Bishops’ Labor Day Statement, Martin Luther King Jr. Fiftieth Anniversary Rally Highlight Economic Inequality

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops' 2013Labor Day statement parallels concerns for the economic inequality voiced atthe Let Freedom Ring rally on the National Mall August 28. The rally marked the50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther KingJr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

TheCivil Rights march half a century ago stressed not only the need for CivilRights but also the need for jobs and living wages. Addressing the anniversarycrowd, President Obama recalled the sit-ins at segregated lunch counters andcited Dr. King's observation in 1965:

"What good does it do to be able toeat at a lunch counter if you can't buy a hamburger?"

The bishops' annual Labor Daystatement cites rampant income inequality in the midst of uneven economicrecovery, urges bold action to create just economy with jobs that provideliving wage and calls for increased minimum wage, immigration reform, and an endto wage theft.

The Labor Day Statement was issuedby Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, chairman of the Committeeon Domestic Justice and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops (USCCB).

In the statement, dated September 2,Bishop Blaire said that most people want to live in a more equal society thatprovides opportunities for everyone.

"The current imbalances do nothave to be inevitable," Bishop Blaire wrote. "We must be bold inpromoting a just economy that reduces inequality by creating jobs that pay aliving wage and share with workers some profits of the company, as well asensuring a strong safety net for jobless workers and their families and thosewho are incapable of work."

The 2013 Labor Day statement isavailable online in English and Spanish at: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/labor-employment/labor-day-archives.cfm.

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Keywords: Bishop Stephen Blaire, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,President Obama, Labor Day, March onWashington, I Have a Dream, living wage, Civil Rights, U.S. bishops, U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee on Domestic Social Development

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