wfn.org | [ENS] Economic justice in focus as Labor Day approaches (Daybook)

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Daybook, from Episcopal News Service
August 30, 2005 -- Tuesday: To Note & To Read

Economic justice in focus as Labor Day approaches

Office of Government Relations offers resources

[ENS/OGR] -- Labor Day, a creation of the labor movement dedicated to
the
social and economic achievements of American workers, is fast
approaching
and the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations (OGR)
recognizes
this as an opportunity to lift up the struggles of working people and
call
for greater justice in the workplace.

In honor of Labor Day 2005, which falls on September 5, OGR urges
Episcopalians to honor the national holiday with action that will help
workers, as Congress returns on September 6 from its annual August
recess.

While most of their attention will focus on budget and appropriations
issues, there is important legislation pending to help workers that will
not
pass without constituent pressure. OGR offers the following information
to
assist Episcopalians as they "strive for justice and peace among all
people
and respect the dignity of every human being." (BCP)

A featured section, Labor Day Living Wage Resources, can be found on the
Episcopal Public Policy Network website at:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_64475_ENG_HTM.htm

A comprehensive history of Labor Day can be found online at:
http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

Episcopal Church action

The 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church urged "our elected
congresspersons and U.S. senators to initiate or support legislation
raising
the federal minimum wage to at least $8.70 an hour, this figure being
the
hourly equivalent of an annual wage at the current Federal poverty line,
$18,100 for a family of four persons."

Further examples of Episcopal Church actions seeking economic justice
can be
found online at: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_48597_ENG_HTM.htm

National campaigns

Let Justice Roll Campaign for a Living Wage

In the last three decades, economic security has declined for most
workers
as good jobs (jobs with family supporting wages and benefits) have
disappeared. Most families now must work harder and longer to avoid
falling
further behind, and as a result families are struggling to balance work,
raise their children and care for their aging parents. Others among us,
because of age or disability, may not be able to work but deserve to be
treated with dignity and to have basic needs met.

"To be true to our shared values, and to reverse the course we are
traveling
today, we need to rededicate ourselves to advancing a collective agenda
to
ensure real access to opportunity and to fulfill our hopes and
expectations
about work, family, our communities and our future. For more
information:
http://www.ncccusa.org/letjusticeroll.htm.

ACORN's Living Wage website

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, is
the
nation's oldest and largest grassroots organization of low and moderate
income people with more than 150,000 member families organized into 800
neighborhood chapters in 65 cities across the country. Here is a brief
history of the national living wage movement, background materials such
as
ordinance summaries and comparisons, drafting tips, research summaries,
talking points, and links to other living wage-related sites. To view
ACORN's Living Wage website click here:
http://www.livingwagecampaign.org/.

Interfaith Worker Justice

Among the key principles shared by all faiths are the importance of
paying
workers fairly for their labor and the right of workers to perform their
responsibilities with dignity. Interfaith Worker Justice is a network of
people of faith that calls upon our religious values in order to
educate,
organize and mobilize the religious community in the United States on
issues
and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits and working conditions
for
workers, especially low-wage workers. For more information click here:
http://www.nicwj.org/actnow/min_wage.html.

Jobs with Justice (JwJ)

Founded in 1987, JwJ's mission is to improve working people's standard
of
living, fight for job security, and protect workers' right to organize.
JwJ's core belief is that in order to be successful, workers' rights
struggles have to be part of a larger campaign for economic and social
justice. To that end, JwJ has created a network of local coalitions that
connect labor, faith-based, community, and student organizations to work
together on workplace and community social justice campaigns. For more
information click here: http://www.jwj.org.

Worship and Study Resources

Interfaith Worker Justice Labor Day Outreach and Worship Resources

Labor Day provides a unique opportunity for both the religious community
and
the union movement to rediscover their common bonds: social justice,
equality, the dignity and respect for all persons, economic justice, and
fair treatment in the workplace. IWJ calls upon our religious values in
order to educate, organize, and mobilize the religious community in the
U.S.
on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits, and working
conditions for workers, especially low-wage workers. For more
information
about IWJ click here: http://www.iwj.org/aboutus/aboutus.html

For outreach and worship resources from IWJ click on one of the links
below:
http://www.iwj.org/outreach/labor_day.html
http://www.iwj.org/materials/materials_worship.html

The National Farm Worker Ministry

The National Farm Worker Ministry has prepared a seven-session Sunday
School
curriculum for adults and high school students entitled "Blessing the
Hands:
Farm Worker Issues in a Biblical Context." Users of the curriculum learn
about and reflect on farm worker issues through the lens of faith, and
explore ways to become part of the farm worker justice movement. For
more
information visit http://www.nfwm.org/index/index.shtml. A sample lesson
can
be found at: http://www.ucctakeaction.org/ctt.asp?u=681&l=100199.

To order resources from the National Farm Worker Ministry visit:
http://www.ucctakeaction.org/ctt.asp?u=681&l=100192.

Research and Publications

Economic Policy Institute

The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank
that
seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a
prosperous
and fair economy. For general information on the Living Wage from the
Economic Policy Institute click here:
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_livingwage_livingwage

United for a Fair Economy (UFE)

UFE is a national, independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization. UFE raises awareness that concentrated wealth and power
undermine the economy, corrupt democracy, deepen the racial divide, and
tear
communities apart. We support and help build social movements for
greater
equality. For more information click here: www.faireconomy.org.

- - - - -

Note: The following title is available from the Episcopal Book/Resource
Center, 815 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017; 800.334.7626;
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org.

TO READ: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America, by Barbara
Ehrenreich

Published by Henry Holt, May 2001. Current Affairs / 224 pages
Hardcover / $23.00. ISBN 0-8050-6388-9

"Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level
wages.
Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them, inspired in part by the
rhetoric
surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better
life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on six or seven
dollars
an hour? To find out Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to
Minnesota,
taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress,
hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson.
She
soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting
mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at
least
two if you intend to live indoors.

"Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety,
and
surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand
desperate stratagems for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight,
humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its
working poor." http://www.nickelanddimed.net.

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