Dignity+of+Work+and+the+Rights+of+Workers

Explanation of Theme
Through our notes in class, we know that "our work is a sign of our participation in God's work. People have the right to decent work, just wages, safe working conditions, and to participate in decisions about their work. There is value in all work. Our work in school and work is a way to participate in God's work of creation. Work is a way to use our talents and abilities to thank God for God's gifts."

Work is an essential responsibility that shapes and fulfills human dignity by fulfillment of personal responsibility. Each person has the vocation to work, and it is essential for people to work for the common good. It helps all humans to work together with God. Economy was made to serve people, not the other way around.

Dignity and Rights of Workers Quick Facts

 * The Dignity and Right of Workers is the fifth statement in Catholic Social Teaching.


 * It’s main purpose is to help and support workers all across the world.


 * We are to make sure that we are supporting unions, living wage, and equal rights.


 * This states that the economy must serve us and not the other way around.


 * Minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7. 25 per hour.


 * We have to make unions to make sure that everyone has a good pay and that everyone is able to support themselves.


 * Most people are serving the economy, which is the complete opposite of what you are supposed to do.


 * The Church says that a family of four should be able to be supported on one parent/guardian’s salary, making minimum wage.


 * We as teenagers can make sure that the items we buy are made in America and if not that they were not made in a sweatshop or a factory.


 * We can make sure that we are not discriminating against any one because of the gender, age, or disabilities.


 * You should encourage your parents to help the people who don’t have jobs.


 * You can warn your parents about how so many people do not have jobs today and are struggling to feed themselves.


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">You can donate to your Church or even give tips to the lady or gentleman at the cash register.

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Mission of the Seventy-two
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">After this the Lord appointed seventy [-two]others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household. If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.

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<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” =====

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Real Life Example
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Think about it, the economy should serve the people. The people shouldn’t serve the economy. Work is way more than a living. It is a way to continue our lives in God’s world and to work within his greater plan.For example a women teaching in West Chester School District, working full days, will earn 50,000 dollars a year not including tax taken out. This means that she would earn enough money to send two children to Sts. Peter and Paul for 6,000 dollars total.Each month she has to pay 500 dollars a month to pay off school tuition. She has to pay 1,100 dollars a month to pay for her rent. In her two bedroom apartment she sleeps on the couch every night and her two children have their own rooms. Not to mention she needs to provide health insurance, electricity, pay for phone bills and water bills. If both of her children and her have a cell phone, they would have to pay 140 dollars a month for their cell phone bill. She will have to pay at least 140 dollars a month on her gas bill and pays 60 dollars a month for her car insurance. She also has to pay 100 dollars a month for pharmacy items such as shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and things like pads. She has to support her family with clothing also, which would cost 100 dollars a month. If her family also has a TV/Internet plan from Verizon, she will have to pay 100 dollars a month. Both of her children play different sports, her son plays lacrosse, and her daughter plays soccer. After all the sports fees and cost of clothing it costs 40 dollars a month for sports and their fees. She pays 35 dollars for her electricity with heat included, and she pays 20 dollars for water. She also has to pay for her laundry, which would be 30 dollars a month. She would have to fund her family with food which would cost her 400 dollars a month. Lastly, she has to pay 415 dollars a month to cover her family’s health insurance. This totals to 3150 dollars. This doesn’t include going to the movies, or going out to dinner. The leftover 1000 dollars she has, she has to put in savings for her children.

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Links to Good Articles

 * 1) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">[|Apple and Ethics] : This article talks not only about Apple and their violations of labor laws, but it also talks about how to be a good consumer and support good work ethics.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">[]: This article is about Abercrombie and Fitch's child labor.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">[] : This article is about about living wage and how a woman tried to raise it.

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">References and Citations
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">American Province of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. //Franciscan Sisters at Springfield//. APHSSF, 2009. Web. 6 January 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Alta Mode in the Philippines." //International Labor Rights Forum//. Interational Labor Rights Forum. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Biastre, Sam. "IHS Child Slave Labor News :: Abercrombie and Fitch Child Labor." //IHS Child Slave Labor News :: Home//. MTW Studios, Nov. 2010. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Catholic Charties, Central Texas. //Catholic Charities, Central Texas.// CCCTX, 2011. Web. 6 January 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Columbus, Category In. "A&F Resists Proposals on Conduct." //The Columbus Dispatch//. Dispatch Printing Company, 29 May 2010. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Deppe, Blake. "Abercrombie & Fitch Sells the Corporate, Un-American Look Peoplesworld." //Home Peoplesworld//. Creative Commons, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Gertner, Jon. "What Is a Living Wage?" //The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia//. 15 Jan. 2006. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Gratton, Mary Ann. "Themes of Catholic Social Teaching." Villa Maria Academy. Villa Maria Academy, 4 January 2012. Lecture.

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Definitions
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">__Dignity__: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self- respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation, relatively standing; rank.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">__Rights:__ <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">in accordance with what is good, proper, or just. Correct in judgement, opinion, or action.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">__Work__: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor, toil. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">__Union:__ <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> a number of persons, states, etc., joined or associated together for some common purpose

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">__Labor:__ <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">__ Salary __ :  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">a fixed compensation periodically paid to a person for regular work or services.

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Important Questions
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What does the Church say about families of four? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What is one way teens can help? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What does it mean to serve the economy? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What does it mean for the economy to serve us? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What is minimum wage in PA? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What is one minimum wage paying job? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What is one place where child labor is used? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What is a labor union? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In basic terms, what is the Dignity and Rights of Workers about?

<span style="color: #f9872f; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Group Members
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">8A: Catherine C., Laura D.,and Anna R. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">8B: Bridget F., Grace K., and Julianne B.