...we must first of all recall a principle that has always been taught by the Church: the principle of the priority of labor over capital.” -- Pope John Paul II [emphasis in original]
There was not one advertiser’s glossy insert in today’s
local paper. The Monday edition has
become the slimmest—but there’s usually at least one insert even as all local
dailies seem to diminish size and coverage.
Could it be the lack of flyer is due to the fact that
today’s Monday holiday is only Labor Day? It’s become the poor sister of holidays, the
sad end of summer. Holiday editions
almost always have more heft than the usual run of the news mill. But labor has become less and less profitable
in recent years, discounted, certainly not celebrated by mainstream media. And now since average workers have so little
wages to buy with, their day doesn’t even merit a single shiny sheet enticing
them to go spend.
The whole situation is shameful in the world’s richest
society. Powerful people paint unions
and worker solidarity as the obstacles to success. They ignore the history of how the vibrant
middle class was built in this country.
Now the slow death of our middle class is documented by many observers,
such as in the video, Inequality for All.
Doing a job well, work for work’s sake, for the creative
good done, is devalued. The message
trickling down from the wealthy top is that fat profit margins are the most
important measure. This way of thinking
makes the Gospel story of the generous master who pays all equal regardless of
how long they worked that day, an incomprehensible scandal, never to be
imitated.
We have some great examples to lead us in the positive
spiritual direction, the direction of solidarity with brothers and sisters here
and abroad. Martin Luther King was
assassinated as he was in Memphis TN, helping to organize garbage
collectors. Cesar Chavez gave his life
organizing farmworkers. Walter Reuther,
after bringing auto workers together here in Michigan, reached out to help the
farmworkers union. Gandhi worked
tirelessly for the rights of the untouchables in India.
What we do here has grave impact on societies across the
globe. The Gospel instruction, “do unto
others as you would have them do unto you,” has been turned around—take as much
as you can get. Pope Paul VI’s
instruction, “If you want peace, work for justice,” has its covert obverse,
which is now active in all earth’s corners:
If you want war, promote injustice.
War, lamentably, is short term very profitable for a select few.
The Church has had something to say on this. Pope Leo XIII back in 1891, said in his Rerum
Novarum, “The elements of
the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial
pursuits and the marvelous discoveries of science; in the changed relations
between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals,
and the utter poverty of the masses…” All
too familiar a situation.
Then Pope John Paul II in 1981’s Laborem Exercens continues,
We should also consider here the prospect
of worldwide catastrophe in the case of a nuclear war, which would have almost
unimaginable possibilities of destruction.
In view of this situation we must first of all recall a principle that
has always been taught by the Church: the principle of the priority of labor over
capital.” [emphasis in original] Capital is to
serve the interests of labor. The union
makes us strong. What an about face from
the current direction of the corporations of America.
May we all learn
to be in solidarity with, and capitalist servants of, the poor, to our best
abilities, as our Catholic church teaches, but not yet preached from many
pulpits, nor reported by the press.
References
Thanks to Mike Connell for sending this along --
http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/02/protecting-the-promise-of-labor-day-five-ways-workers-are-under-attack/
Thanks to Mike Connell for sending this along --
http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/02/protecting-the-promise-of-labor-day-five-ways-workers-are-under-attack/
From Fr.
Joe Scott, CSP’s commentary on Laborum Exercens
The Church has
sometimes criticized corrupt practices within a particular union, or warned
against the practice of fostering division between management and labor. Yet
Pope John Paul II in his encyclical on labor, (1981) asserted the fundamental
principle of “the priority of labor over capital.” While in actual fact capital
has organized itself against labor in our society, John Paul II insists that
capital exists to serve labor: “There is a need for ever new movements of
solidarity of the workers and with the workers…The Church is firmly committed
to this cause, for it considers it to be its mission, its service, a proof of
its fidelity to Christ…”
Leo XIII: Rerum Novarum -- A Summary Article by Gerald
Darring
“The Church fully supports the right of workers to
form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and
working conditions.” – U.S. Catholic Bishops 1986 Pastoral Letter, “Economic
Justice for All.”
No comments:
Post a Comment