{"id":13889,"date":"2020-09-07T04:49:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T08:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/"},"modified":"2020-09-07T04:49:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T08:49:00","slug":"why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/","title":{"rendered":"Why organized labor is (still) a Catholic cause"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Sep 7, 2020 \/ 04:49 am (CNA).- At a time when labor unions are weak, Catholics still have a place in the labor movement, said a priest who emphasized the Church\u2019s historic efforts to teach the rights of labor and train workers to organize.
\u201cOn the local and state level, Catholics are a major part of the labor movement. They took to heart our Catholic social teaching, and tried to implement it in their workplace,\u201d Father Sinclair Oubre, the spiritual moderator of the Catholic Labor Network, told CNA.
However, he said, there is sometimes a disconnect between Catholics and support for organized labor.
\u201cLike in so many areas of our faith, the heresy of radical individualism, a lack of knowledge about why unions were formed, and a general ignorance of what options workers have, have led to many Catholics to either not realize that the Church has favored workers\u2019 associations, or that the Church even has a teaching that has to do with the workplace.\u201d
Union membership peaked at 28% of the American workforce in 1954. According to 2017 figures, about 34% of public sector employees are unionized, but under 7% of private-sector employees are, CBS Moneywatch reports.
Unions continue to enjoy strong approval in the U.S., with 62% of respondents telling a recent Gallup survey they support organized labor.
But union support among some Catholics has waned, in part due to labor unions\u2019 political support for legal abortion and pro-abortion rights political candidates, among other issues.
For Fr. Oubre, this shows the need for more faithful Catholics to join a union, not withdraw.
\u201cThe fact that many of the cultural war issues have been embraced by labor unions is a concern to me,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, the Church and Labor have been here before.\u201d
\u201cFrom the 1930s to the 1950s, there was a real effort by communists to take over the U.S. unions, and in some cases, they were successful. Instead of saying, \u2018Catholics can\u2019t join unions because they are communists,\u2019 which was not accurate because many were not, the Church instead set up labor schools by the hundreds in parish basements.\u201d
\u201cThe Church taught workers their rights under the law and Robert\u2019s Rules of Order. It encouraged Catholic workers to run for union office, and bring their Catholic social teachings to bear,\u201d the priest said. \u201cThis was very successful, and led to the purging of many communists from the union ranks.\u201d
Catholics have historically played a major role in the U.S. labor movement, as evidenced by several prominent Catholics who have headed the AFL-CIO, the largest union federation in the U.S.
Oubre said unions are a place for Christian evangelization and contribution.
\u201cWe cannot write off whole groups of people because part of their agenda is not in line with Catholic teaching,\u201d he said. \u201cRather, we are called to engage these groups, be active in the organizations, and like in the past, direct these organizations in ways that respect God\u2019s truth.\u201d
The record of Catholic social teaching also backs labor and the right of workers to organize, Oubre said.
In the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII recognized that economic changes introduced new relationships between those who had wealth and those who did not.
\u201cAs cities grew, and manufacturing and industry developed, the relationship of responsibility that has existed in the past between the landowner and the peasant no longer existed,\u201d Oubre explained.
\u201cPope Leo XIII recognized the natural right of people to associate with each other, whether these were religious associations or work guilds, he endorsed the importance of collective bargaining to promote the common good, and recognized the unequal contractual relationship between the worker and the employer.\u201d
The labor market meant that workers were negotiating not only with an employer, but competing against all the other workers seeking the same job. Leo XIII said these pressures to accept employment at ever-lowering wages could lead workers \u201cto agree to employment terms that did not supply the basic needs for a dignified family life.\u201d
The labor-focused traditions of Catholic social teaching have continued especially through the work of Popes Pius XI, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
The Second Vatican Council\u2019s apostolic constitution Gaudium et Spes<\/em> names the right to found unions for working people as \u201camong the basic rights of the human person.\u201d These unions \u201cshould be able truly to represent them and to contribute to the organizing of economic life in the right way.\u201d These rights include the freedom to take part in union activity \u201cwithout risk of reprisal.\u201d
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops\u2019 1986 pastoral letter \u201cEconomic Justice for All\u201d also addresses the place of labor in Catholic thought and action.
