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National Center for the Laity March PO Box 291102 2021 Initiatives Chicago, IL 60629 Number In Support of Christians in the World www.catholiclabor.org http://twitter.com/InitiativesNcl 257 Covid- 19 active and productive participants in the life of society and that society has a duty to enable them Covid-19 shows “the importance of the to participate in this way. This form of justice work performed by grocery store clerks, delivery can also be called contributive.” workers, home care providers and other essential The opposite of contributive justice is but modestly paid workers,” says Michael heard in phrases like self-made woman and self- Sandel in The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become sufficient man. Or, I got into college on my own of the Common Good? (Farrar, Straus [2020]; merit. Sandel examines others including, we are $28). Yet our society believes “that market wholly responsible for our lot in life. Or, the outcomes reflect the true social value of people’s market gives people what they deserve. Or, contribution to the common good.” In a market success is a sign of salvation. Or, work hard and society the money we make approximates our play by the rules to go as far as your talents take value; material success is our measure of moral you. All these phrases assume a connection worth. between material success and moral worth. Sandel is a popular teacher at Harvard Materially successful people know the Law School (www.justiceharvard.org). The term facts about inequality. They know that few start common good usually has a consumer context, poor and become rich and that few start rich and he writes. Because people differ on so many become poor. So, they rationalize about college things, “maximizing consumer preferences and admissions (Felicity Huffman and Lori desires” is our unifying theme. Freedom means Laughlin), about God’s grace (Joel Osteen) and the ability to choose among many options; more about the undeserving poor. “Humility among is always better than less. And in this secular the successful is not a prominent feature of context the common good equals the sum of contemporary social and economic life,” writes everyone’s preferences. Sandel. There is, however, an older notion of Those workers who lack a college common good, says Sandel. Aristotle is one degree and fall behind believe they don’t count, source; Catholic social thought is another. The says Sandel. They implicitly see themselves as common good, in this civic conception, is about blameworthy. Our meritocracy “inflicts self- deliberating over the purpose of our public, doubt…on those who fail to rise.” Their anger is common life and then acting for the good that we not about underemployment per se, but “about hold in common—like crushing Covid-19. the loss of recognition and esteem.” Sandel also draws on Catholic tradition Those who are making it (conservatives in explaining contributive justice, which is also and liberals) are often oblivious to “the culture of called social justice in mainstream doctrine. But elite condescension.” The equation of material in popular usage, the term social justice means success and moral worth is reinforced when left- almost anything, including its use in advertising behind workers are simply told to go to college. strategies and marketing campaigns. In What all workers want is to be fulfilled by Catholicism, by contrast, social justice is a contributing to the common good. “The dignity specific virtue. The act of social justice is like- of work consists in exercising our abilities to minded people getting together. Its outcome is answer…the need to be needed by those with better participation for the sake of an improved whom we share a common life,” concludes policy or institution. (Get What Is Social Justice, Sandel. NCL, PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629; Honest workers want to believe that we $5.50.) are all crushing Covid-19 together. But our Sandel quotes the 1986 U.S. Catholic meritocracy is premised on separation. It is bishops’ Economic Justice for All on social inadequate for addressing common problems. justice/contributive justice: “Social justice Meritocracy’s distinctions make it hard to implies that persons have an obligation to be believe that we are in solidarity. Attention Readers Hatchery (www.thehatcherychicago.org), a food incubator in Garfield Park neighborhood. Thank you for recent donations and encouraging To flourish in public life means to notes. For those who neglected NCL’s recent follow and to lead. Worker cooperatives offer appeal letter, there is an opportunity to donate on former prisoners the opportunity to practice both page eight of this newsletter. discipline and leadership in tangible ways. By running a business as they please, workers get to see the benefit and negatives of their policies up Taking the Initiative close, whereas the consequences of voting are With Coops