Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki has issued the following statement in support of Wisconsin's union workers rallying in opposition to legislation which would take away collective bargaining rights:
The Church is well aware that difficult economic times call for hard choices and financial responsibility to further the common good. Our own dioceses and parishes have not been immune to the effects of the current economic difficulties. But hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers. As Pope Benedict wrote in his 2009 encyclical, Caritas in veritate:
Governments, for reasons of economic utility, often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labor unions. Hence traditional networks of solidarity have more and more obstacles to overcome. The repeated calls issued within the Church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum [60], for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past, as a prompt and far-sighted response to the urgent need for new forms of cooperation at the international level, as well as the local level. [#25]
It does not follow from this that every claim made by workers or their representatives is valid. Every union, like every other economic actor, is called to work for the common good, to make sacrifices when required, and to adjust to new economic realities.
However, it is equally a mistake to marginalize or dismiss unions as impediments to economic growth. As Pope John Paul II wrote in 1981, “[a] union remains a constructive factor of social order and solidarity, and it is impossible to ignore it.” (Laborem exercens #20, emphasis in original)
It is especially in times of crisis that “new forms of cooperation” and open communication become essential. We request that lawmakers carefully consider the implications of this proposal and evaluate it in terms of its impact on the common good. We also appeal to everyone –lawmakers, citizens, workers, and labor unions – to move beyond divisive words and actions and work together, so that Wisconsin can recover in a humane way from the current fiscal crisis.
From The Catholic Labor Network
Well over a century ago, with the rise of industrial capitalism, Pope Leo XIII issued his encyclical Rerum Novarum.
Reflecting on how the modern economy too often offered the rich and powerful an opportunity to exploit working people, he took consolation in the multiplication of "workingmen's unions" that helped ameliorate the condition of labor. "There are not a few associations of this nature," the Holy Father observed, "but it were greatly to be desired that they should become more numerous and more efficient."
Catholic social teaching on the right of workers to organize has been consistent over the century since Leo XIII wrote. While there are those who argue that unions are a relic of the industrial revolution, neither Pope John Paul II nor Benedict XVI may be counted among them. John Paul II observed in his 1981 encyclical Laborem Exercens that labor unions are "indeed a mouthpiece for the struggle for social justice" and in fact "an indispensable element of social life." In his 2009 encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, Benedict was categorical:
"The repeated calls issued within the Church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past."
While we do not minimize the depth of the current economic crisis, we must conclude that any measure that attempts to resolve them by depriving workers of the right to organize and collectively bargain stands in direct conflict with the teaching of the Catholic Church.
As brothers and sisters in the faith we urge our fellow Catholic legislators to seek remedies for Wisconsin's economic challenges that respects our Catholic magisterial tradition, and honor the rights of Wisconsin's workers, both public and private, to join labor unions. In addition, we invite all Wisconsin's legislators to reflect on how to best protect the values of human dignity, freedom of association, and the right of collective bargaining that are developed in Catholic Social teaching.
Info: Catholic Labor Network http://www.catholiclabor.org
