The Catholic Labor Network, as an association of the faithful dedicated to promoting Catholic Social Teaching on labor and work, has seldom ventured to speak about other policy domains. Immigration has been a partial exception, mainly because the Church and the American labor movement – for different but related reasons – have often partnered to […]
The first week of May saw operations at the University of San Diego interrupted by a two-day strike. In June 2024, non-tenured faculty at the Catholic university voted for representation by SEIU 721, but the two sides have not reached a first contract. (At colleges across the country, private and public, a growing share of […]
The Catholic Labor Network (CLN) joyfully welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, as the 267th Bishop of Rome. As the first American-born pontiff, Pope Leo XIV brings a unique blend of pastoral experience, theological depth, and a profound commitment to social justice that resonates deeply with our mission to […]
Dear Mr. President, The Catholic Labor Network (CLN) is a Catholic nonprofit and private association of the faithful in the United States that unites clergy, religious, laity, and people of goodwill to advance the principles of Catholic Social Teaching on the dignity of work and the rights of workers through prayer, education, and action. We […]
Three Catholic institutions have made the news recently for their mistreatment of workers. St Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady NY doesn’t want to pay the pension benefits it owes to retired nurses. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin doesn’t want to pay Unemployment Insurance taxes for its workers. Marquette University does not want […]
Modern Catholic Social Teaching began with Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter Rerum Novarum reflecting on injustices against workers in the modern industrial economy and, importantly, defending their right to organize in trade unions for collective bargaining. We in the Catholic Labor Network have been deeply alarmed that President Trump has begun his term with significant […]
In November 2024, Fr. Brian Jordan OFM – a New York City labor priest and good friend of the Catholic Labor Network – dedicated a Workers’ Chapel at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Manhattan. Attending the dedication Mass, along with assorted local political leaders and union officers, was New York City AFL-CIO President and […]
Among all workers in US, farmworkers probably suffer the most exploitation and abuse. Often undocumented immigrants, they toil for long hours at poverty wages harvesting the food we eat. In one of the great inequities of the American economy, most of us enjoy access to produce at unsustainably low prices, subsidized by the low cost […]
In early October, OSV News, which provides stories to Catholic Diocesan newspapers around the country, published an important story on labor relations at Catholic institutions. Reporter Kimberly Heatherington checked in on how Catholic schools, universities and hospitals addressed different themes of worker justice, including the right to organize and bargain collectively through a labor union. […]
Maryland Catholic Labor Network activist and AFGE Assistant General Counsel J. Ward Morrow will be offering an online course on Labor in the Movies. Participants will view labor history as portrayed in film, discuss that history and learn how it may be applicable today in the recent union efforts of Starbucks and Amazon employees. The […]