There is a nobility
in human work, but Labor Day and Catholic Social Teaching is more than just recognizing
that fact.
Labor Day is
a good time to reflect on Catholic - Social Teaching; a response to the horrors of the industrial revolution.[1] Work is no longer the laborare est orare of a Benedictine Monk (to work is to pray); work is matter of survival for many and for
some alienating. Pope John Paul II recognized
this in his Encyclical on work.[2] He also
stated that labor unions are a necessity.
The Labor
Day march is a wonderful experience of celebrating the work and accomplishments
of organized labor.
Since it is
the 50th anniversary of the 1967 fair housing marches led by Father
James Groppi, I asked people about Father Groppi as a labor leader. Groppi studied at the seminary in Milwaukee
where Catholic Social Teaching was emphasized. One time Seminary director, Rev. Francis Haas,
was later named Bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was an advisor on labor relations to
President Roosevelt and civil rights advisor to President Harry S. Truman. Groppi was also associated with the Milwaukee
Cardijn Center that sponsored ‘Labor Schools’ based on Catholic Social Teaching.
After he
was married Groppi became a Milwaukee County bus driver and was elected as the
president of the Bus Drivers Union (A.T.U. 998) in Milwaukee. The election was disputed and was finally decided by a coin flip. A former colleague remembers him as “having a
broader view than concern about soap in the bathrooms.” He looked to community problems such as school
bus drivers working for low pay and the need to organize them.
Latino leader, Jesus Salas remembers Groppi
as an ally of Latino workers in Milwaukee. As a priest Groppi marched with Salas to the
Allan Bradley plant to advocate the hiring of minority workers. Groppi was also supportive of the farm worker
movement.
This
year the Labor Day celebration began with a ‘Fight for Fifteen’ rally. Young African American leaders led the podium
speeches which advocated for better wages for low paid workers and a union. A large contingent marched from Voces de la Frontera,
the immigrant worker center. A friend
commented that the only way this country has a future based on democracy and justice
depends on the activism of African Americans and Latinos. Father Groppi would have agreed.
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