The Other Inconvenient Truth: The Growing Gap between Rich and Poor

This is the introductory note in our special issue of Network News, focusing on the growing rich-poor gap. The whole issue is posted in PDF format, but we’ll also post some of the articles in regular web format (html), for quicker accessibility.        [2-28-08]

The world isn’t just getting warmer, it’s getting more deeply divided between rich and poor.

We began discussing the need to dedicate an issue of Network News to this topic in a Board meeting back in April of 2007. The economy had not yet begun to tank but there were ample signs that all was not well and would probably get worse. Since that initial discussion, it has become clear that the gap is not so much between the rich and poor as it is between the rich and everyone else. And the gap is not just a matter of wealth, it’s also a growing differential in power, as labor unions and other structures that have helped balance the rich-poor differential are being attacked and weakened.

Limitless profit for the limited few threatens everyone – even the limited few – and so we find ourselves being challenged to embrace the theology we have proclaimed for decades. We are challenged to breech class divides and truly live together, rather than waving at each other from opposite sides of the canyon.

by Trina Zelle, Witherspoon Society Co-Moderator, and Lead Organizer and Director of Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona     [2-28-08]

The man on the other end of the phone line was a Presbyterian elder, a retired engineer from one of our more conservative churches downstate. His call to my organization, Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona, came as something of a surprise. More typically, I hear from construction workers whose bosses have refused to provide water despite the Arizona heat, labor organizers confirming a speaking engagement at a local church, or a community activist, inviting me to an upcoming action.

Dave had another purpose. His son had been killed the previous year, burned to death in a foundry accident, his upper body trapped by a furnace door that unexpectedly dropped. Dave and his wife had just been informed by OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) that what they had thought was a tragic accident was actually the result of willful negligence. The safety latch on the furnace door had been removed. There were previous citations of the owner for the same violation. Even so, the penalty was limited to a $5,000 fine paid to OSHA and burial expenses for their son. In addition, Arizona law prohibits an employee or their survivors from suing their employer for negligence unless they opt out of Workers’ Compensation upon hire. I have never spoken to a worker who recalls being presented with this option.

“I want to make sure that this never happens to any other family. Can your organization help me?” he asked.

Dave and his wife Helen were in a daze when we first met, but have since become actively involved in some of our projects, including outreach to immigrant construction workers. They are determined both to find justice for their son and a way to prevent what happened to them from happening to others. They understand the vulnerability of workers in our state and the truth that no one is safe until everyone is.

At some point, we will prevail. But, as the song says, the journey is long.

Life isn’t very good here for working people, or many places in the United States for that matter. Employees are routinely denied bathroom breaks, safety equipment, or water on the job (even though it is required by Arizona law). They often experience wage theft – underpayment for hours worked -- and failure to receive overtime for more than forty hours of work. If they attempt to organize into a union, they are summarily fired. Legal protections are no longer honored, conventional wisdom notwithstanding.

Why does this happen? Because employers face few penalties if actually caught. In other words, they do it because they can. In addition, many employers use the domestic version of outsourcing to distance themselves from direct responsibility – they subcontract. Contractors contract out work to subcontractors who, themselves, proceed to subcontract even further down the line. It is not unusual for a worker to be unable to identify anyone higher than their immediate supervisor who takes their time card, gives them their paycheck and tells them to “shake it off” if they are injured on the job.

This shabby treatment is not limited to workers engaged in manual labor. School districts are privatizing support services including secretaries, custodians, security guards – pretty much anyone besides teachers and administrators. Subcontractors tend not to offer benefits, or job security. There are no grievance procedures. Pay is lower than it would be if these employees were part of the teachers’ union (which includes support staff).

But subcontracting is nothing compared to the privatization of public functions that is changing our nation in ways that we don’t yet understand. Every day in Arizona, white Wackenhut buses barrel down Interstate 10, transporting undocumented immigrants to Nogales, Mexico. Private prisons house indigenous prisoners from Hawaii and Alaska. The infamous “wall” to be built on our border will be contracted (and subcontracted) to private builders as will the production and installation of security equipment, and personnel hired to supplement a struggling border patrol. It would come as no surprise to me that, when all the public funds have been depleted in the implementation of private security strategies, our artificial immigration crisis will disappear. A solution will be found, which will surely include the subcontracted hiring of immigrant “guest” workers whose presence in the country will be contingent on staying with a particular employer. Demands for improved working conditions, or attempts to organize, will be met with deportation.

