THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LABOR AND THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH
By SISTER BRENDA WALSH, RACINE DOMINICAN
For over a century the Catholic Church has addressed
labor and economic development issues. This is the 120th
anniversary of “Rerum Novarum” written by Pope Leo X111. This
document began to build a bridge between worker rights and
government and
corporations with the goal of achieving economic
justice for all
. In 1986, the Catholic Bishops wrote a letter on
Economic Justice. Paragraph 3031 of the document states…”As a
minimum, workers have a right to be informed in advance when
decisions are under consideration, a right to negotiate with
management about possible alternatives, and a right to a fair
compensation…Since even these minimal rights are jeopardized without
collective negotiation, industrial cooperation requires a strong
role for labor unions in our changing economy. “workers have a
right to be informed in advance about decision under consideration.
They also have collective bargaining rights.”
The church documents set up a partnership between
church and labor. They need to be renewed in this time, studied and
acted upon. Over the years, they have helped many struggling people
get out of dire poverty and secure a level of economic security for
themselves and their families. In recent years, there has been a
decline in the study and implementation of the values outlined in
these documents.
In the past few months, in Wisconsin and across the
nation, there has been a strong effort to deprive workers of their
basic rights and to deprive them of their right to organize and
engage in collective bargaining . If this continues, it will impact
the efforts of the church and the economic life of our society. The
Bishops of Wisconsin on behalf of Archbishop Listecki of Milwaukee
states: “Catholic Social Teaching must be restored to its rightful
place in the church. These are not just labor issues. They are moral
choices with great human and justice consequences.”
Here are some of the things church leaders and people
of faith can do to address these issues:
-
Let our legislators know that we
cannot balance our state and national budgets on
the backs of the poor and disenfranchised, the
powerless, the aging and the most vulnerable
people in our society. Education and other
essential human services should not be deprived
of necessary resources to meet their needs. They
cannot survive successfully without adequate
funding.
-
Keep the common good in mind and
develop a clearer Catholic voice in confronting
greed and supporting worker rights.
-
Restore the study of the church
documents on labor and economic issues in
seminaries, colleges, and in parish groups.
Encourage the faithful to speak the truth to
power with courage and hope.
-
Write letters or articles on the
issue and encourage people to become involved.
-
Keep in touch with your
legislators and urge them to act justly and for
the common good. Invite them to speak to your
congregation o other groups to which they
belong.
-
Workers also have obligations to
provide a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.
They have a right to feel that their work is
making a difference for their own families, for
their communities and nation. No effort is too
small to make a difference. In the document on
Human Work, we are told that “workers not only
want fair pay, they also want to share in the
responsibility and creativity of the very work
process. They want to feel they are working for
themselves – an awareness that is smothered in a
bureaucratic system where they only feel
themselves to be cogs in a huge machine moved
from above.” #15, On Human Work.
Let us remind ourselves that the values outlined in
the documents named above are not optional suggestions but values to
be studied and lived as a core element of living our faith.
Let us begin today with courage and hope.