Aloha, Brothers and Sisters. I hope that you are all having a safe, peaceful, enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. We owe our weekends and so much more to the men and women who were part of the labor movement in this country. Tonight I want to talk about the labor movement and why people of faith should support the rights of workers in this country and around the world. Please follow me below the stylized cheese doodle.
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Labor Day weekend is the last long weekend of summer. It is a time for BBQs, trips to the beach, and one last dip in the pool. For many of us, it will be back to school on Tuesday. However, at a time when labor unions are under assault around this country, it is worthwhile thinking about what the labor movement has done for working people in this country.
For all the talk about wealthy "job creators", it is working people, including the unpaid labor of many African-American slaves, who built this country. As Abe Lincoln said:
If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool.
FDR argued that:
No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level--I mean the wages of decent living.
It was under FDR that the Fair Labor Standards Act (commonly known as the "wages and hours act") was passed in 1938. The act established a national minimum wage, provided time and a half for overtime (more than 40 hours a week), and outlawed "oppressive child labor." Here at Casa Blue Jersey, we are only one generation away from child labor. Blue jersey dad's father quit school in the 7th grade at age 12 and went to work. His first job was carrying buckets of beer to construction workers.
Another great achievement of the labor movement is the concept of the weekend, a time to relax and unwind. In the words of the great labor leader, Samuel Gompers:
Time is the most valuable thing on earth: time to think, time to act, time to extend our fraternal relations, time to become better men, time to become better women, time to become better and more independent citizens.
Of course, the idea of time off has a strong biblical foundation (Deuteronomy, Chapter 5):
12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
As we remember the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks next week, it is also important to remember that we are only 100 years away from the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.
We need a strong labor movement in this country. Again, quoting Gompers:
Where trade unions are most firmly organized, there are the rights of the people most respected.
It is all about justice, fairness, and the dignity of work. Let me leave you with my favorite passage from the New Testament, from Matthew, Chapter 5:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
And from the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.