Two years ago, after twenty five years in parish ministry, I took a position organizing an affiliate of Interfaith Worker Justice in Arizona. In addition to close relationships with local faith communities, I have also found what I refer to as my new faith community – workers, labor organizers and immigrants’ rights activists. Most of these folks are the kind of people any minister would be thrilled to have as members. They work tirelessly to improve the lives of working men and women and to defend the rights of immigrants, who are, as previously mentioned, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. They are on the front line of human rights the way clergy were during the civil rights era. In my opinion, they are the ones holding the line against the total demolition of the New Deal and what decent living standards remain.

How can faith leaders and people of faith help?

Realize how important your voice is and use it for justice. Currently, the silence from the dominant culture faith community is deafening when it comes to immigrant and worker rights. Educate yourself about the bigger picture. Read up on the history of the labor movement in the United States, especially as it relates to the struggle for immigrant and civil rights, and understand the importance of its role in middle class security and comfort. We all remember the Grover Norquist quote about reducing the size of the federal government so that it can be drowned in a bathtub. His other quote doesn’t get publicized as much: “We’re going to crush labor as a political entity.” In other words, he and his allies want to silence the voices of the people whose labor is responsible for this nation’s prosperity, and so render them powerless. If someone else signs your paycheck, that includes you, no matter what honorific might precede your name.

Examine the hiring policies of your own congregation. Do you contract out any of the work that is done around the church – generally maintenance or lawn care? Do you use a linen service? Are you about to enlarge your sanctuary or refurbish the fellowship hall? If so, have you adopted a code of ethics regarding your hiring practices? Do you require any private firms you hire to abide by them as well?

Globalization has changed many things, but it does not need to be an occasion for the rollback of hard won rights for working people. The growing divide between rich and poor is neither inevitable nor necessary. Limitless profit for the limited few is not acceptable.

By Kim Bobo, Executive Director, Interfaith Worker Justice     [2-28-08]

Presbyterians have long been on the forefront of fighting hunger and poverty in the nation. The Presbyterian Washington Office is known for its advocacy for ethical welfare reform, expansion of food and housing resources, and fair jobs policies. The Presbyterian Hunger Program has supported thousands of education and advocacy programs around the nation. Self-Development of People has supported low-income persons who organize to challenge economic disparities.

Despite endeavors like this, the rate of people living in poverty is increasing, disparities between rich and poor are growing, and long-term societal trends suggest no change from that trajectory. Poverty isn’t a temporary condition which changes once a person is employed – impoverished families tend to have at least one adult who works full time. “Working poor” has become a common and acceptable term as recent studies suggest that over half of the new jobs being created are poverty zone jobs, meaning that the jobs pay minimum wage or just a few dollars above.

In response to these trends, Presbyterians are joining with other people of faith to seek new and more effective ways to challenge poverty jobs and improve wages, benefits and working conditions for low-wage workers.

Partnerships with Labor

Founded in 1996, Interfaith Worker Justice starts with the premise that partnership with the labor movement is essential for challenging poverty. Some may ask why people of faith would want to work with unions. Consider the 7,000 Chicago workers employed by downtown hotels owned by major chains. Until the summer of 2002, Chicago’s hotel workers were among the lowest paid for any major convention city. Health care was offered but not affordable. Many of the workers and their families lived in poverty because of low wages and poor benefits. The workers, represented by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE), met for months to clarify what they needed and wanted.

Eventually, the union and its worker negotiating team began meeting with hotel owners. Simultaneously, the workers and our Chicago affiliate began talking with congregations and community organizations about the need to improve conditions for hotel workers and the possibility that the workers might have to strike to get a good contract. Recognizing how close to the margin most workers lived, the religious and community organizations understood how difficult it would be for workers to consider going out on strike, so congregations and community organizations began collecting food and money in anticipation of a possible strike vote.

This broad-based community and religious support encouraged the workers. When negotiations stalled the workers voted 4,000 to five to go out on strike. Luckily for the workers and the businesses, a strike was averted. A contract agreement provided $3 per hour raises, dramatically improved family health care benefits, new grievance and work rules, and time off with pay for workers becoming citizens (an important symbolic victory for the many immigrant workers). This is an amazing improvement in the lives of 7,000 workers.

