Laborious process: Group presses Catholic social teaching on work

According to a statement issued last year by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, work is a way of "expressing and realizing our dignity, the primary context in which we discover our gifts and talents, an opportunity to partner with God in the ongoing act of creation."

In his 1981 encyclical "On Human Work," Pope John Paul II wrote: "Just remuneration for the work of an adult who is responsible for a family means remuneration which will suffice for establishing and properly maintaining a family and for providing security for its future."

Social teaching

The Solidarity Committee of the Capital District/Jobs with Justice has been working for 18 years to see those visions become a reality in New York State.

"We try to raise the standards for working people in New York State, help them to come together and learn how they can improve their lives and the lives of all working people, their families and communities," said John Funiciello, committee chairman.

Goals

"If we doubled the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, it still wouldn't be enough for a family of four to live decently," he told The Evangelist.

A low minimum wage also affects the wages of those who work for a slightly higher rate per hour, which is still too low to support a family. "The main worker in the family has to carry a part-time job, and other family members may be working one or even two extra jobs," he said, a situation which has a negative impact on family life and society.

Dairy problems

"Most people don't realize the plight of the dairy farmer in New York," said Mr. Funiciello, who attends St. Mary's in Sharon Springs, a mission of St. Vincent's parish in Cobleskill. Dairy is the state's biggest agricultural product, ranking New York third in production to only California and Wisconsin.

"It currently costs dairy farmers here more money to produce 100 pounds of milk than [they earn from selling] it," he noted. "When this occurs year after year, these farmers end up using all the equity they have just to produce their milk; equity not only in their homes and equipment, but also in their health, their emotions and their spiritual lives. They sacrifice everything just to keep going when the market pays them less than their costs."

On the farm

"Because they make little profit, they cannot pay farmworkers higher wages," Mr. Funiciello said. "That, in turn, keeps wages inadequate for supporting the worker's family."

The farm owner finds that after several years, the negative impact of low prices has forced him to "bottom out."

"Most people do not understand how much land is needed to produce food," he added. Each year, farms are decreasing in size as farmers sell their land because they cannot afford to stay in business.

Making a difference

"We work with organized labor to establish just wages and to provide benefits that workers need: access to affordable quality childcare, healthcare and other benefits, such as family leave issues," Mr. Funiciello explained. "We send a monthly newsletter to our members to keep them aware of current labor issues that may impact them.

"At the collective bargaining tables, we bargain with corporations on all worker issues. Although they usually come to the table with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, this bargaining should be in good faith. The dignity and rights of workers is a very big, ongoing issue."

(Some related websites are www.poultry-pastoral.org, www.osjspm.org, www.cmfn.org and www.pernet.net/~sinclair/home.htm. For information on the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District/Jobs with Justice, call 869-9023.)

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