Labor Day Statement 2018
Just Wages and Human Flourishing
Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane
Bishop of Venice
Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human
Development
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
September 3, 2018
The
plight of our brothers and sisters who work hard but struggle to make ends meet
calls us all to reflect in a special way this Labor Day. Today, we read in St. Luke's Gospel how Jesus,
upon returning home to Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue
declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring
glad tidings to the poor."1
Sadly, in our times too many people are
excluded, marginalized, and politically and economically disenfranchised. The struggle of working people, of the poor,
as Pope Francis reminds us, is not first a "social or political question. No!
It is the Gospel, pure and simple."2 There has been some notable progress in our economy
in recent years, but it is also apparent that it is not where it should be for
many, and we can all play a productive role in making sure it is a system that
upholds the dignity of all people.
Recent
economic news and data report that poverty continues to decline, unemployment is
down to one of the lowest levels in decades and there has been economic growth with
production, stocks and profits rising to record levels. But is this the whole story? Do these developments give an entirely
accurate account of the daily lives and struggles of working people, those who
are still without work, or the underemployed struggling with low wages?
It
is encouraging that poverty has gone down, but still almost one in three persons
have a family income below 200% of the federal poverty line.3 Today, there are many families who, even if
they have technically escaped poverty, nevertheless face significant difficulties
in meeting basic needs. Wages for lower
income workers are, by various accounts, insufficient to support a family and
provide a secure future. A recent study
examined whether a minimum wage earner could afford an average two-bedroom
apartment in their state of residence. Shockingly,
in all 50 states, the answer was no.4 A recent report from the Federal Reserve
shows that four in ten adults could not cover a $400 emergency expense, or
would rely on borrowing or selling something to do so.5
Although
the national median income has increased over the last two years, it is still
relatively stagnant when compared to top earners. Taking into account inflation and the rising
cost of living, workers at the lower end of the income spectrum have seen their
wages stagnate or even decrease over the last decade.6 From 2014 to 2015, the rate of income growth
was more pronounced at the lower end of the spectrum, possibly due to state
increases in the minimum wage and increased employment. But from 2015 to 2016, the rate of growth was
highest at the top.7
Another
alarming trend is the continuing disparities in median incomes between
different racial and ethnic groups and between women and men. For example, in 2016, the median household
income of non-Hispanic whites was $25,500 more than that of blacks, and the
real median earnings of women were $10,000 lower than that of men.8
Clearly no examination of our economy,
in light of justice, can exclude consideration of how discrimination based on
race and sex impacts the just distribution of wages.
Every
worker has a right to a just wage according to the criterion of justice, which
St. John XXIII described as wages that, "give the worker and his family a
standard of living in keeping with the dignity of the human person."9
St. John Paul II elaborated on the
systematic implications of just wages, describing them as "the concrete means
of verifying the justice of the whole
socioeconomic system."10
However, when a society fails in the
task of ensuring workers are paid justly, questions arise as to the underlying
assumptions of that system. A society
that is willing to exclude its most vulnerable members, Pope Francis suggests
in Evangelii Gaudium, is one where
"the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root."11
Pope Francis warns that absent a just
response, these disparities can lead to deep societal divisions and even
violence.
The
Church's traditional teaching holds that wages must honor a person's dignity
and ability to contribute to the common good of civil society and family well-being.
As the Catechism states, "The
development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide
for the needs of human beings. Economic
life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or
power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man,
and of the entire human community."12 The economy must serve people, not the other
way around. Work is more than a way to
make a living; it is a form of participating in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected,
then the basic rights of workers must be respected, including the right to
productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organizing and joining unions, to private
property, and to economic initiative.
All
persons can help build an economy that recognizes the dignity of every
life. Business owners and managers have
a duty to seek profits to ensure the stability and long-term success of their
businesses. However, they also "have an
obligation to consider the good of persons and not only the increase of
profits."13 A part of this obligation is to pay a just
wage, which provides a dignified livelihood for workers and their families to
meet their basic needs. A just wage not
only provides for workers' financial well-being, but fosters their social,
cultural and spiritual dimensions as individuals and members of society. This is the essence of what the Church refers
to when speaking of integral human development.
The
traditional teaching of the Church also recalls that the mere fact that workers
and employers have agreed to a certain wage "is not sufficient to justify
morally the amount to be received in wages."14
Questions of justice and wages need to
be examined in the context of the well-being and flourishing of the individual,
the family and society. The cost of
severe wage inequality, besides injury to the dignity of the person, is ultimately
society's peace and harmony.
How are we as Christians, who are members of society, called
to respond to the question of wages and justice? First, we are called to live justly in our own
lives whether as business owners or workers. Secondly, we are called to stand in solidarity
with our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters. Lastly, we should all work to reform and
build a more just society, one which promotes human life and dignity and the
common good of all. We also need to
recognize the gifts and responsibilities that God has entrusted to each of us. In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, Pope Francis asks
us to reflect on the following: "Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill
in the service of your brothers and sisters. . . . Are you in a position of
authority? Be holy by working for the
common good and renouncing personal gain."15
For
reform to be possible, Pope Francis calls us to see our "life as a mission," and
to "ask the Spirit what Jesus expects from you at every moment of your life and
in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place in the mission you
have received."16 This will require personal conversion and
corresponding action in civil society. Practically
speaking, in the setting of wages, there must be due consideration for what
justly ensures security for employees to establish and maintain all significant
aspects of family life, and care for family members into the future. Likewise, those engaged in public policy and
finance should consider the structural causes of low wages, especially in the
way that corporations distribute profits, and respond by working to address
unjust disparities. The rights of
workers to organize should be respected, as should the rights of unions and
worker centers to advocate for just wages, health benefits that respect life
and dignity, and time for rest, and to guard against wage theft. Labor too, must pursue its mission with
integrity, as Pope Francis recently said, "Renewing labour in an ethical sense
means in fact renewing the whole of society, banishing fraud and lies which
poison the market, civil coexistence and the lives of people, especially the
weakest."17
As
Christians, we believe that conflict or enmity between the rich and the poor is
not necessary or inevitable. These
divisions are in fact sinful. But we
live in the hope that our society can become ever more just when there is
conversion of heart and mind so that people recognize the inherent dignity of
all and work together for the common good. This 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, "bring glad tidings to the poor."
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