LABOR DAY 2011 and Catholics

 

By Harry E. Berndt

 

In this year of high unemployment and sacrifice by workers in almost all levels of employment, it is fitting that Catholics celebrate this Labor Day by reviewing Catholic social teaching. As citizens, Catholics should try to understand how Labor Day came about and how Catholic social teaching relates to workers

On May 1, 1886, when Chicago workers went on strike demanding an eight hour day, May 1 was set aside to honor and support workers. May Day originated in the United States as the International Day of Labor and is celebrated in every country but the United States, Canada, and until 1994 South Africa, when post Apartheid laws became effective. Workers' Day in Canada and Labor Day in the United States are officially celebrated on the first Monday of September. Although not an official holiday, the International Day of Labor, May Day, is still celebrated by many workers in both Canada and the United States. There are those who think that the creation of Labor Day was an attempt to keep American workers separated from workers in those countries that celebrate May Day as the day to honor workers. In 1955, Pope Pius XII established May 1 to be the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker to provide a model and protector for all workers.

It is the Bible that provides the direction and the roots of Catholic social teaching, and it is the Papal Encyclicals that have continued to emphasize the need for justice for workers. The Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, RERUM NOVERUM, set the stage for the encyclicals that followed. In the United States, and indeed in other western democracies, there has always been a debate about whether and how much support the government should provide for its citizens. The encyclicals of the Popes all express the position that the government has a special responsibility to provide a satisfactory quality of life for all. Pope Leo said, "When there is question of defending the rights of individuals, the poor and badly off have a claim to special consideration. The richer classes have many ways of shielding themselves, and stand less in need of help from the State; whereas the mass of the poor have no resources of their own to fall back upon, and must chiefly depend upon the assistance of the State. And it is for this reason that the wage-earners, since they mostly belong in the mass of the needy should be especially cared for and protected by the government."

Pope Pius XI in the Encyclical QUADRAGESIMO ANNO, On Reconstruction of the social Order, said, "Labor, as our predecessor explained well in his encyclical, is not a mere commodity. On the contrary, the worker's human dignity in it must be recognized. It cannot be bought and sold like a commodity." Pius XI affirmed the contention of Leo that the poor and workers are in need of government protection. He also continued Leo's position on the rights of workers to form associations and unions. Pope John Paul II emphasized, as did his predecessors, the right of workers to organize and to strike but more than past Popes, he discusses the concern of the Church for workers in poor countries being exploited for higher profits. His is a strong statement for the solidarity of workers around the world.

Many cities in the United States have priests they call their labor priest. Most are not known outside their own parish or city, but some have attained national and even international recognition. The Papal encyclicals, all taken together, point to the sacredness of work and the worker, the need for justice in the treatment and remuneration of the workers, the right of the worker to form associations and unions, and the use of the strike to gain worker rights and just compensation. The labor priests took these ideas and applied them to their societies. They knew one another and participated in the same activities and were often found to be in the same place at the same time. There was Msgr. Charles Rice, Pittsburgh's Labor Priest. He died at the age of 96 on November 13, 2005, and the obituary in the National Catholic Reporter stated," Charles Owen Rice should be remembered for his feet and his fire – the footfalls on all those picket lines nationwide and the passion of his oratory on behalf of workers. He should be celebrated for his seven decades of devotion as a priest to the cause of peace, equality and economic justice."

Monsignor John A. Shocklee, was referred to by many as the St. Louis labor priest. He led the fight against the "Right to Work" legislation and is largely credited with its defeat in Missouri. Monsignor Shocklee's participation in matters related to labor and labor unions was deep and constant over his entire tenure as a priest. One of his more public stands was with Caesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers and their boycotts of lettuce and grapes. Other notable labor priests include Msgr. John. J. Eagan, the Chicago Labor Priest and Father Edward F. Boyle, Boston's Labor Priest.

Although not referred to as such, Monsignor John a. Ryan, nevertheless, was the first labor priest of the modern era, and those who came later used his work as model to pursue. He was an intellectual, not an activist as were those who were influence by his writings and lectures. He supported the minimum wage and child labor legislation, and he authored the Bishops Program of Social Reconstruction, issued in 1919 in the name of the American Bishops. The Roosevelt Administration adopted many of his recommendations, and his closeness to FDR earned him the title of "right Reverend New Dealer".

    Another academician, Msgr. George Higgins, was a professor at Catholic University of America and was often referred to as "America's Labor Priest". He was probably the most prolific writer of the labor priests and had great influence on the Catholic Labor Movement and Catholic social teaching. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Clinton, and United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez said that no one in the country did more for the farm workers than Msgr. Higgins. He was not an activist on the street, but he was a major advocate for justice for workers.

    Today, the United States is faced with a critical economic crisis, which impacts most on workers and the poor. There is much discussion about getting people back to work, but so much difference of opinion as to how that should be accomplished that little is done. While the Democrats want to raise taxes and invest in infrastructure, the Republicans want to lower taxes and reduce the size of government. In their quest for smaller government, state governors are attacking unions by denying union participation by state employees. Boards of Education are reducing the number of teachers and civil service employment is being reduced. All this is being done by state governments whose leaders claim they are working hard to reduce unemployment, but at the same time they are reducing state payrolls to have a balanced budget. On the Federal level, the Republicans are calling for across the board reductions in all federal departments. And yet, they claim to be working hard to reduce unemployment.

    No one should accept the present unemployment rate in this country, especially not Catholics. The Papal encyclicals since Leo XIII all shared the dictum that wage-earners should be especially cared for and protected by the government. Reducing employment opportunities seems contrary to the reduction of unemployment.

 

 

1278 Words.

Harry E. Berndt