Editorial

Labor Day: Reminds us to pay more attention to work-related issues

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Most of us don't think of Labor Day as a very exciting holiday. Perhaps the best thing is that we get a day off from our regular work week.

Yet, this year Labor Day we should be paying more attention to work-related issues. Our country and the rest of the world are embroiled in conflicts with economic issues often the underlying cause. Once respected major corporations such as Enron have gone bankrupt due to mismanagement and scandalous misuse of investors' funds. The list goes on and on.

While corporate executives still enjoy outrageously high salaries and perks, many of today's workers find themselves facing downsizing and cutbacks in salaries and benefits. Many workers still don't have health insurance. Costs for food, housing, clothing, and medicines continue to skyrocket. Exorbitant profits are made in the entertainment and athletic arenas.

What can we do? So what can we do about all of this? Can individuals even make a difference in labor issues? I admit these are daunting, if almost impossible, matters to understand, let alone influence.

Yet, I can't help thinking that nearly everyone is involved in work in some way. We are employers or employees. We are investors. We are consumers.

What we do does make a difference - both as individuals and as groups. As employers or bosses, we can treat our employees with respect and provide them with the best possible working environment and benefits. As employees, we should treat our coworkers with respect, too, and be hard-working and honest in our dealings within our work place and outside of it.

Our roles as investors and consumers. As investors, we should be careful where we put our money, especially in mutual funds or other investments with multiple portfolios. We should keep an eye on the companies whose stock we buy: look at those boring reports; check out what is happening with our money; fill out ballots; even attend stockholder meetings.

As consumers, we have the power of the pocketbook. We can decide what to buy or not - it's as simple as that. We don't have to be influenced just by advertising gimmicks or status products. If we discover a company is using sweat-shop labor, we can boycott those products.

Catholic teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has several sections which review the basics of Catholic social teaching on economic activity and social justice. Two sentences seem to summarize what the church says about work: "Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. . . Work honors the Creator's gifts and the talents received from him."

I bet many of us haven't thought of our work as an extension of God's creative powers, but that's just what it is. We can exercise those powers for good or evil. Which do you choose?

Mary C. Uhler, editor