Catholic Labor Network

Praying for all those gathering in Louisville, that they may keep ever present in mind those who are on the margins, especially the working poor who work tirelessly, living paycheck to paycheck in our country of abundance, to make ends meet.

"The truly 'popular' thing – since it promotes the good of the people – is to provide everyone with the opportunity to nurture the seeds that God has planted in each of us: our talents, our initiative and our innate resources. This is the finest help we can give to the poor, the best path to a life of dignity. [...] For 'there is no poverty worse than that which takes away work and the dignity of work.'" (Fratelli Tutti, no. 162)

"It is not just a matter of being close to the people, but of being and feeling part of the people. It means living and sharing the joys and daily challenges of the community, learning from the values and wisdom of simple people. A popular style implies recognizing that the great social projects and lasting transformations start from the grass roots, from shared commitment and collective dreams."
Take 5 minutes of your day to read Pope Francis's full address to the ACLI!

To members of the Christian Associations of Italian Workers (ACLI) (1st June 2024) | Francis To members of the Christian Associations of Italian Workers (ACLI), 1st June 2024

Happy 80th Birthday to the The Christian Association of Italian Workers (ACLI), a Catholic movement of labor activists in Italy! Pope Francis greeted them on their 80th birthday last week. We are glad to be collaborators in the important work of upholding the rights of workers and the dignity of work!

Pope to Christian Associations of Italian Workers: 'Be a voice of peace' - Vatican News Meeting with members of the ACLI Pope Francis encourages them to continue to cultivate and practice the Christian values of social solidarity and ...

DEADLINE TOMORROW @ MIDNIGHT!
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Honor the and this by purchasing . Have fun and be safe!

Memorial Day weekend is almost here! Make sure you're well supplied with these great products & always remember to drink responsibly.

“We must be careful not to miss God’s blessings because we are caught up in questioning the ‘why’ of our circumstances.” -Give Us This Day Reflection for 5/24/24

So grateful for this wisdom from CLN outgoing President and current board member, Alexander.

TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY: Join our friends from the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and SvdpUSA to explore how the Eucharist prepares us for social mission, including living out principals, such as the and the . Register here: https://usccb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dMCIAwYnQtifcCRmPVN74g #/registration.

One week ago today, our dear CLN Board Member, Father Clete Kiley from UNITE HERE Local 1 (and chaplain to the Chicago Federation of Labor) was honored by the American Labor Council with the prestigious (and much-deserved) James Connolly Award. We also joyfully celebrate with deep gratitude Fr. Clete's 50 YEARS of ministerial priesthood!! Fr. Clete, we are humbled to call you friend, teacher, and fellow organizer for solidarity and worker justice.

This , we recognize that upholding the dignity of work (living wage jobs, adequate hours, safety on the job, holistic care for employees, etc.) benefits families! Justice in the workplace provides stability in the home. It's all connected!

Photo by Osarugue Igbinoba on Unsplash.

This , we honor all mothers, especially mothers who gracefully hold together the dual demands of work in the home and work on the job (outside the home). We see and appreciate you!

Photo feature: Ashley Cougill (Insulators Union Local 1 St. Louis), who is the May 2024 recipient of North America's Building Trades Unions, Heroes Award.

It's , and so today we want to hold up Pax Christi USA who just last week, on the feast of , joined more than 600 unionized Catholic Institutions by forming an independent union, Pax Christi USA-Local 1972. You can read more about Catholic Employers with union presence on our website: https://catholiclabor.org/catholic-employer-project/.

Pax Christi USA staff unionizes May 1, 2024 – Today, on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Pax Christi USA is excited to announce that it is a unionized workplace. Pax Christi USA proudly joins more than 600 unionized Cath…

One week past (which coincides with the feast of ), we wanted to share our gratitude to Fr. Brian Jordan for his pastoral care for construction workers, and particularly for his role as chaplain of IBEW Local 3's Catholic Council of Electrical Workers, who hosted an annual Construction Workers Memorial Mass last week at .

"Asked after the Workers' Memorial Day Mass why he hosts the Mass year after year, Fr. Brian Jordan, in his Brooklyn accent, replied that he was in New York City during the 9/11 terror attacks. 'The police department had a chaplain, the fire department had a chaplain. But the construction workers, who were more than anybody else there, didn’t have a chaplain,' he said. He became their chaplain and has been a 'labor priest' ever since."

Read more via the Catholic Labor Network: https://catholiclabor.org/labor-priest-celebrates-workers-memorial-day-mass-in-maryland/

Thank you, Bishop Mark Seitz for your prophetic reminder last month of how the Church stands with immigrant workers who "labor for us all":

Amid Nationwide Worker Shortages, Bishop Seitz Reaffirms Church’s Closeness with Immigrant Workers Who ‘Labor for Us All’ While American employers continue to struggle with filling more than nine million open jobs and a growing number of communities look to immigration as the so...

Happy Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker! Today we remember and honor the dignity of work, which we are all invited to enjoy by being created in God's image. Through the intercession of St. Joseph the Worker, we pray that workplaces are environments where human dignity is restored. St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!

Check out our most recent blog post:
https://catholiclabor.org/updates-on-unions-at-catholic-institutions/

In recent years, the Catholic Labor Network has covered efforts by nurses to form unions at a number of Ascension hospitals. National Nurses United has also shone a spotlight on Ascension's closure of labor and delivery departments at several locations. CLN Executive Director, Clayton Sinyai, was recently interviewed by Sojourners on the phenomenon.

