Social Concerns: The Dignity of Work and Catholic Social Teaching

BY LISA STEINER

I’ve been reflecting on the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lives. Specifically, as someone who has worked for many years and values the importance of work, I’ve been wondering what the future will hold in terms of economic and employment equality. Clearly the pandemic of 2020-21 has not been an “equal opportunity disrupter” of jobs and incomes. In fact, we know that in the U.S., COVID-19 has triggered the most unequal recession in modern history. Unlike the recessions of 2001-02 and 200809, which drove job losses across many income levels, COVID-19’s impact in 2020-21 has most acutely harmed low-wage earners.

According to The Washington Post, “At the height of the COVID-19 crisis, low-wage jobs were lost at eight times the rate of high-wage jobs.” And now, as the U.S. economy begins to recuperate, paid work is still out of reach predominantly for people of color, women, non-English speakers, and younger workers who used to hold those jobs. Not only did the virus infect more people who were struggling to meet their basic needs, it also made it harder for them to find decent work and get back on their feet. Estimates suggest that millions of farming, restaurant, service sector and retail jobs are now gone for good.

The Polaris Project addresses the root causes of human trafficking and seeks to mitigate them. In 2020, it reported dramatic increases in numbers of people being trafficked, especially people of color and youth. COVID-19 related job losses have led to greater poverty, homelessness and starvation. Current estimates are that over 40 million people are enslaved globally.

These daunting statistics trouble me. They cause me to ask myself, what can be done to right the wrongs of economic injustice? How do systemic racism, forced migration, and climate change play a part in widening the chasm between rich and poor? How can we put the well-being of God’s creation ahead

of corporate and political interests? And, as a woman of faith, a justice seeker, and a person of privilege, how should I respond?

The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

Once again, I find myself turning to Catholic social teaching, remembering that as Catholics we celebrate the inherent dignity of all life. We rejoice in being members of one human family. And we believe that every creation of God is precious and worthy of protection. Related to this truth is another theme of Catholic social teaching: The dignity of work and the rights of workers. Here we acknowledge that all types of jobs deserve respect, no occupation is superior to another, and work is an essential part of life. In the same way, all workers are worthy and have rights. No one should have to suffer dangers of oppression or abuse in their work.

The U.S. Catholic bishops have written about the dignity of work and economic justice. They say, “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 the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.”

The bishops ask us to examine our conscience in light of Catholic social teaching. As a worker, do I give my employer a fair day’s work for my wages? As an employer, do I treat every worker fairly and with respect? As a consumer, do my purchasing choices consider the many hands involved in producing what I buy? Through quiet reflection, I’ve come to realize that I am called to say and do much more.

Change in individual behavior creates societal change when

people come together as a group to challenge the status quo. Here is an excerpt from a 2015 joint letter to Congress from the U.S. Catholic bishops and Catholic Charities USA on wages: “An economy thrives only when it is centered on the dignity and well-being of the workers and families in it. ... We see every day the consequences when society fails to honor this priority. Protecting low-wage workers and promoting their ability to form and nurture families are shared responsibilities and critical to building a more equitable society.”

In recent decades, we have heard about the dignity of work from all the pontiffs, who have understood that working is integral to what it is to be human. In Laudato Si’ (“On Care For Our Common Home”), Pope Francis writes, “We were created with a vocation to work…. Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development, and personal fulfillment. Helping the poor financially must always be a provisional solution in the face of pressing needs. The broader objective should always be to allow them a dignified life through work.”

In Saint John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical, Centesimus Annus (“The Hundredth Year”), he states, “The obligation to earn one’s bread by the

sweat of one’s brow also presumes the right to do so. A society in which this right is systematically denied, in which economic policies do not allow workers to reach satisfactory levels of employment, cannot be justified from an ethical point of view, nor can that society attain social peace.”

These words move me. All human beings long to live, to love and to belong. We need to participate in society and use our God-given gifts. We are called to work, and it is a holy calling! So, as I reflect on the post-COVID future, I wonder about the possibilities. Whether Saint Angela’s charism calls us to prayer, education, service or advocacy, each of us can make a difference. We can focus on job creation, fair wages, and safe workplaces. We can prioritize the needs of people in poverty. And we can move closer to achieving

economic dignity, which places people ahead of profits.

I leave you with the words of Dorothy Day: “By crying out unceasingly for the rights of workers, the poor, the destitute… we can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world.”