USCatholic.org
Published on USCatholic.org (http://www.uscatholic.org)

Home > Special Section: Labor and Worker Justice

Special Section: Labor and Worker Justice

Print this pagePrint | Email this pageShare

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens [1] (On Human Work), Pope John Paul II wrote that through work, people achieve fulfillment as human beings. Because of this, as a society, we must protect the dignity of workers and their rights for respect and fair wages in the workplace. These articles honor Labor Day [2], a national holiday set aside to celebrate the achievements of the labor movement and the contribution of each worker to the prosperity—both social and economical—of our nation.

Features

Let's get organized: Domestic workers fight for their rights [3]
Deemed indispensable by the families who hire them, why are domestic workers excluded from legal protection?

Labor pains: What Wisconsin tells us about Catholics and unions [4]
Catholics have a long history of support for unions, but the recent protests in Wisconsin show how strained the relationship has become.

Dispatches from Decatur [5]
Community is the first casualty in America's labor wars

The way we work [6]
Change seems to be the only constant in what Americans do for a living and how they do it.

Inside a Bangladesh garment factory [7]
Meet the woman who makes Walmart’s low-priced clothes. She works 10-hour days for $103 per month. And her factory is one of the good ones.

 

Interviews

What can the church do for worker justice in America? An interview with worker advocate Kim Bobo [8]
U.S. employers routinely violate the seventh commandment when they refuse to pay their workers their legally mandated wages.

 

Reader Surveys and Sounding Boards

Pay up [9]
Putting a little more money in the pockets of workers earning the minimum wage can give the entire economy a raise. In Feedback, readers provide a cost-benefit analysis on increasing wages.

Is your faith working? A Labor Day survey on faith and work [10]
When U.S. Catholic readers punch the clock, they don't forget that they are still on God's time, according to a Reader Survey in honor of Labor Day.

 

Essays and Columns

Power to the public workers [11]
Should a librarian have any less of a right to unionize than an auto worker or a nurse?

Danger zone: Do our workplaces value human dignity? [12]
Employers are falling down on the job when it comes to ensuring worker safety.

Rerum roots: A brief history of American Catholic support for unions [13]
Cardinal James Gibbons' support for the Knights of Labor in the late 19th century helped lay the groundwork for Rerum Novarum.

Rerum Novarum: On the Condition of the Working Classes [14]
Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII issued on May 15, 1891.

The true cost of our low-priced clothing [15]
Buyer beware: That low-priced shirt might have cost someone their life.

We're sticking to the union [16]
Don’t paint public workers as a public enemies; they’re just working for the common good.

 

Blogs

It's almost Labor Day, and there's much work to be done! [17]

A Catholic case for raising the minimum wage [18]

Work should provide dignity, not death [19]

Et tu, Brute? Unions take two more hits--this time from Catholic institutions [20]

Catholics must take a stand in support of Walmart employees [21]

Chicago workers march for higher wages [22]

The new iDontwannaknowaboutit [23]


Created: Saturday, August 31 2013 8:52 PM

Source URL: http://www.uscatholic.org/node/27690

Links:
[1] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens_en.html
[2] http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm
[3] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201401/lets-get-organized-domestic-workers-fight-their-rights-28323
[4] http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2011/07/labor-pains-what-wisconsin-tells-us-about-catholics-and-unions
[5] http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2008/06/dispatches-decatur
[6] http://www.uscatholic.org/life/2008/07/the-way-we-work
[7] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201407/inside-bangladesh-garment-factory-29140
[8] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201304/what-can-church-do-worker-justice-america-27233
[9] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201407/pay-its-time-raise-minimum-wage-29113
[10] http://www.uscatholic.org/life/2009/08/your-faith-working
[11] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201407/power-public-workers-29109
[12] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201403/danger-zone-do-our-workplaces-value-human-dignity-28546
[13] http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2011/07/rerum-roots-brief-history-american-catholic-support-unions
[14] http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/rerum-novarum-on-condition-working-classes
[15] http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201306/true-cost-our-low-priced-clothing-27412
[16] http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2011/03/were-sticking-union
[17] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2012/08/its-almost-labor-day-and-theres-much-work-be-done
[18] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201306/catholic-case-raising-minimum-wage-27483
[19] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201305/work-should-provide-dignity-not-death-27274
[20] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2012/06/et-tu-brute-unions-take-two-more-hits-time-catholic-institutions
[21] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201305/catholics-must-take-stand-support-walmart-employees-27381
[22] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201304/chicago-workers-march-higher-wages-27225
[23] http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2010/06/new-idontwannaknowaboutit