Labor Day is here.
Like many of our National Holidays, we have forgotten the meaning of the
day. Is Memorial Day a time to reflect
upon those who sacrificed so we would be free, or a time to grill burgers on
the barbecue? Same with the Fourth of
July. Martin Luther King Day is just a
day off for many of us. If greater participation
and reflection on MLK is the objective, then why would this day be on a Monday
when most of the country is at work? Even
Christmas, a holiday season that I enjoy but do not celebrate, has shed its
deep religious significance having become a commercial enterprise. This reality, I suspect, must sadden and
disturb many believing Christians.
Labor Day, when many of us will be laboring over charcoal-broiled ribs and chicken, was created to remember and honor this country’s labor
unions.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 1911
While I am hostile the politics of unions today, I readily
acknowledge that they were a necessary response to egregious abuse by
management. The percent of workers who
are organized today, and their influence, has been steadily declining. Right-to-work support has risen as workers
and the rest of us resist practices such as non-union workers being compelled
to pay fees to the union. I do not
believe that an individual should be forced to join a union or to pay them fees. Such coercion violates the
free choice that a worker is entitled to, in my view. Yes, I know the argument that union
protections extend to non-union workers who should not receive a free
ride by enjoying benefits that they do not pay for. I simply believe that the right-to-work
argument is more persuasive.
I am not against unions, but I do not support forcing people
to pay them who do not wish to join.
If participation in a union will deliver greater benefits to workers,
then these workers will want to join on their own free will. If you have to force someone to do something,
then I wonder if the ‘benefit’ is real.
Years ago, while attending the National Storytelling Festival
in Jonesborough, Tennessee, I remember listening to professional storyteller Gay
Ducey tell a few thousand of us her rendition of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
fire in 1911, a disaster where nearly 150 workers perished, when they could not
escape from a burning building as the doors and exits were locked by
management. I was spellbound during her
hour long recitation, and I have never forgotten it.
Let’s give a nod to all those who go to work every day,
supporting their families, and bringing goods and services to all of us.
I support a Right-to-Read principle. I can’t compel anyone to read and meditate on
my weekly homilies. You have to want to
come here. And, I hope that you
will.
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