Why Are Catholic Hospitals Cutting Labor Units During a Maternal Mortality Crisis? Nurses at Ascension say their chain of hospitals is prioritizing profits instead of its Catholic mission.

https://www.racket.news/p/the-real-book-about-the-white-working

The Real Book About the "White Working Class" Interview with Les Leopold, author of "Wall Street's War on Workers," the book neither party wants you to read

The Catholic University of America have posted an online exhibit on the relationship between Msgr. George Higgins and United Farmworkers Union's Caesar Chavez. The online exhibit is entitled: The Archivist’s Nook: Laboring for Justice, Monsignor George Higgins, Cesar Chavez, and the Unionization of California Agriculture.

Here is the link to the page, and note, there is additional information that is available in a link at the end of the article:

The Archivist’s Nook: Laboring for Justice, Monsignor George Higgins, Cesar Chavez, and the Unionization of California Agriculture – What’s Up The Archivist’s Nook: Laboring for Justice, Monsignor George Higgins, Cesar Chavez, and the Unionization of California Agriculture Posted on February 20, 2024February 20, 2024 by Dr. Maria Mazzenga Monsignor George Higgins was a member of the U.S. Catholic clergy, director of the Social Action Dep...

A little something to think about on Superbowl Sunday:

The original ‘49ers’ chaplain Joseph Alemany became the bishop of Monterey during the gold rush migration in the mid 1800s.

Today is the feast day of Blessed Nikolaus Gross, a miner, father of seven, and secretary to the Christian miners' union at the age of 22, and was executed by the N***s on January 23, 1945:

CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Blessed Nikolaus Gross Miner. Father of seven. Member of the Christian miners‘ labour union at age 19, and secretary at 22. Member of the Zentrum Christian Party at age 20. Worked on Westdeutschen Arbeiterzeitung, (West German Workers’ Newspaper), the newspaper of the Catholic Workers’ Movement, at age 22, and becam...

Let's hope the rule is implemented and that franchise employees get the rights they deserve!

Catholic experts say rule to let franchise employees join unions would be major labor advance People who have looked closely as their order was passed to them through a drive-in window may have noticed a sticker or sign announcing the location serving them is a franchise of a national, or even international, brand.

Workers at Ascension Health facilities across the country say they are badly understaffed and worry that patients are at risk.

Struggles Continue a Year Later at Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s - Milwaukee Magazine Current and former staff say conditions continue to deteriorate at one of the city's largest hospitals – a follow-up to our special report a year ago.

From the Master, Mates, & Pilots:

“ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPS AND INNOCENT SEAFARERS MUST STOP”

Major maritime industry players are calling on “all countries with influence in the region” to do everything possible to halt the wave of attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“These attacks must stop immediately, and the innocent seafarers [held hostage in Yemen must be] released,” the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations and the International Chamber of Shipping said in a joint statement delivered to the International Maritime Organization Assembly on Dec. 4.
Statements by non-governmental organizations are generally not allowed at the IMO Assembly, but an exception was made for the statement delivered by IFSMA and the ICS.

The two called the attacks by paramilitary forces in Yemen “a flagrant breach of international law and maritime norms against vessels conducting their right of freedom of navigation and innocent passage.”

“Commercial ships’ self-protection measures against a well-armed and capable antagonist can only go so far,” they added, “and we firmly believe that the well-developed maritime security architecture in the region should be brought to bear to ensure that no other ships and crews fall victim to such aggression.”
Three merchant ships were hit in the Red Sea Sunday by ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels, while the crew of the Navy destroyer USS CARNEY shot down three drones in self-defense during what the U.S. military described as an hours long assault.

The U.S. has vowed to “consider all appropriate responses” in the wake of the attacks, specifically calling out Iran.

“These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
“They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world.”

“We have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.”

The IFSMA and ICS delegation was the first to speak at the Assembly. The statement was supported by the IMO Secretary-General, as well as by the U.S. and other countries.

MM&P is a member of the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations, which represents the interests of the world’s serving shipmasters at international forums such as the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization.

Georgetown Prof and CLN Board Member Joe McCartin reviews Michael Lind's new book!

The Scourge of Wage Suppression | Commonweal Magazine Michael Lind wishes for “a new and nonpartisan” labor movement. But he refuses to take seriously the labor movement that already exists.

"No one really wants a strike," said Clayton Sinyai, executive director of the Catholic Labor Network, "but sometimes workers can't get a fair shake from their employers unless they withhold their labor."

Big wins for UAW, SAG-AFTRA could spur more workers to join unions Less than two weeks after the United Auto Workers secured historic concessions from the nation's "Big Three" automakers, another prominent union can claim a significant victory: the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Our friend Michael Sean Winters reflects on UAW President Shawn Fain's faith and its roots

Christianity and organized labor continue to march together There is no group in American society with whom it is easier to share a conversation about Catholic social teaching than the leaders of the American labor movement, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.

Congratulations to our nation's auto workers and actors!

Big wins for UAW, SAG-AFTRA could spur more workers to join unions Less than two weeks after the United Auto Workers secured historic concessions from the nation's "Big Three" automakers, another prominent union can claim a significant victory: the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

https://catholicreview.org/uaw-deal-with-big-three-automakers-secures-major-win-for-family-wage-jobs/

UAW deal with 'Big Three' automakers secures major win for family-wage jobs - Catholic Review The United Auto Workers labor strike against the "Big Three" car producers -- Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, whose 14 automotive brands include Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep -- has ended with a series of contracts experts say emphasizes the importance of unions in Catholic social teaching, especia...