Or consider the janitors in Houston. Until the fall of 2006, 5,300 downtown janitors were making slightly more than minimum wage, had no health care and were only given part-time hours. They cleaned buildings owned by national firms. In unionized cities, janitors working for the same building owners earned up to twice as much, had health care benefits and full-time jobs. The Houston janitors decided to organize with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Community and religious leaders joined them in marches and prayer vigils. Eventually, they won a contract providing health care, full-time job protections and wages were doubled over the 24-month life of the contract.

Working in partnership with the labor movement, faith communities helped to lift 7,000 hotel workers and 5,300 janitors out of poverty.

Are unions really necessary?

Many people in the religious community wonder if unions are really necessary. Couldn’t workers and employers just get along and share in the wealth produced by the companies?

While not all employees may need a union and some employers may share profits with workers, economic trends in society show a growing workforce characterized by low wages and negligible benefits, even in highly profitable industries. Given the seeming demise of a social contract between companies and their workers, and the stagnation of wages despite an increase in productivity, workers are seeking ways to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions. Despite the obstacles to organizing (the U.S. has the weakest labor laws in the industrialized world), workers are seeking unions as a vehicle for challenging poverty and injustice. More than two-thirds of working Americans, 68 percent, say workplace rights need more protection today. Recent polls say that 54 percent of young workers and 36 percent of older workers would vote for a union if they could. Why?

Unionized workers have a voice in the workplace. Unions provide a counterbalancing power to management in the workplace, through a contract that outlines rules and procedures, and through a structure for addressing worker concerns. Workers can’t always secure everything they want, but they are assured a more structured means for addressing problems.

Unionized workers earn more money and better benefits. Union workers earn 30 percent more than nonunion workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary work were $833 in 2006, compared with $642 for their nonunion counterparts.

The union wage benefit is even greater for minorities and women. Union women earn 31 percent more than nonunion women; African-American union members earn 36 percent more than their nonunion counterparts; for Latino workers, the union advantage is 46 percent; for Asian-American workers, the union advantage is eight percent. (Source: AFL-CIO website)

Unionized workers are more likely to have health insurance. Union members are also more likely to have health plans that include dental care, prescriptions, and eyeglass coverage. Many unions are fighting to preserve or establish affordable co-payments for health insurance.

Unionized workers are more likely to have retirement benefits. Most union members, 80 percent, are covered by pension plans, compared with only 47 percent of nonunion workers.

Beyond the specific benefits that unions offer individuals, it is important for those seeking justice in the society to understand and recognize the important role that unions have played in U.S. society at large.

Public Policy Advocates –– Workers, especially low-wage workers, need a strong public policy voice that can counteract the powerful, well-financed business interests that too often dominate public policies. Many union members have bumper stickers that say, “The eight-hour day, brought to you by the union movement,” which is true. Many of the public policies we take for granted, such as child labor laws, the eight-hour day, social security, pension protections, and the minimum wage were fought for and achieved primarily by the labor movement. The religious community was often involved in these fights, primarily as allies with the labor movement.

Challenging Gross Disparity of Wages –– The ratio of CEO pay to worker pay in major U.S. companies is the most unequal of any industrialized nation in the world. In 2005, the average CEO in the United States earned 262 times the pay of the average worker, the second highest level of this ratio in the 40 years for which there are data. In 2005, a CEO earned more in one workday (there are 260 in a year) than an average worker earned in 52 weeks. (Source: Economic Policy Institute) U.S. CEO salaries are grossly excessive, compared to their average workers’ salaries, because of a culture of greed and the decline of unions. Union bargaining tends not only to raise the bottom wages, but also to limit the growth of excessively high management wages, and to place some limits on CEO compensation. The effort to seek more equitable and just salaries within companies is best achieved by unions organized within companies.

Renewed Partnerships with Government Agencies require a Vision

When Francis Perkins served as the Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, she often said, “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.” She brought a vision to the job and she implemented it. She stopped immigration workplace raids. She advocated the first minimum wage. She established child labor laws.

Today’s crisis for working families requires a strong Department of Labor with visionary leadership. In this election year, Presbyterians should ask presidential candidates what they are going to do to strengthen the Department of Labor and ensure visionary leadership so it can take on the challenges faced by working Americans.

