Peace & Justice Reflections

Labor Day and Catholic Social Teaching

By Brother Steve Herro, O. Praem.

August 16, 2008

Discussions about jobs, work, and Catholic social teaching happen to take place in the darndest places, during Labor Day weekend and throughout the year:

• Leave it to volunteers’ conversation at a Katrina disaster recovery last June to inspire some of the most fruitful conversations of the year.  The six of us touched upon many subjects that week, but it was the discourse on immigration that connects to our celebration of Labor Day and Catholic social teaching and the rights of workers and dignity of work.  As we discussed the country’s immigration issue, several noted that immigrants were filling jobs in our country that would otherwise go unfilled (the Urban Institute reports that between 2000 and 2005 the total number of low wage workers declined by approximately 1.8 million while the number of unskilled immigrant workers increased by 620,000, thus offsetting the total decline by about a third; see Justice for Immigrants:  The Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform, http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/myths.html).  One of our volunteers, who happens to be a Catholic priest, noted that he would not mind filling an unskilled job typically filled by an immigrant if it meant keeping a sector of the economy going and there were no one else available to do it.  Similarly, I remember one of our volunteers during our service project in June 2007, bagging personal possessions in abandoned low income New Orleans area apartments, saying that he would not mind doing this work on a long term basis if he were promised a membership at a YMCA to work out every day before coming to work!

• Several weeks ago, three of us were discussing the most pressing domestic issues impacting the election this fall.  One middle aged mother and wife quickly responded:  JOBS.  Would her 20 something son have one after completing his engineering bachelor’s degree and graduate study, after investing tens of thousands of dollars and over six years in his post secondary education?  Would their family be able to maintain their moderate standing of living when her husband’s employer notified the family that wage increases would be limited to two percent this year?

• I often pick people up at Austin Strabel International Airport.  Besides observing the joy of reunions when people come home, a personal highlight is to drive through the airport parking lot gate and greet one of the friendliest attendants that one would ever meet.  A simple job, sitting inside a booth for hours and collecting parking fees, but her cheeriness is enough to brighten anyone’s day.

• A faculty member commented to me how impressed he was by the school’s new leader because he learned the names of the kitchen and maintenance staff his first month on the job.  These workers also told him how much they thought of the new head because of his approachability and authentic concern for people of all classes at the school.

This Labor Day, whether you are enjoying a picnic with family and friends, preparing for the beginning of another school year, taking a breather between two national political conventions, or gearing up for another football season, don’t forget to reflect on the ethics of work and Catholic social teaching.  Maybe a reflection of the National Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishop’s 1996 document, A Decade After Economic Justice for All:  Continuing Principles, Changing Context, and New Challenges is in order.  A few salient points from the letter:

• The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy
• All people have the right to economic initiative, to produce work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions, as well as to organize and join unions or other associations.
• 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.
• Workers, owners, managers, stockholders, and consumers are moral agents in economic life.  By our choices, initiative, creativity, and investment, we enhance or diminish economic opportunity, community life, and social justice.

There are a few practical applications to consider:

• When you bless your food before a meal, remember not only the food and diners, but ask God’s blessing upon the farmers, truckers, grocers, and cooks whose work made your meal possible.
• Think how you can help build a sense of esprit de corps, equanimity, and appreciation amongst all groups of workers in your office; bring a treat for all to share, send a personal card to an unsung worker whose efforts you appreciate, etc.
• Assist a co-worker by donating vacation or sick time to his or her account while the worker is convalescing or share a workplace duty with a colleague that will enable him or her to tend to a family member in need.
• Study, reflect, and pray over Catholic social teachings on justice and labor (the USCCB Office of Justice, Peace, and Human Development’s letters on labor, http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/labor.shtml, are a good starting point) and apply your positions to conversations and elections with and for lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels.