CWA Local 13500
CWA Local 13500
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LABOR IN THE PULPIT
WHAT FAITH GROUPS SAY ABOUT
"No one may deny the right to
organize
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. "We reaffirm our position that workers have the
right t organize by a free and democratic vote of the workers involved. This right of
organization carries the responsibility of union leadership to protect the rights of
workers, to guarantee each member an equal voice in the operation of its organization and
to produce just output labors for income received."
Central Conference of American Rabbis "Jewish leaders, long with our Catholic and
Protestant counterparts, have always supported the labor movement and the rights of
employees to form unions for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining and
attaining fairness in the workplace. We believe that the permanent replacement of striking
workers upsets the balance of power needed for collective bargaining, destroys the dignity
of working people and undermines the democratic values of this nation."
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) "We believe in the right of laboring men to organize
for protection against unjust conditions and to secure a more adequate share of the fruits
of the toil. The right to organize implies the right to hold and wield power, which in
turn implies responsibility for the manner in which this power is exercised."
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church "Free collective bargaining has proved its values in
our free society whenever the parties engaged in collective bargaining have acted in good
faith to reach equitable and moral solutions of problems dealing with wages and working
conditions. We do not support the opinions voiced in some quarrels that strikes should be
made illegal. To declare strikes illegal would be to deprive workers of their right to
collective action and, even more seriously, would place in the hands of the government the
power to force workers to remain on the job."
Episcopal Church "The Executive Council deplores reprisals taken
against workers who exercise their rights to initiate collective bargaining as protected
by federal and state statutes; calls upon corporate and business leaders to respect the
letter and the spirit of the National Labor Relations Act; supports all working Americans,
whether organized into unions or not, in the struggle to restore fairness in the
workplace; and calls upon our congregation and local communities to reach out to working
people who have been denied their jobs, their respect and their livelihoods, joining with
them in their struggle for justice and fair compensation."
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) "[The ELCA} commits itself to advocacy with
corporations, businesses, congregations and church-related institutions to protect the
rights of workers, support the collective bargaining process and protect the right to
strike."
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) "Justice demands that social institutions guarantee
all persons the opportunity to participate actively in economic decision making that
affects them. All workers - including undocumented, migrant and farm workers - have the
right to choose to organize for the purposes of collective bargaining."
Roman Catholic "All people have the right to economic initiative,
to produce work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions, as well as to
organize and join unions or other associations." "...The church fully supports the right of workers
to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working
conditions. This is a specific application of the more general right to associate... No
one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself. Therefore, we
firmly oppose organized efforts, such as those regrettably seen in this country, to break
existing unions or prevent workers from organizing." "Their (union's) task is to defend the existential
interests of workers in all sectors where their rights are concerned. The experience of
history teaches that organizations of this type are an indispensable element of social
life, especially in modern industrialized societies. (Unions) are indeed a mouthpiece for
the struggle for social justice, for the just rights of working people in accordance with
their individual professions." "The important role of union organizations must be
admitted: Their object is the representation of the various categories of workers, their
lawful collaboration in the economic advance of society and the development of the sense
of their responsibility for the realization for the common good." "Among the basic rights of the human person must be
counted the right of freely founding labor unions. These unions should be truly able to
represent the workers and to contribute to the proper arrangement of economic life.
Another such right is that of taking part freely in the activity of these unions without
risk of reprisal."
United Universalist Association of Congregations "The Unitarian Universalist Association urges its
member congregations and individual Unitarian Universalists in the United States... to
work specifically in favor of mechanisms such as: reform of labor legislation and
employment standards to provide greater protection for workers, including the right to
organize and bargain collectively, protection from unsafe working conditions and
protections from unjust dismissal."
United Church of Christ "The 21st General Synod reaffirms the heritage of
the United Church of Christ as an advocate for democratic, participatory and inclusive
economic policies in both public and private sectors, including ... the responsibility of
workers to organize unions for collective bargaining with employers regarding wages,
benefits and working conditions, and to participate in efforts further to democratize,
reform and expand the labor movement domestically and abroad."
The United Methodist Church "We support the right of public and private
employees and employers to organize for collective bargaining into unions and other groups
of their own choosing. Further, we support the right of both parties to protection in so
doing, and their responsibility to bargain in good faith within the framework of the
public interest."
The National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
believes that as God worked to create the world, our religious traditions value those who
do the world's work. We honor our Creator by seeking to assure that laborers, particularly
low-wage workers, are able to live decent lives as a product of their labor. For more information, please contact: National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, 4th Floor Chicago, IL 60660 phone: 773-728-8400; fax: 773-728-8409 email: info@nicwj.org ; website: www.nicwj.org |
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