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Catholic Labor Network announces Church-Labor Partnership Project (CLPP)

February 20, 2019 /5 Comments/in , /by

The Catholic Labor Network is proud to announce the launch of a new initiative: the Church-Labor Partnership Project (CLPP)!
For nearly a quarter-century, the members of the Catholic Labor Network have connected clergy, religious and lay activists with workers organizing for social justice through unions and workers’ centers. Now, with a generous grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), we will be extending this work nationwide.
The CLPP initiative was unveiled at the Catholic Labor Network’s annual meeting on Feb.2. At the meeting, held in conjunction with the USCCB Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, bakery workers, airline food service workers and farmworkers addressed the group and appealed for solidarity…

Mary’s Observations on Social and Economic Justice

January 2, 2019 /1 Comment/in , /by

In late December, the Washington Post published an interesting column, “Mary’s ‘Magnificat’ in the Bible is revolutionary. Some evangelicals silence her.” The Magnificat is Mary’s joyful reflection on how she, a poor young woman, was bearing the Christ-child. The author, an Evangelical Christian woman, felt that her brothers and sisters persistently overlooked one of the […]

Providence Hospital in DC Curtails Services

January 2, 2019 in , /by

As we reported in October, Catholic hospital chain Ascension Health was moving to close the financially stressed Providence Hospital, located in an underserved, largely African-American DC neighborhood. The action prompted outcries from hospital employees – especially nurses represented by National Nurses United – as well as the community and DC government. Ascension was created by […]

Government Shutdown Penalizes Public Servants, Poor

January 2, 2019 in , /by

2019 opened with a partial government shutdown underway as the president and Congress failed to reach agreement on a budget. Congress wanted to continue funding the government under current program funding levels, while the president said he will keep the government shut unless Congress adds a $5 billion budget item to pay for a wall […]

Five million low wage workers just got a raise

January 2, 2019 in , /by

The federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour, giving a full-time worker an annual salary of less than $15,000. That’s hardly a living wage anywhere in the country, and many states and cities, prodded by community organizations, faith groups, and labor unions, have moved to boost their minimum wage to a more reasonable […]

Join the Catholic Labor Network at Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG)!

December 4, 2018 in /by

Each February, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops invites Catholic social ministry leaders and social justice activists from across the country to Washington DC for several days of fellowship, learning, prayer, and activism – and the Catholic Labor Network, as a partner in the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG), holds its annual meeting and luncheon. […]

Supervisor to Pregnant Warehouse Worker: If You Can’t Handle the Lifting, Get an Abortion

December 4, 2018 /1 Comment/in , /by

A disturbing New York Times investigative story offers illustrates happens when the demands of the market conflict with the needs of families. If you are a Verizon customer on the East Coast, odds are good that your cellphone or tablet arrived by way of a beige, windowless warehouse near Tennessee’s border with Mississippi. Inside, hundreds […]

TPS Holders: The Forgotten Immigrants in our Midst

December 1, 2018 /1 Comment/in , /by

While the national media focus on disorder at the border, 300,000+ immigrants are slated to lose their legal status in 2019 with the elimination of their Temporary Protected Status. Immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras and elsewhere were granted “temporary” haven in the United States after war or natural disasters displaced them from their homes, […]

NC State Legislators Take Aim at Farmworkers’ Union

November 1, 2018 in /by

Courts will decide fate of anti-union law The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) has achieved something remarkable in North Carolina: they have organized and won union contracts improving wages and working conditions for nearly 5,000 North Carolina farmworkers. This is remarkable because right-to-work North and South Carolina have the lowest union membership rates in the […]