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Human dignity finds special expression in the
dignity of work and in the rights of workers. Through work we
participate in creation. Workers have rights to just wages, rest, and
fair working conditions.
- Genesis 2:2-3
(God labors and rests)
- Genesis 2:15
(humans cultivate earth)
- Exodus
20:9-11, 23:12, 34:21; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (Sabbath
gave laborers rest)
- Leviticus
19:13; Deutoronomy 24:14-15; Sirach 34:22; Jeremiah 22:13; James 5:4
(wage justice)
- Isaiah 58:3
(do not drive laborers)
- Matthew
20:1-16 (Jesus uses wage law in parable)
- Mark 6:3
(Jesus worked as carpenter)
- Mark 2:27
(Sabbath is for benefit of people)
- Matthew
10:9-10; Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:17-18 (laborer deserves pay)
~
“We must first of all recall a principle that has
always been taught by the Church: the principle of the priority of
labor over capital. This principle directly concerns the process of
production: In this process labor is always a primary efficient cause,
while capital, the whole collection of means of production, remains a
mere instrument or instrumental cause.”
-
Pope John Paul II, On Human
Work (Laborem Exercens, no. 12
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“Work is more than a way to make a living; it is
a form of continuing participation in God’s creation.” Workers have
rights to decent work, just wages, safe working conditions,
unionization, disability protection, retirement security, and economic
initiative. The economy exists for the human person; the human person
does not exist for the economy. Labor has priority over capital
~
In a marketplace where too often the quarterly
bottom line takes precedence over the rights of workers, we believe
that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is
more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing
participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be
protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected – the
right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and
join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
Respecting these rights promotes an economy that protects human life,
defends human rights, and advances the well-being of all.
~
“All people have the right to economic
initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, to decent
working conditions, as well as to organize and join unions or other
associations.”
-
National Conference of Catholic
Bishops,
A Catholic Framework for Economic Life, no. 5
~
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