re-posted from United Church of Christ, Worker Justice
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. —Deuteronomy 24:14-15
Jesus was a low-wage worker, just like too many workers in the U.S. today. Nurses’ aides, hotel house-keepers, farm workers, day laborers, early childcare specialists, fast food workers, retail sales clerks, and custodians are examples of workers who provide needed services but who usually receive wages so low that they cannot keep a family out of poverty. Jobs should lift workers out of poverty, not keep them there. We sometimes justify poverty wages by assuming certain workers are not worth more, are not worthy of living wages. But all workers are people of God, made in God’s image. Jesus was a low-wage worker. Low-wage workers today, just like Jesus, deserve a living wage.
We need to strengthen the right of all workers to form and join unions. Unions are one of the best ways for workers to improve their wages and working conditions. We are indebted to union struggles of the past for many of the workplace benefits and social supports that we take for granted today including the 8-hour day, paid vacations and holidays, health insurance, and pensions.The right to organize a union is a basic human right, included in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But this right has been eroded in the U.S. In 31% of all efforts to form unions, workers are illegally fired solely for their union organizing efforts. All together, 10% of workers who try to form a union are illegally fired. In addition, employers too often engage in coercive tactics that interfere with workers’ rights to freely choose union representation. Legislation is needed to strengthen the right to organize and increase penalties for firms that violate this right.
What is God calling our congregation to do when episodic interventions are not enough? More fundamental change is needed. Are we not called to rewrite the economic rules and to change the economic system so that everyone, certainly everyone who works, is able to care for themselves and their family?