Summer ends next weekend with Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day offers us an opportunity to reflect on the conditions that confront American workers.
            The fundamental challenge facing Americans today is that two-thirds of American households earn less than they did in 2002. Wages have simply not kept pace with the cost of living and so many families find themselves struggling in order to meet the basic necessities of life. There are many factors that have contributed to this wage loss – the decline in union membership, job reductions in the public sector and efforts to place limits on public sector unions, the growth of jobs in the service sector which historically have paid lower wages, the use of part-time employment in the service sector, and an economy that is stronger but not strong enough. All of these factors have contributed to a significant loss of income for millions of Americans. This is one of the reasons that the electorate this year is angry and seeking significant change.
            In its social teaching, the Catholic Church has emphasized the necessity of ensuring that workers receive just salaries, essential benefits, safe working conditions, the opportunity for rest, and a dignified retirement. For too many Americans, this is far from their lived reality. Our society has to do more to ensure that all working families have what they need to live in dignity. We should not accept the idea of the ‘working poor.’ Persons who work should not be poor. With the resources that our nation has, we can ensure that all persons have access to affordable housing, essential health care, quality child care, a just wage, access to sufficient food and time for rest. Even if we do not take action because this is what justice demands, we should take action because the satisfaction of these basic needs will contribute to a more stable work force with the resources needed to stimulate economic growth.
            On this Labor Day, make a pledge to fight for a more just economy for all Americans.
 
 
 
                            Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J.