Unions desperately need strong allies if we are to win the battles being thrust on us today! Some of the best friends we can have are our religious leaders, and we have an opportunity to strengthen those alliances this Labor Day.
Jobs with Justice urges every unionist to join the national "Labor in the Pulpit" campaign to get at least a short Labor Day message into every religious observance on the weekend before September 4. Dr. Joerg Rieger, Professor of Systematic Theology, Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, wrote the lines below to suggest ideas for Christian observances. Please ask your own congregation leader to make a presentation or to let you read one along these lines:
Labor Day 2006
When asked about the most important commandment, Jesus replied: "You shall
love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your mind, and with all your strength"
and "You shall love
your neighbor as yourself" (The Gospel of Mark 12:30-31).
September 4 is Labor Day in the United States. Labor day reminds us of the love
for our neighbors. God does not merely call us to love ourselves and our immediate
families and friends. God calls us to love all of our neighbors. This love for
neighbors includes the love for the millions of workers in our own country and
in the world.
We owe much to the workers in the global economy. Without the labor of these
workers our lives would be very different. Our clothes would be homemade, the
food on our tables would be monotonous and scarce, we would not be driving in
cars, and our houses would be much smaller. Workers improve the lives of us
all.
As people of faith, we understand that our love for our neighbors is somehow
related to our love for God. Jesus mentions the love of God and the love of
neighbor in the same breath. The two cannot be separated.
The first letter of John reminds us of this connection: "Those who say,
'I love God,' and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do
not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they
have not seen" (1 John 4:20). Labor Day helps us to give an account: how
have we demonstrated our love for the workers in our global economy? How can
we do a better job demonstrating our love for workers?
There is a big task ahead of us: While workers contribute to making all of our
lives better, we have not always contributed to making their lives better. The
minimum wage has not been raised in a number of years; it has not even been
adjusted for the normal rate of inflation. In fact, the salaries of most workers
today are under constant pressure. Benefits are frozen or even slashed. Common
economic principles state that the interests of the workers are less important
than the interests of the stockholders. How are we showing our love for our
brothers and sisters? What does this say about our love for God?
The good news is still that love of God and love of neighbor are related. By
showing greater love for our neighbors, we might learn to show greater love
for God as well. This Labor Day, as we renew our love for the workers of the
global economy, we know that we are renewing our love for God, too.