uplifting reminder of the valuable linkage between Labor unions & the Catholic churCH
Unions promote the rights of workers in their particular professions and support the struggle for economic and social equity.
Highlights of the leaders who built upon the synergistic relationship between labor unions and the Church to enhance the plight of workers, the book reinforces the relationship with excerpts of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) quotes from the past 36 years.
"The book is a historical primer, written in a concise fashion, that highlights testimonials of the Catholic Church's support for Labor Unions.
It contains quotes from Church Leaders and Labor Leaders and citizens that demonstrate the link between the Catholic Church and Labor.
It also contains excerpts from the USCCB Labor Day Statements from 1986 to present, as well as QR code links to the entire statements.
This is a ready reference for anyone who is asked the question. "Does the Catholic Church support Labor Unions?" YES !"
Greg is the President of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) Local 1627 and concurrently Program Manager at National Technical Information Service (NTIS) for the past 30 years. Greg has been an Adjunct professor at Georgetown, his alma mater where he earned an MLAS in Liberal Studies focused on Labor Unions and Social Justice.
Larry has spent 27 years as a law librarian at Covington & Burling and is graduate of Georgetown (BS Psychology), Catholic University (MSLIS Library & Info Science) and Oklahoma State (MA Human Relations). A published writer, Larry is also a member of The National Press Club and Board member of the American Women Writers National Museum.
“At their best, labor unions and institutions like them embody solidarity and subsidiarity while advancing the common good. They help workers ‘not only have more, but above all be more… [and] realize their humanity more fully in every respect. (Laborem Exercens, No. 20). Yes, unions and workers associations are imperfect, as are all human institutions. But the right of workers to freely associate is supported by church teaching in order to protect workers and move them – especially younger ones, through mentoring and apprenticeships –into decent jobs with just wages.”
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
A Time to Remember; A Time to Recommit
“I hope in these brief reflections to recall the importance of Labor Day and remind us that the moral dimensions of work and workers’ rights are at the center of our Catholic social tradition.
As we gather this Labor Day weekend, we should not forget how our nation’s economy and commerce, our standard of living, and even our time off are in many ways the hard won gains of workers organized into unions to bargain for decent wages, working conditions, and benefits, such as vacation time and health care coverage.”
Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio, Ph.D., D.D. Bishop of Brooklyn; Chairman, Domestic Policy Committee
Work and Family: Old Values, New Challenges
“We need a new sense of community and commitment to the common good. We call on workers to give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay; owners and managers to treat their employees with fairness and justice; unions to really represent workers and to seek creative new partnerships and strategies for the future; and policymakers to return with renewed vigor and imagination to the challenges of full employment, tax and welfare reform, and workers' health, safety and rights.”
Bishop James W. Malone, Bishop of Youngstown Chair, Committee on Domestic Social Policy