Advocating for Worker-Friendly Public Policies

The Presbyterian Hunger Program has done a superb job of educating Presbyterians about the critical role that public policy plays in reducing hunger. Although there are dozens of important public policies, those listed below are priorities for Interfaith Worker Justice and its allied groups in 2008:

Paid Sick Days. Almost half of all private sector workers and 79 percent of low-wage workers do not have a single paid sick day. For those who do have paid sick days, 94 million workers cannot use their paid sick days to care for sick children. It is important to set a federal standard that employers should provide a basic number of sick days as part of a minimum package for workers and that these days should be eligible for caring for children. The Healthy Families ACT (S910 in the Senate and H.R. 1542 in the House of Representatives) would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide seven paid sick days per year to workers who work at least 30 hours per week. These sick days could be used for when the employee or his/her dependent is sick. This is a common sense approach that would raise wages and take some of the fear out of getting sick for low-wage families. For a bulletin insert for your congregation about the issue, visit www.iwj.org/materials/materials_fw.html.

Create a rational immigration program. The large number of undocumented immigrants in the country is bad for workers. Immigrants do important work, pay taxes, and deserve fair pay and just treatment. Unfortunately, many unethical employers want to hire undocumented immigrants because they can be underpaid and exploited more easily, out of fear of deportation. The U.S. needs an immigration program that outlines an orderly way for immigrants in the country to become citizens, reunites divided families, and guarantees that all workers are protected by labor laws. Interfaith Worker Justice has been playing a national leadership role in supporting congregations providing sanctuary for immigrants, challenging unjust workplace raids and fighting the Social Security Administration’s no-match letters. Ultimately, the nation needs a rational immigration program that is fair and humane. Presbyterians have developed a new network called Presbyterians For Just Immigration (PFJI) to connect Presbyterians interested in various immigration issues and how these issues impact their communities, churches and presbyteries. PFJI is committed to fostering discussion, sharing resources, promoting advocacy, and writing liturgy on various immigration topics. To join the network, call Dana Dages at 888-728-7228 x5202.

Challenging Wage Theft. Too many workers are having their wages stolen from them by unscrupulous employers. All 19 IWJ-affiliated workers centers routinely see workers who have not been paid for all the hours they work. Allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit groups of workers undermines standards and working conditions for all workers. Interfaith Worker Justice is working with congressional leaders to create a pilot program through which the Department of Labor would partner with workers centers to target particularly egregious industries and conduct aggressive educational outreach to workers in those industries.

Future Religious Leaders

The future for engaging the religious community lies with its future religious leaders, most of whom are in seminary. With a few exceptions, most seminaries don’t adequately prepare future religious leaders to support workers in their congregations. Because of the importance of helping future religious leaders understand the issues facing low-wage workers and the important role of unions, Interfaith Worker Justice has partnered with labor unions to sponsor Seminary Summer, a program in which seminary students work with labor unions in summer internships. Students from three Presbyterian seminaries have participated. Outreach materials are available at all 10 Presbyterian seminaries.

In 2008, Interfaith Worker Justice is publishing a Worker Justice Reader, a compilation of the best articles providing a broad overview of worker justice issues. The Reader is designed to be the primary text for a seminary course, or for use in a broader social justice course.

Broadening the Faith Base for Workers

The biggest challenge for bringing faith to work for workers is finding ways to engage congregations in a more significant way. Congregations have few structures in place to educate workers about their rights, challenge companies to be ethical employers, advocate with elected leaders about just policies, and support low-wage workers who seek to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. If the religious community is going to bring its religious values to bear for workers, it must find new ways for engaging members of congregations.

Interfaith Worker Justice has created a pilot congregational program in which the organization is working with the congregation to increase its education and advocacy on worker justice issues. We send out a monthly e-newsletter designed for congregations, and we develop and distribute special resources. If your congregation would like to be a part of this pilot program, please contact Shawna Tuttle at stuttle@iwj.org.

Put Your Faith to Work for Workers

As people of faith, Christians, Jews and Muslims believe their religious traditions and Scriptures call them to be involved in seeking justice for workers. Given the rapid increase in families supported by parents in low-wage jobs, the religious community must find new ways to support workers, challenge employers, advocate with elected officials, and bring an ethical voice to economic life. Luckily, there are lots of things people can do. Here are a few:

1) Link up with a local interfaith religion-labor group in your community. The local organization will have the best handle on local worker struggles that need your support. Find the list of groups at www.iwj.org/outreach/lg.html.

