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| Child Workers in Newton, NC |
In Illinois
and throughout the country there is a robust conversation taking place
regarding the minimum wage. Wages are a
fundamental part of Catholic social teaching, and so we should begin any
reflection on wages with the Church’s consistent messages on the issue. The following three quotations are all taken
from the authoritative document The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church:
“In order to
protect this relationship between family and work, an element that must be
appreciated and safeguarded is that of a family wage, a wage sufficient to
maintain a family and allow it to live decently. Such a wage must also allow for savings that
will permit the acquisition of property as a guarantee of freedom.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church #250)
“The relationship between labor and capital
often shows traits of antagonism that take on new forms with the changing of
social and economic contexts. In the
past, the origin of the conflict between capital and labor was found above all
‘in the fact that the workers put their powers at the disposal of the
entrepreneurs, and these, following the principle of maximum profit, tried to
establish the lowest possible wages for the work done by the employees.’ In our present day, this conflict shows
aspects that are new and perhaps more disquieting: scientific and technological progress and the
globalization of markets, of themselves a source of development and progress,
expose workers to the risk of being exploited by the mechanisms of the economy
and by the unrestrained quest for productivity.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,
#279, citing John Paul II Laborem Exercens, 11:
AAS 73 (1981), 604.)
“Remuneration is the most important means for achieving
justice in work relationships. The just
wage is the legitimate fruit of work.
They commit grave injustice who refuse to pay a just wage or who do not
give it in due time and in proportion for the work done. (cf. Lev. 19: 13; Deut. 24: 14-15; James 5:
4). A salary is the instrument that
permits the laborer to gain access to the goods of the earth. Remuneration for labor is to be such that man
may be furnished the means to cultivate worthily his own material, social,
cultural, and spiritual life and that of his dependents, in view of the
function and productiveness of each one, the conditions of the factory or
workshop, and the common good. The
simple agreement between employee and employer with regard to the amount of pay
to be received is not sufficient for the agreed upon salary to qualify as a
just wage because a just wage must not be below the level of subsistence of the
worker: natural justice precedes and is
above the freedom of the contract.”
(Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church #302, citing John Paul
II Laborem Exercens, 19; Catechism of the Catholic Church #2434; Pius XI
Quadragesimo Anno 23; Vatican Council II Gaudium et Spes 67; Leo XIII Rerum
Novarum 11)
“In economically developed countries, relatively unimportant
services, and services of doubtful value, frequently carry a disproportionately
high rate of remuneration, while the diligent and profitable work of whole
classes of honest, hard-working men gets scant reward. Their rate of pay is
quite inadequate to meet the basic needs of life. It in no way corresponds to
the contribution they make to the good of the community, to the profits of the
company for which they work, and to the general national economy.
“We therefore consider it Our duty to reaffirm that the
remuneration of work is not something that can be left to the laws of the
marketplace; nor should it be a decision left to the will of the more powerful.
It must be determined in accordance with justice and equity; which means that
workers must be paid a wage which allows them to live a truly human life and to
fulfill their family obligations in a worthy manner. Other factors too enter
into the assessment of a just wage: namely, the effective contribution which
each individual makes to the economic effort, the financial state of the
company for which he works, the requirements of the general good of the
particular country—having regard especially to the repercussions on the overall
employment of the working force in the country as a whole—and finally the
requirements of the common good of the universal family of nations of every
kind, both large and small.
(St. Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra, 70 and 71)
Three
important ideas arise from these texts:
- While the question of wages is connected to family obligations, that alone does not frame the entire issue. The wage issue is one of simple justice as a contract between laborer and owner, and so the wage issue also has an individual component to it. The Church recognizes that not every worker has a family, and so there is a proper balance in the Church’s treatment of the wage issue that seeks to address both family needs as well as those of the individual worker and how justice relates to both.
- The wage issue cannot be left to markets alone to settle the issue of justice. This point has been derived from human experience. The horrors of the plight of workers at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution made it painfully obvious that markets alone would not lead to just treatment of workers. In fact, quite the opposite was the case. If we leave the issue of wages and workers’ rights solely to the market it will create grave injustices that cause irreparable harm to families and individuals.
- A just wage is the right of all, not just to certain classes or professions. Regardless of the work performed, each person should be able to earn a just wage to support their families and to satisfy individual justice. Consequently, the minimum wage should also be able to adequately provide for the needs of a family.
In point of
fact, the original purpose of the minimum wage in the United States was
twofold: to provide basic justice to
workers that was being denied by employers, and to set a standard for a just
wage that could enable a person to provide for oneself and for one’s
family.
The chart
below demonstrates the impact that an increase in the minimum wage would have
on low income workers if we merely increase the current minimum wage to the
average wage within the industry that most often pays its workers at the
minimum wage:
Hourly wage
|
Weekly Pay (column 1 x 40)
|
Yearly earnings (column 2 x 52)
|
$7.25 (Federal
minimum wage)
|
$290
|
$15,080
|
$8.25
(Illinois minimum wage)
|
$330
|
$17,160
|
$13.86 (U.S.
Average wage for Leisure and Entertainment industry)
|
$554.40
|
$28,828.80
|
$24.25 (U.S.
Average wage for all non-farm workers)
|
$970
|
$50,440
|
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2014)
An increase
in the minimum wage would not lead to job losses as this industry cannot
outsource its jobs overseas as other industries do. Furthermore, states that have increased their
minimum wage have in fact seen a decline in unemployment since workers will
move to the state with the higher wage in an attempt to improve one’s economic
situation. That was the experience when
Missouri raised its minimum wage a few years ago. People from neighboring states moved and
Missouri saw its unemployment rate decline.
What is more, the state saw its revenues increase with the higher wage
and more people working, leading to more fiscal stability for the state. Finally, many people were able to lift
themselves out of poverty, thereby reducing the number of people needing public
assistance.
A number of
companies have demonstrated that higher wages do not lead to job losses and
huge price increases. Costco pays all of
its workers a living wage, and its prices are on par with Sam’s Club that does
not pay its workers a living wage. Quik
Trip gas stations also pay its workers a just wage, and it is one of the most
successful gas station chains in the Midwest with competitive prices for its
products in comparison to its competitors.
Wegmans grocery store chain has consistently paid its workers $2 above
its competitors; its prices are similar to the other stores and Wegmans is the
fastest growing grocery store chain in the east coast.
A final
consideration: while the profile of a
minimum wage worker is actually someone in their mid-30’s, it is a fact that
many young people are minimum wage workers, using their work as an opportunity
to pay for college and improve their economic status. In 1981, the average tuition for all colleges
was $8,438 while the minimum wage was $3.35 per hour. In 2011, the average tuition for all colleges
was 19,339, a 129% increase. Meanwhile,
the minimum wage in 2011 – which is still the current minimum wage – was $7.25
per hour, a 116% increase. But this does
not tell the whole story. Restaurant
wait staff still earn their current minimum wage of $2.39, a rate that has not
increased in 40 years, and so they rely on tips to help make the
difference. Needless to say, another
factor in the student loan crisis is found within these statistics.
Consequently,
based on Church teaching and human experience, the conversation around the
minimum wage must continue to remain robust so that we may at some point arrive
at a more just economy for our people.
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