In 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME struck down a 1997 Illinois law that required non-union public employees to pay fees to public sector unions for collective bargaining.
A U.S. bishops\u2019 conference spokesperson said the decision threatened to mandate a \u201cRight-to-Work\u201d environment in government employment in a way that undermines the ability of workers to organize.
Oubre said Catholic union backers object to such a legal principle \u201cbecause it works against the principle of solidarity and the right of association.\u201d
\u201c\u2018Right to Work\u2019 laws have their primary intention of weakening the organizing power of unions, and allow people to receive the benefit the union, without taking on the responsibility of being part of the union,\u201d he said.
In Oubre\u2019s view, a union-friendly legal environment is critical.
\u201cOne can pass laws that promote workers ability to organize together, or to discourage it,\u201d he said.
He noted the proposals for a \u201ccard check\u201d unionization effort, in which an employer must recognize a union if a majority of workers express a desire for a union using signed cards.
Obure said this effort now faces legal obstacles and simply \u201cbegins a long process where union avoidance experts are brought in, one-on-one meetings take place with workers, sometimes the leaders are fired, and every effort is made to dishearten the workers.\u201d
\u201cWhen the election comes around, the will of the workers has been crushed,\u201d he said.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issues annual Labor Day statements which continue \u201cthe long tradition of support for workers\u2019 right to organize and join unions,\u201d Oubre said.
In 2018, the statement stressed the importance of just wages for workers, especially for those who have difficulty securing basic needs. It also discussed problems of income inequality between the wealthy and the poor, as well as between ethnic groups and between the sexes.
\u201cThis Labor Day, let us all commit ourselves to personal conversion of heart and mind and stand in solidarity with workers by advocating for just wages, and in so doing, \u2018bring glad tidings to the poor\u2019,\u201d the bishops\u2019 message concluded.
This article was originally run on CNA Sept. 3, 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Sep 7, 2020 \/ 04:49 am (CNA).- At a time when labor unions are weak, Catholics still have a place in the labor movement, said a priest who emphasized the Church\u2019s historic efforts to teach the rights of labor and train workers to organize.
\n\u201cOn the local and state level, Catholics are a major part of the labor movement. They took to heart our Catholic social teaching, and tried to implement it in their workplace,\u201d Father Sinclair Oubre, the spiritual moderator of the Catholic Labor Network, told CNA.
\nHowever, he said, there is sometimes a disconnect between Catholics and support for organized labor.
\n\u201cLike in so many areas of our faith, the heresy of radical individualism, a lack of knowledge about why unions were formed, and a general ignorance of what options workers have, have led to many Catholics to either not realize that the Church has favored workers\u2019 associations, or that the Church even has a teaching that has to do with the workplace.\u201d
\nUnion membership peaked ..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy organized labor is (still) a Catholic cause - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why organized labor is (still) a Catholic cause - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Sep 7, 2020 \/ 04:49 am (CNA).- At a time when labor unions are weak, Catholics still have a place in the labor movement, said a priest who emphasized the Church\u2019s historic efforts to teach the rights of labor and train workers to organize. \u201cOn the local and state level, Catholics are a major part of the labor movement. They took to heart our Catholic social teaching, and tried to implement it in their workplace,\u201d Father Sinclair Oubre, the spiritual moderator of the Catholic Labor Network, told CNA. However, he said, there is sometimes a disconnect between Catholics and support for organized labor. \u201cLike in so many areas of our faith, the heresy of radical individualism, a lack of knowledge about why unions were formed, and a general ignorance of what options workers have, have led to many Catholics to either not realize that the Church has favored workers\u2019 associations, or that the Church even has a teaching that has to do with the workplace.\u201d Union membership peaked ..\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/World-Catholic-News-109605280463871\/?modal=admin_todo_tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-07T08:49:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/\",\"name\":\"Why organized labor is (still) a Catholic cause - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-07T08:49:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-07T08:49:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/why-organized-labor-is-still-a-catholic-cause\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\",\"name\":\"NEWS DESK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f27f47f91f7d6f43179d283d82de5681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"NEWS DESK\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}