994, Lynne was a labor law attorney with the firm of Meranze and Katz. She is also a Director of the Amalgamated Bank and she is on the Executive Committee of Amalgamated Bank. Lynne is also on the Board of the Amalgamated Insurance Company, as well as the Executive Committee and serves as Chair of the Audit Committee.
She received her B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and her J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law, where she was on Law Review and was published; and Temple University School of Law.
Among her professional activities, Ms. Fox is a member of the Philadelphia County Bar Association, where she served as Chair of the Labor and Employment Section for two terms: 1996 and 1997; she is President of the Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee; is a Vice President on the Philadelphia AFL-CIO Council; is a longtime member of the NAACP, APRI, and CLUW.
Lynne is a native Philadelphian and was born and raised in the labor movement. She inherited a passion for justice and fairness for all people and is deeply committed to the members she represents, whom she has known for most of her life. Lynne has three children and lives in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Michael has had a career spanning more than 20 years in Jewish Communal Service and consulting with an emphasis on fundraising, marketing and leadership building. Michael has been the Director of the Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee since January of 2011. Michael was born and Raised in Queens, NY, and attended University of Michigan where he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor’s degree in Judaic Studies. Michael currently resides in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia.
Jeff Brown was a UniServ with the Pennsylvania State Education Association from April 2003 until retirement in March 2012 where he represented almost two dozen Local Unions totaling thousands of members and negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreements, processed grievance, serviced members, organized college adjuncts, cafeteria workers and community, conducted training and presented fact findings. From December 1974 until April 2003 he was President of AFSCME Local 1971 in Philadelphia and conducted all contract negotiations, processed grievances and testified at arbitrations and Unfair Labor Practice Charges, presented testimony to Philadelphia City Council, chaired a health and welfare and a group legal services fund and led the Local on three strikes. Mr. Brown has also been Vice President and a Staff Representative of AFSCME District Council 33 and an Instructor/Lecturer at Saint Joseph’s University Comey Institute of Industrial Relations as well as the Pennsylvania State University and Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO Union Leadership Academy. He is a member of Congregation Kesher Israel and has been a board member of the JLC since the 1980s.
Steve Masters is a licensed attorney with over three decades of experience in public policy research and analysis, legislative drafting, lobbying and grassroots advocacy, labor and disability law and community organizing.
Steve has worked as a staff attorney at Community Legal Services , was an associate with the labor law firm of Meranze and Katz, and spent twelve years at the Philadelphia City Council where he drafted many ground breaking and innovative bills, including laws combating predatory lending, gun violence, and laws promoting sustainability, neighborhood quality of life and worker rights. In October 2012 Steve launched JustLaws, an innovative government relations and community empowerment law firm. Since launching JustLaws, Steve has scored major victories for his clients at City Council and before the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Steve also has over thirty years experience leading successful grassroots legislative advocacy campaigns on the local, state and national levels . Steve co-founded Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the grassroots arm of the American Jewish peace community and served as its second national President. In 2010, Brit Tzedek merged into J Street. Steve was also a co-founder of J Street and served on its national board.
Steve was featured in the documentary “PASSIONATE VOICES: American Jews and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” which aired on public television and was one of a handful of American Jews who traveled to Geneva Switzerland to witness the public commitment ceremony for Israelis and Palestinian architects of the Geneva initiative on December 1, 2003.
Steve is Vice Chair of the Sustainable Business Network and the chair of SBN’s recently formed Policy Committee. Steve is also a long time board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia.
Steve Masters