"The Dignity of Work"
Gene Morrill
Sunday, September 15th, 2002

Brothers and sisters, good morning. Interesting greeting used in our families, so why here, today? Scripture tells us about our first parents Adam and Eve, so we are members of the family of man. Our theology and our Church tell us we are members of the family of Christ.

From our first parents our inheritance was work, it was the price they paid for not listening to God's first rule; our inheritance from Christ is an opportunity to get back into Paradise, but we must follow the new rule Christ gave us, the rule of love, first of God and then our neighbors. But even with Christ's arrival work remained. Although we know very little of His first 30 years we can imagine since Joseph was a carpenter in a small town, Jesus worked at that craft until his public ministry began.

So we continue to work. It is such a part of life we take it for granted. Have you ever noticed that when you attend a social event where there are strangers conversations often begin with, "What is it you do for a living?" Or when we meet a young person off to college or trade school the question is, "What are you studying to be?" Let me see the hands of those very young people here who receive allowances..now how many of you have a list of chores to accompany those allowances..see you are working for wages already. Pay attention you may be able to do better.

As our country advanced so did the work necessary to accomplish that advancement. From agricultural to industrial, to technology, to the electronic age of today. Work changes also, into jobs..when there were just jobs to fill workers knew they had to change as well. In our country the free trade union movement was the beginning of advancement for workers. The first unions were founded out of necessity...just to be paid fairly for the work performed.

We need to understand that unions do one basic thing for its members, it gives them a voice in the workplace. This has never been a popular concept in our country, workers rights. They have always been resisted, early in our country by violence. But resistance remains today for workers who want to join or form a union, usually in the courts. It seems strange that there has never been any resistance to Doctors and their MAM or to the Bar Association for attorneys or Chambers of Commerce for businessmen, only unions for workers are challenged.

But what unions have done in this country, not just for their members, but for all workers has truly benefited all workers and their workplaces. Changes came when workers not only had a voice about wages, but also working conditions, hours of work, overtime pay, safety on the job. Because of the Union movement we have a Department of Labor, Social Security, many federal and state labor laws, such as minimum wage, you know the least an employers is allowed to pay a worker, it has never been enough for a decent life, that is why the union movement speaks today of a living wage for working families.

Today a major political and legislative issue is healthcare for all Americans. Let me tell you that literally decades ago unions began looking at the needs of working families and today most union contract have healthcare coverage for the worker and his family paid for by the employer, with any deductible being the responsibility of the worker. These contracts also have pension plans so union workers need not work their entire lives.

Even our Church has recognized the need for workers to join together for their mutual benefit. In the Encyclical RERUM NOVARUM it was clearly expressed that workers had the right to form unions, and the Encyclical emphasized the dignity of the worker. That is just one of the many things that our Church and Unions have in common, the dignity of workers and their families and Social Justice for all.

By the way Unions are another place where we refer to each other as Brothers and Sisters. Here today in this community we have managers, employers, hourly workers, blue collars and white. In every workplace we find a broad variety of education, experience, backgrounds, and skills; we also find a variety of responsibilities and duties that must be carried out and by all the workers there.

But there is even an additional and possibly greater obligation than just to get the job done. Have you ever heard the remark, "I love my job, but do I hate to go to that place!"? We need to have a positive influence in our workplaces; to make it a place workers enjoy to come, a place they take pride in.

May I make a suggestion? Those neighbors Christ referred to may well be those fellow workers we spend much of our time together with every week. The ones we are called to "love". This may not be as difficult as we suspect. It could be as simple as a "Hello" in the morning, an offer to help, a sincere "nice job" or "Thank you".

I would like to make a challenge today, that we each begin to practice that love and recognize that dignity with owe fellow workers, and those who work for us; the retail clerks, the waitresses, the letter carriers, the teachers, the receptionists, the maintenance workers. Only through the celebration of worker dignity and the expression of Christian Love can we honestly say to one another. "You are my Brother, you are my Sister!"...."Thank you,"