more remote. ChiFresh provides an example of how arrangements of economic power instruct Those released from prison and starting people in power’s proper use, a lesson essential anew are sometimes called returning citizens. to true human development. ChiFresh and other But in what sense are they citizens? In all but coops don’t come with guarantees of success; three states incarceration means losing the right instead they invite workers to take a chance that to vote. In most states that right returns upon many citizens would balk at. Thus, ChiFresh release or completion of parole or probation. does not merely allow its employee-owners a Some may once again serve on juries. However, return to normal life. Rather, the employee- voting in elections, serving in juries and obeying owners end up setting an example of citizenship. the law fall short of what it means to be a citizen. All workers can take more power on the job and The formerly incarcerated bring the question of accept more responsibility for the wellbeing of citizenship into relief. It applies to everyone. our community, even if doing so involves some What does a citizen do? Citizenship is about risk to livelihoods. To try is to be citizens. sharing power. Voting is only one example. ChiFresh Kitchen (135 N. Kedzie, Taking the Initiative Chicago, IL 60612; www.chifreshkitchen.com) Against Wage Theft enables a small group of formerly incarcerated citizens to share power and exercise it directly. “You shall not withhold overnight the ChiFresh is a food-service contractor owned and wages of your laborer.” (Leviticus 19:13) run by the formerly incarcerated. It is structured “Workers deserve their pay.” (1 Timothy 5:18) democratically, one vote per worker. Employers are overwhelmingly honest Camille Kerr (Upside Down; with payroll. However, wage theft does occur. It www.upside-down.co), an experienced is a sin; during Covid-19 it is a mortal sin. consultant to cooperatives, helps ChiFresh Since March 2020 wage theft has employee-owners navigate the particulars of increased, says Ligia Guallpa of Worker’s founding a coop including financial accounting. Justice Project (365 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY Coop members must learn to act as employees in 11211; www.workersjustice.org). That’s why the workshop and then as board-members in the WJP brought a protest group to an Upper East office. They choose whether to hire outside Side construction site, pressuring a contractor to management or appoint managers from among pay back $29,000 in stolen wages. In these their own ranks. An established food service situations, WJP finds, primary contractors feign contractor, City Fresh Foods (PO Box 255698, ignorance of their sub-contractors’ behavior. Dorchester, MA 02125; www.cityfresh.com), WJP also went to Manhattan on behalf of food helped ChiFresh comply with food service delivery bicyclists. (The Tablet of Brooklyn, industry regulations and now with recipes, 12/12/20) sourcing policies and compliance. The combined Several schemes are used in the effort of the two means that amid Covid-19 thievery. In addition to construction sites it limitations, ChiFresh is providing food to the occurs in big box warehouses, retail stores, with needy. farm workers, plus data entry and call center ChiFresh, it should be noted, is part of th workers, chefs and with free-lance journalists. Urban Growers Collective (1200 W. 35 St. During late-2019 Jennifer Gollan and #118, Chicago, IL 60609; colleagues wrote “Worked Over” about wage www.urbangrowerscollective.org), a network of theft in senior citizen care facilities for Reveal urban farms, food operators, worker centers, (1400 65th St. #200, Emeryville, CA 94608; policy advocates, and other community www.revealnews.org). Gollan’s thorough organizations. Plus, ChiFresh operates out of The research found examples of all the skimming Many affected workers don’t report tactics. The caregivers might be immigrants, wage theft, says Clayton Sinyai, CLN director. students or even long-standing employees. A “These are mostly immigrants.” They tell us that facility that is caught and fined might not pay the employers get away with it because they restitution. Yet Medicaid continues presume immigrants “don’t know how to reimbursement. A far away private equity firm navigate the system or they’ll be afraid to file a might have an ownership stake, adding to the complaint.” difficulty of enforcing labor standards. For more on this topic get Wage Theft New York City, Seattle, San Francisco in America by Kim Bobo (National Center for and other municipalities try to enforce standards. the Laity, PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629; Arise Chicago (1436 W. Randolph St. #202, $14). Chicago, IL 60607; www.arisechicago.org), a worker center, researches and lobbies against Taking the Initiative wage theft. One result is a new office of Labor For Law Enforcement Standards (121 N. LaSalle St. #800, Chicago, IL 60602).