All thoughtful Americans and citizens across the world were horrified a few weeks ago by that tragic fire in the clothing factory over in Bangladesh. There were no fire exits, no escape plans and hundreds of the employees died in agony and unnecessarily. Those clothes – blouses, shirts, socks, etc. – were being manufactured by near slave labor to be marketed in the United States of America. First the fire, then the sense of shock and now silence. We have heard nothing from the national and international associations of clothing manufacturers. Since their needs and their demand for low wages is at least an indirect cause of the tragedy, shouldn’t they be leading the efforts to make sure that this type of tragedy is avoided in the future? To date, they have been quiet – very, very quiet.
Tragedies like that used to occur in the 19th century in the United States, England and other European countries and mistakes can still occur and tragically kill innocent workers; for example, the explosion of the oil well in the Gulf operated by British Petroleum. However, happily, the developed world began to recognize the need for supervision and regulation, and the number of such tragedies has been greatly lessened. Nevertheless, there is a group in this country that is constantly howling and complaining about regulation. Regulation does increase the cost of production but nothing compared to the cost and damage that can be done by producers and manufacturers if they are not being supervised within proper limits. We would frequently find ourselves in serious trouble and pain if the various supervisory entities were suppressed or eliminated. You would be afraid to go into a drug store if it were not for the Center for Disease Control.
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I mentioned earlier how saddened I was by the fact that thousands of hard working men and women are frequently cheated of the wages that they have struggled so hard to earn. Wage theft in America is a tragic reality. I am encouraged by the fact that concerned citizens and the workers themselves are making progress in confronting this crime.
Let’s celebrate the development of a new form of self-help assistance to such cheated workers. These responses are called “Worker Centers” where the workers themselves come together to cooperate in developing their rights under the law and to move in a unified fashion against corrupt employers who systematically endeavor to steal the wages of hard working but vulnerable employees.
I am very proud and happy to report that Austin has a very excellent worker center, Workers Defense Project, located at 5604 Manor Road. Recently, the Austin center was able to assist a group of masonry workers to recover nearly $12,000 in back wages which had been kept from them illegally. Victories such as this give workers the knowledge and the courage to defend their rights to work together to improve their working conditions and to secure the proper payment for frequently very difficult labor.
Like the Roman Catholic Church itself, I am a strong supporter of workers rights to organize into unions. Regretfully, in this country working people have always faced hostility in their efforts to organize themselves. Actually, they only got the legal right to do this in the mid-30’s with the passage of the Wagner Act. Regardless of where a person stands in their attitude towards unions, however, no right thinking person could be opposed to hard working men and women getting their completely fair share of payments that are owed to them for labor expended. The anti-union situation is not likely to change any time soon but in the meantime we should all be willing to encourage society to see that workers are properly paid for efforts that they have expended to provide for their families.
I am proud of the Workers Defense Project and I am proud of the good work that it has done here in Austin.
Is one of your church organizations looking for an exciting and interesting subject for a presentation and discussion? Why don’t you suggest to your president or chairman that the issue of wage theft in America be a subject of thoughtful discussion and prayer and maybe then some very real action on behalf of justice. The Workers Defense Project will supply speakers. Just call (512) 391-2305 or their e-mail address is info@workersdefense.org.
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One of the sad realities that I personally have had to deal with in my late years is the gradual lessening of the strong relationship that once existed between the Catholic Church and labor unions in the United States. The story of organized labor’s efforts to better the working conditions of its people in this country is a story that is filled with idealism, courage and occasionally blood. Because of their size, the railroad workers were one of the first to get legislation that enabled them to organize themselves effectively. It was not, however, until the Wagner Act of the mid-‘30’s that labor achieved a solid legal right to exist and organize. That right would be largely undercut by the passage of the Taft Hartley Act in the 1950’s. I’ve mentioned this before but organized labor is but a shadow of its former self.
There is, however, one exception and that is the organization of public employees unions. They have experienced very strong growth over the last 30 years and that has been seen as a threat by many who oppose any efforts of working people to organize to better their own pay and working conditions.
I have been saddened by the lack of any real visible support from bishops as state governments in the Upper Midwest have aggressively moved to remove their rights to collective bargaining. There was a statement here and a mild protest there but, for the most part, there has been silence.
Blessed Pope John Paul II was really very strong in this area. He wrote two encyclicals on the rights of labors to organize and was the driving force behind the growth of solidarity in Poland which ultimately led to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. I had the privilege of being a speck in the crowd of 700,000 in Gdansk who stood cheering the Pope as he spoke out for the rights of workers in Poland and across the world.
One of the reasons of the distancing between the Church and labor is that the great majority of American priests in the United States come from affluent homes. They did not see their fathers come home battered and dirty from exhausting jobs in mills and factories. They did not see the price that had to be paid in order to improve working conditions for laborers. Therefore, the natural tendency to support labor is absent. However, as the flow of wealth in this country continues to move to a tiny, tiny percentage of our citizens and as the conditions of the middle class grows steadily more difficult, we may see priests and bishops rediscover the richness of the Catholic heritage in this area.
Onward through the fog.
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A small organization in Austin really deserves encouragement and support. I am referring to the Workers Defense Project, an organization of laborers and their supporters that endeavor to ensure that all workers are treated with dignity. Do you know what one of their prime projects is? Getting the Austin City Council to ensure that all construction workers have a right to drinking water and rest breaks. Did you hear that? The right to drinking water and rest breaks!
Construction work is always difficult but working under that Texas sun really adds stress and difficulty to this labor. In addition, many of these workers are employed on roofs or on asphalt paving projects. There the temperature can be 120°. According to the Workers Defense Project, nearly one-third of Austin’s construction workers are denied drinking water at work and 41% do not receive rest breaks on the job. Why not get involved and send a message to the Austin City Council. Visit http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/
In this age where CEOs routinely pick up many, many millions of dollars, labor in an air-conditioned office, we ought not to deny men and women whose collars are blue the dignity, respect and support that honest labor brings.
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All thoughtful Americans and citizens across the world were horrified a few weeks ago by that tragic fire in the clothing factory over in Bangladesh. There were no fire exits, no escape plans and hundreds of the employees died in agony and unnecessarily. Those clothes – blouses, shirts, socks, etc. – were being manufactured by near slave labor to be marketed in the United States of America. First the fire, then the sense of shock and now silence. We have heard nothing from the national and international associations of clothing manufacturers. Since their needs and their demand for low wages is at least an indirect cause of the tragedy, shouldn’t they be leading the efforts to make sure that this type of tragedy is avoided in the future? To date, they have been quiet – very, very quiet.
Themocracy