Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2011)
Catholic bishops strongly back unions in Labor Day statement WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — Saying the nation’s economy is failing workers, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is strongly backing unions and the right to organize, as one way to help workers out of the eco- nomic turmoil. The pro-union language, drawing on 120 years of Catholic social teaching, is a large segment of the bishops’ 6-page 3,400-word Labor Day message. Human Costs And Moral Chal- lenges Of A Broken Economy, by Bishop Stephen Blaire, chair of the conference’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, reit- erates the need for unions to protect workers. But like other pro-worker state- ments from the bishops, it can be disre- garded by Catholic laypeople — or even by fellow bishops. The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, N.Y., is “reorganizing” the city’s Catholic cemetery system. Its plan would abolish the separate non-profit firm that runs the city’s one unionized Catholic cemetery, St. Mary’s-St. Agnes, throwing six veteran workers, members of a Service Employees local, out of jobs at the end of August. And the head of the diocese in St. Louis has long opposed the Carpenters’ efforts to organize teachers and staff in the diocesan schools. Catholic-run businesses have also ignored or defied the church’s pro- worker teachings. The board of one of the nation’s leading Catholic hospital SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 systems, Chicago-based Resurrection Health Care, still refuses to obey labor law in its campaign to prevent AF- SCME from organizing workers there. Nevertheless, the bishops declare unions are vital to protecting workers. “The church consistently supported efforts of workers to join together to de- fend their rights and protect their dig- nity,” the bishops said. Pope Benedict XVI recently reaf- firmed that social teaching, saying “promotion of workers’ associations that can defend their rights must there- fore be honored today even more than in the past. “There have been some efforts, as part of broader disputes over state budgets, to remove or restrict the rights of workers to collective bargaining as well as limit the role of unions in the workplace. Bishops in Wisconsin, Ohio, and elsewhere have faithfully and carefully outlined Catholic teach- ing on worker rights, suggesting that difficult times should not lead us to ig- nore the legitimate rights of workers. Without endorsing every tactic of unions or every outcome of collective bargaining, the church affirms the rights of workers in public and private employment to choose to come to- gether to form and join unions, to bar- gain collectively, and to have an effec- tive voice in the workplace,” the bishops stated. “Unions remain an effective instru- ment to protect the dignity of work and the rights of workers. At their best, unions are important not just for the economic protections and benefits for their members, but especially for the voice and participation they can offer to workers. They are important not only for what they achieve for their mem- bers, but also for the contributions they make to the whole society,” they said. “The teaching that workers have the right to choose freely to form and be- long to unions and other associations without interference or intimidation is strong and consistent” in Catholicism, the bishops reiterated. But the bishops faulted unions on three counts. Two were economic: “Failure to avoid the temptations of ex- cessive partisanship, and pursuit of only narrow interests. Workers and their unions, as well as employers and their businesses, all have responsibility to seek the common good, not just their own economic, political, or institu- tional interests,” the bishops’ statement said. In the third, bishops said “some unions in some places have taken pub- lic positions the church cannot support, which many union members may not support, and which have little to do with work or workers’ rights.” Leaders of the church and the labor movement cannot avoid these differ- ences, but should address them in prin- cipled, respectful and candid dialogue,” the bishops conceded. “This should not keep us from working on our own and together to advance common pri- orities of protecting worker rights, eco- nomic and social justice, overcoming poverty, and creating economic oppor- NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS tunity for all.” In general, the bishops called the economy a disaster for almost every- one, and blasted the widening inequal- ity of wealth. They also said economic trends are eating into political life, which in turn is increasingly polarized — a condition they condemned. “A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits. ... A just framework for future budgets can- not rely on disproportionate cuts in es- sential services to poor persons. It re- quires shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spend- ing, and addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement pro- grams fairly ... A moral measure of this budget debate is not which party wins or which powerful interests prevail, but rather how those who are jobless, hun- gry, homeless, or poor are treated.” PAGE 23
