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2/17/09
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God may or may not take sides in labor
disputes — but ‘Father Bob’ does
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
Does God take sides in labor disputes? That’s
a question over which believers might disagree.
But when workers stand up for their rights,
Robert Krueger knows which side he’s on.
“Father Bob,” as he’s known, says mass three
times a week at St. Francis Catholic Church in
Southeast Portland. At age 80, he’s semi-retired
as a diocesan priest. Yet he remains one of the
most active local religious leaders in speaking
up for economic morality.
Krueger is a member of the steering commit-
tee of the union-backed solidarity group Port-
land Jobs With Justice. Dressed in clerical garb,
he’s a regular presence at marches and rallies for
workers’ rights.
There’s nothing heretical about that.
Krueger’s positions are grounded in the church
social teachings he learned in the 1940s as a stu-
dent at Portland’s Central Catholic High School.
There and at Mt. Angel Seminary, Krueger stud-
ied “Rerum Novarum,” an open letter to
Catholic bishops written by Pope Leo XIII in
1891.
“The [letter] says because of our dignity as
human beings, made in the image of God, work-
ers have rights to be able to fulfill their destiny,
to receive sufficient compensation, to be treated
well, that they have the right to organize and
bargain collectively and strike if necessary,”
Krueger said. “We learned that as kids, and I
never forgot.”
After joining the priesthood, Krueger worked
as teacher and administrator at St.
Mary’s Home for Boys and then at
Central Catholic. Later, he was a
parish priest at St. Charles Borromeo
in Portland, Sacred Heart in Medford,
and finally St. Andrew in Portland.
Five years ago he retired.
While at St. Andrew, Krueger was
recruited to the labor cause by a
parishioner, Jean Eilers. Eilers, herself a former
nun, was then state director for the national
AFL-CIO. In 1997, she asked Krueger to stand
up for Steelworkers in Pueblo, Colorado, who
were on strike against unfair labor practices by
their employer, Oregon Steel Mills.
Krueger agreed, and was one of about 20
who committed civil disobedience in the down-
town Portland lobby of Wells Fargo bank, which
was the company’s chief lender. The protesters
refused to leave, and were arrested for trespass.
All were acquitted. But the protest was a turning
point for Krueger.
“I stayed with it, because I deeply believe in
it,” Krueger said.
In Krueger’s view, his religion’s founder —
Jesus of Nazareth — was an anti-establishment
utopian who fraternized with the poorest of so-
ciety, not with civil or religious leaders.
“I’m convinced that Jesus was trying to re-
store a just community as you’d find in the
scriptures of the Old Testament, beginning with
Moses.”
Krueger said a theme of justice runs through-
out the old and new testaments, such as the book
of Deuteronomy, which spells out the duty of
paying a just wage, not only to fellow Hebrews,
but to foreigners they employ.
Krueger’s sympathy with the poorest workers
often translates into support for the rights of im-
migrant workers. Krueger is there when the new
day labor center needs someone to give a bless-
ing, or when janitors are rallying for the right to
unionize.
And Portland’s Arch-
bishop John Vlazny has been
supportive of his activism,
Krueger said, even when it
places him at odds with
managers at
Catholic-owned Providence
Health System — which has
opposed a long-running
unionization campaign by
support workers.
As a member of Jobs
With Justice’ Faith-Labor
Committee, Krueger is a
bridge between organized re-
ligion and organized labor.
But he also has words of crit-
icism for both. People of faith need to step up
more and get involved in issues of justice. And
labor leaders need to ground their campaigns on
moral issues like dignity and fairness, not just
material concerns like wages and benefits.
“I think we have an interesting problem in
the United States,” Krueger said. “We have a
standard of living that can not be maintained
worldwide. And workers at the high end of the
financial spectrum are consuming at a higher
rate than we have a right to. And so the question
becomes, ‘How much money should they
make?’ But then at the same time, corporations
are making huge amounts of money, and should
not the workers participate in that? It’s a
dilemma.”
“Ultimately, the best thing would be for labor
Standing in the
bed of a pickup
truck, Father Bob
Krueger speaks
to striking Oak
Harbor Freight
Lines workers at
a Dec. 4 rally in
Portland.
and management to work together,” Krueger
said. “But when conflicts do break out, I’m not
a mediator, but an advocate. I see myself as a
witness for justice. Because I think, in too many
cases, workers are not getting justice.”
Portland Jobs With Justice will hold its sev-
enth annual “faith and labor breakfast,” at 7:15
a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 at Immaculate Heart
Parish, 2926 N. Williams Ave., Portland. The
event brings together leaders and activists from
faith and labor communities to explore ways to
work together. This year’s breakfast will include
discussion and a presentation about faith com-
munity involvement in last year’s successful sit-
down strike by workers at Republic Window
and Door in Chicago. Cost is $7 per person; reg-
ister by calling 503 236-5573.
Broadway Floral
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Telephone: (503) 288-3311
Editor: Michael Gutwig
Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice
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FEBRUARY 20, 2009
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