Labor Unions & Social Justice

Public employee labor unions have recently been in front of the public eye, with the situation in Madison, Wisconsin playing out in the news, and the criticisms of teachers unions addressed in the movie, "Waiting for Superman." With that in mind, the US bishops recently talked about labor unions. In their statement, they reiterated the Church's long-standing support for the rights of workers to organize, which the Church has always taught to be a basic human right. 
       In addition, the bishops also pointed out that the current financial difficulties faced by governments across the country defy easy-fix solutions. Thus, they call on governments and workers to word together for the common good. They also called on the members of unions to make sacrifices in order to adjust to the new economic realities.
       For the complete story, go to www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1100999.htm. 
Copyright © 2011, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. 
 
 

The Bishops' Annual Labor Day Statement

Each year for Labor Day, the US bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development issues a Labor Day Statement. At over four pages in length, this year's statement is the longest of recent years. Yet, this is for good reason, as the opening paragraphs of the statement point out. With the West Virginia mine disaster, the explosion of the oil rig in the Gulf, and high unemployment, this past year has been marked by some significant events and conditions. As the bishops review the history of papal writings on the matter — from Pope Leo XIII's Rerum novarum to Pope Benedict XVI's Caritas in veritate — the bishops conclude that the protecting the life and dignity of each worker should be at the heart of a new "social contract" for the growth and governance of our economy.
       This year's statement (and other statements by the bishops on labor) can be found at http://bit.ly/9vcbkG.
       Happy Labor Day!
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. (http://bit.ly/16p8ws)
 

Economic Life & Social Justice (part 4)

The fifth and sixth principles of A Catholic Framework for Economic Life (www.usccb.org/jphd/economiclife) could easily be named the "individual rights and responsibilities" principles:

• Principle 5. All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions as well as to organize and join unions or other associations.

• Principle 6. All people, to the extent they are able, have a corresponding duty to work, a responsibility to provide for the needs of their families and an obligation to contribute to the broader society. 

Principle 5 is rooted in our belief that, by working, we are participating in God's creation, and therefore it is a noble and worthy endeavor that no one should be deprived of. It goes further to state that work should be justly compensated and dignified, and a worker may associate with others in order to balance the power between employer and employee.
       The sixth principle outlines the why we should work, if we are able: to financially take care of our families and to contribute to the common good.
       An exercise for this week: As we come out of the current recession, many individuals still suffer unemployment or underemployment. Consider them in your prayers this week.
Copyright © 2010, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins. (http://bit.ly/16p8ws)
   

Christmas Shopping & Social Justice

With the passing of the Thanksgiving holiday, we are now into the Christmas shopping season. To counter the consumerism and tendency for stores to be loaded with merchandise made by forced child labor or foreign sweatshops, many parishes will this weekend kick off a "fair trade sale" or a "Work of Human Hands Sale." These efforts sell chocolates, handcrafts, coffee, tea, and gift baskets that are purchased at fair prices from growers, artists, and producers who receive a fair price for their merchandise and promise to operate according to just standards. The majority of the sales price goes directly back to those who made or grew the items. Such sales have been facilitated by Catholic Relief Services.
       In the event you missed the sale, you can always shop for the same merchandise anytime online at www.crsfairtrade.org. 
Copyright © 2009, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.

Labor Day & Social Justice

This coming Monday, we celebrate the Labor Day national holiday. It's a time to reflect on our Catholic social teaching regarding the dignity of human labor.
       Last year, the US Bishops stated in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, "Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation." That's a very powerful statement, and one that succinctly frames all the Church's teaching on the dignity of human labor. From this flow many specific rights and responsibilities, which the Church has also commented on over the years.
       This year, in the recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict called for a new model for the business enterprise that moves beyond the model that is "... almost exclusively answerable to their investors, thereby limiting their social value." He goes on to say, "Even if the ethical considerations that currently inform debate on the social responsibility of the corporate world are not all acceptable from the perspective of the Church's social doctrine, there is nevertheless a growing conviction that business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference." In other words, the pope is saying that workers should have some participation in the methods of production and the distribution of profits, which is fitting only in light of the overall teaching that workers are co-creators with God and are thus imbued with that dignity.

       The chair of the US Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development releases a Labor Day statement each year commenting on current developments and issues. To read that statement online after Monday, go to www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/labor.shtml.

Copyright © 2009, Deacon Carl D. Smith. All rights reserved. Reprint permission granted to parishes for use in Sunday bulletins.