Posted: Sept. 27, 2023
After a summer full of high-profile strikes and faith-based support for workers' rights, this month was a groundbreaking one in labor history.
President Biden just became the first modern American president to join a picket line in support of workers on strike for fair wages and benefits.
Alongside United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain, who frequently quotes Scripture, Biden made it clear what he believes: "Wall Street didn't build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions built the middle class."
For both Biden and Fain, their support for workers on strike is deeply rooted in their Christianity. As Pope Francis says, "There is no good society without a good union, and there is no good union... that doesn't transform the rejected stones of the economy into corner stones."
In his own pre-strike message to UAW workers, Fain cited Matthew 19: "Why is it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God? I have to believe that the answer, at least in part, is because in the kingdom of God, no one hoards all the wealth while others suffer or starve."
Loving our neighbors means supporting each other when we face inequality and injustice. In this age of billionaires and record-breaking corporate profits, social justice Christians must make it clear that we stand for workers' rights because of our faith, not in spite of it. Add your name now.
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Love thy neighbor.