Special Section: Labor and Worker Justice
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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
Labor pains: What Wisconsin tells us about Catholics and unions [3]
Catholics have a long history of support for unions, but the recent protests in Wisconsin show how strained the relationship has become.
Community is the first casualty in America's labor wars
The way we work [5]
Change seems to be the only constant in what Americans do for a living and how they do it.
Interviews
What can the church do for worker justice in America? An interview with worker advocate Kim Bobo [6]
U.S. employers routinely violate the seventh commandment when they refuse to pay their workers their legally mandated wages.
Reader Surveys
Is your faith working? A Labor Day survey on faith and work [7]
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
Rerum roots: A brief history of American Catholic support for unions [8]
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 [9]
Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII issued on May 15, 1891.
The true cost of our low-priced clothing [10]
Buyer beware: That low-priced shirt might have cost someone their life.
We're sticking to the union [11]
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! [12]
A Catholic case for raising the minimum wage [13]
Work should provide dignity, not death [14]
Et tu, Brute? Unions take two more hits--this time from Catholic institutions [15]
Catholics must take a stand in support of Walmart employees [16]