2) Engage your congregation in worker issues. Review some of the following resources, all of which can be found at www.iwj.org:

•          Worker Rights Bulletin Inserts. These inserts are particularly effective if the congregation has low-wage and immigrant workers in it.

•          Establishing an Ethic for Worker Justice, an Assessment Tool for Congregations. This is an excellent tool for helping a congregation assess its own employment and purchasing practices.

•          Building Projects and Religious Values. This is a good resource for a congregation that is considering a building project.

•          Presbyterian Labor Day Resources. This resource packet, updated in 2008, can help your congregation lift up worker justice issues over Labor Day weekend.

To learn more about putting your faith to work for workers, visit the Interfaith Worker Justice website at www.iwj.org and join the organization to receive its congregational resources in Faith Works, IWJ’s quarterly newsletter.

Kim is a member of a local (storefront) United Church of Christ in Chicago where she also serves as their choir director.

Mission and that Other Inconvenient Truth

by Jake Young    [2-28-08]

In recent years, the Witherspoon Society has developed an active interest in Presbyterian world mission. Since the 2003 General Assembly in Denver, we have met several times with denominational world mission officials, hosted two global mission conferences, added a former mission coworker to our board, and initiated our Global Engagement Initiative resulting in the partial funding of a missionary currently serving in Jerusalem.

I suppose this is why we were invited to participate in the first-ever consultation on World Mission in the PC(USA) in January: “Renewed Call to Presbyterian Mission in the World! A Dialogue for Our Shared Future.” The consultation was the result of a Commissioner’s Resolution to the 217^th GA (2006). The CR (GA Item 08-17) requested the Moderator convene a “meeting regarding worldwide mission work of the PC(USA).”

Specific meeting participants included the Executive Director of the GAC, the Stated Clerk, representatives from the GAC and staff, the Outreach Foundation (OF), Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship (PFF), Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF), and “other persons concerned about the future of the worldwide mission work of the PC(USA).” Designated purposes of the meeting were manifold and basically entailed developing a common denominational missiological understanding in consultation with our global partner churches. To this end, six global partners were included in the consultation from Peru, India, Colombia, Ghana, Vietnam and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Why did the author of the CR, and subsequently the GA, determine a world mission consultation was necessary at this time? It’s difficult to know all the reasons. Presbyterian global mission has always been a multifaceted enterprise. Professor Scott Sunquist (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) raised our awareness of this historical reality by, among other things, noting the long history of missionary societies in Presbyterian denominations.

But, in just the last few years, a number of developments have taken place indicating a need for a denomination-wide consultation among interested parties. Perhaps the most significant is the development of The Antioch Partners (TAP). This organization, representing primarily PFF and OF, has become a missionary-sending agency, a novel development contrasting with the practice of sending missionaries from the central denominational offices since reunification in 1983.

From my perspective, the consultation was extraordinarily successful. By the end of our time together, we produced a two-page document outlining our shared values and goals in pursuing global mission as Presbyterians. [Find it at http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/invitationtoexpandingpartnership.pdf]

Though probably not permanently transcending the interpretive frameworks which divide us, we discovered a solid common ground during our three days together. I can happily report a sophisticated theology of mission on the part of all those at the consultation – even, and especially, among those with whom I anticipated some disagreements. Humility, for example, was clearly recognized as the starting point for all mission efforts.

Notwithstanding the generally conciliatory environment of the consultation, I must note special gratification for the presence of our global mission partners. A frequent reference throughout the meeting was Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat. (I read the 2.0 version. Now I understand 3.0 is out. Can one keep up?) Friedman notes some of the negative economic consequences of free market globalization, but on the whole, he is a cheerleader for what he describes as the “flattening of the earth.”

However, our global partners were not convinced. The Reverend Milton Mejia of Colombia explained, “The world is flat for only a small group of people.” Others echoed his critique of Friedman’s exuberance – an exuberance which borders on irrational. “Even for North Americans,” Mejia noted, “the world is not flat.” He then described how he has observed clear asymmetry in access to the “flatteners” Friedman propounds such as internet connectivity and cellular phones.

Verily, verily, the imperative need for economic justice really is the other inconvenient truth for us all.

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