Kimball Avenue Church and the People’s Tribune present

Worker Justice Symposium

Saturday, March 28, 2015, 1 pm

Logan Square Library, 3030 W. Fullerton Ave.

If you care about worker justice….  Link to the poster for all the details.

WJ Symposium Poster

Exodus 5:1-5

Moses and Aaron’s first labor negotiation with Pharaoh was a request for a 3-day vacation? How did it go?   Why did Pharaoh reject the request?   What does Pharaoh’s response tell you about the power dynamics in the room? How would Pharaoh’s granting of a vacation request shift the balance of power and undermine the system? Have you ever felt controlled by the labor system? When?

On March 8, Fortune magazine, posted an article about the power of the Fight For $15 campaign to raise minimum wages.  The article credits the Fight for $15 for the recent announcements by Walmart and others to raise their wages to $10 an hour by 2016.  Read the entire article HERE.

Come to our Worker Justice Symposium on Saturday, March 28, at the Logan Square Library, 3030 W. Fullerton Ave., and learn more about the Fight For $15.  The event begins at 1:00 pm.

Exodus 3:7-10; 4:29-31

What is God’s response to what God has seen and heard about the forced labor of the Hebrews? God says, “I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians.” But God’s action is to send Moses to Pharaoh as God’s representative. Some have suggested that God is calling Moses to be a labor organizer. Would that make you uncomfortable? If so, why? When the people heard that God had sent someone to help them, they bowed down and worshiped. Why do you think Moses’ arrival is such an encouragement? What could you do to encourage mistreated workers?

Actress Patricia Arquette caused a quite a stir in her Oscar acceptance speech when she advocated for equal pay for women.  She got a lot of love from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez that night, but the online response wasn’t so supportive.  So what’s the deal with women and wages?

In 1963, the US Congress passed the Fair Wage Act to address the gender wage gap.  At the time, women were making $.59 cents for every $1 made by men.  In the 50 years since, women are still making significantly less than men.  They are now making $.77 for every $1.  And the amount has been virtually unchanged for the past 13 years!  This wage gap is impacting more and more families as women increasingly become the main wage earners in their households.  You might think it is because women take jobs that are traditionally lower-wage like the retail or fast food.  But even in jobs that pay higher wages and take more skill, women lag men.

For instance, female computer programmers make $.05 cents less than their male colleagues, and female financial advisors make $.42 cents less!  Within a year of college graduation, women fall behind male counterparts across all segments of the labor market.  And the wage gap is even greater for women of color.

Over the past 10 years, members of congress have introduced legislation to eliminate the wage gap–most recently in April, 2014 by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.  The bill died in a procedural move in November, 2014.

April 14, 2015 is “Equal Pay Day”.   You can mark the day by wearing red because women are still “in the red” when it comes to wages.  Link HERE for more information on the gender pay gap from the Department of Labor.

Throughout this week, we will read portions of the story of Moses and the slavery of the Hebrews by the Egyptians. Again, we will view the story through the lens of labor and worker justice.

Exodus 2:11-15

What do you think Moses felt when he saw the mistreatment of workers? When you see worker injustice (slavery, wage theft, mistreatment of workers) what do you feel? What action did Moses take to address the injustice? Obviously, Pharaoh understood that an attack against a taskmaster was an attack against the system. Yet, killing a taskmaster was insufficient to stop the mistreatment? Why? What steps do you find yourself taking that are insufficient to address systemic worker injustice such as low wages or wage theft?

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.  On this day, we remember the struggle of women to secure rights equal to men.  In the workplace, women continue to lag behind men in pay, earning just $.77 for every $1 a man earns.  Beneath the inequity in pay is a presumption of male primacy, the foundation of Patriarchy–a social structure that we see practiced throughout the Bible.  But Patriarchy is not a ‘kingdom of heaven’ order–it is the order of the Fall.  In Luke 10: 38-42, Jesus takes a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling, affirming Mary’s choice to sit at his feet (the posture of a student/disciple) and refusing to “take it away from her.”  The gospel liberates women (and men) from the oppression of Patriarchy!  What Jesus has destroyed, let no man (or woman) reconstruct.

“The Hand That Feeds” is a new documentary that follows the attempt of a group of New York fast food employees to form a union to get better wages and working conditions.  It will be shown in Chicago on Tuesday, March 10, at 7:30 pm as a part of the new “Docs at the Box” series at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.  Following the screening, filmmakers Robin Blotnick and Rachel Lears will join a post-show discussion.   

Genesis 31:45-55

The story ends with each of these men going their separate ways while agreeing to never cross the line to harm the other—basically a mistrustful impasse. Looking back over the entire story, at what points could this ending have been avoided? Why do you think the relationship between management and labor is often hostile? Does it have to be?  Which side–management or labor–do you think is most responsible for justice in the workplace?  What actions would each side have to take to result in justice in the workplace?

There is no devotional for Sunday, March 8, 2015.

Yesterday, Glassdoor announced its 2015 list of “Best Companies” as determined by employee feedback.  The list of large (1000+ employees) companies include business services, tech companies, accounting firms and SURPRISE!!!–a fast food chain!  Check out the entire list HERE and see what employees say make a good company to work for.

Do you think these companies are practicing “worker justice”?  Is worker justice the same thing as employee satisfaction?