Labor Day

Labor Day is not the end of Summer – that comes three weeks from now.  Labor Day is not a day off from our labors.  Labor Day celebrates the American worker and is an opportunity to take stock of the ways workers are honored and respected. Earlier this year, Pope Francis pointed out, "Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person.  It gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one's family, [and] to contribute to the growth of one's own nation." Unfortunately, millions of workers today are denied this honor and respect as a result of unemployment, underemployment, unjust wages, wage theft, abuse, and exploitation.

Even with the economy producing at, or above, pre-crash levels, it has not improved the standard of living for many people, especially for the poor and the working poor, of which there are more with every passing month.  More than four million people have been jobless for over six months, and that does not include the millions more who have simply lost hope. The reality is that a person aged 55, or above, who lost their full-time job during the crash may never work full time again.  For every available job, there are often five people actively vying for it.  The lack of jobs pushes wages down as does the fact that most of the jobs created since the crash have been in the low-paying service sector. 

In the wealthiest country in the world more than 46 million people live in poverty, including 16 million children. The economy is not creating an adequate number of jobs that allow workers to provide for themselves and their families.

Jobs, wages, and poverty are interrelated. The only way to reduce the widening gap between the affluent and the poorest people in our nation is by creating quality jobs that provide a just compensation that enables workers to live in the dignity appropriate for themselves and their families.

At the end of Mass we are commanded "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord." We leave with a sense of mission to show one another honor by what we do and say. On this Labor Day our mission takes us to the millions of people who continue to suffer the effects of the current economy. Labor Day is an opportunity to take stock of the ways workers are honored and respected and to work at changing unjust economic systems.

This 3-minute is based on material from the US Catholic Bishop’s 2013 Labor Day Statement.  To read the complete statement go to http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/labor-employment/labor-day-statement-2013.cfm.