Labor Says Thank You to Black Churches

During last fall’s 32-day transit strike, Charles Square and fellow union activists gathered at Holman United Methodist Church to discuss developments and plan strategy with community members.

On Sunday, on the eve of Labor Day, Square returned to the church to say thank you. Square was among two dozen union leaders who visited five predominantly black churches, presenting each with a $2,500 check and asking for their continued support.

“Whenever we need something, we come to the clergymen to get it done,” said Square, chairman of United Transportation Union Local 1565. “The clergy brings the community together and strengthens the picket line.”

Sunday’s events were part of the “Labor in the Pulpit” program, a joint project of the AFL-CIO and the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. The interfaith group is composed of religious leaders who mobilize parishioners on working-family issues.

In addition to Holman, the caravan of labor organizers visited First AME Church, Second Baptist Church and First Christian New Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, and Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood.

About 100 churches in the Southland participated in “Labor in the Pulpit,” with guest speakers appearing at about 50.

Martin Ludlow, political director of the AFL-CIO’s Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, said several labor battles are planned for the coming year.

Security workers at Los Angeles International Airport are seeking health insurance benefits. And some assistants in the city’s Parks and Recreation Department say they are working full-time hours but receiving part-time wages.

In addition, labor forces and clergy members have teamed to defend Santa Monica’s recent living wage ordinance, which takes effect next summer. If the law survives a repeal drive, some large employers must pay workers at least $10.50 an hour, plus benefits.

“The struggles are far from over,” Ludlow said.

“Labor Day is not just a day to barbecue, sleep in and catch up with your neighbors,” he added. “It’s a day to reflect on all the hard-fought struggles won by the men and women here today: an eight-hour workday, minimum wage, overtime, health insurance and pensions.”

The relationship between labor and clergy has been particularly strong in Los Angeles County. Last year, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony actively supported striking janitors, and he endorsed living wage ordinances designed to pay workers more in areas with high costs of living.

Mahony also urged an end to a strike by thousands of county workers last year, helping labor leaders who privately worried about their ability to sustain the walkout.

In addition, a local group called Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice has led processions for four years calling for workers’ rights and a living wage. This year, the group delivered bitter herbs to one Santa Monica hotel that has resisted unionization. The group organized Sunday’s events locally.

Union leaders trace their strong ties with the church to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. King was assassinated in 1968 while leading a demonstration of predominantly black sanitation workers on strike in Memphis.

Today, many Latino and African American churchgoers are also union members.

“One of the richest assets that African American communities have is the churches,” said Barby Saunders, an official with Communications Workers of America Local 9586. “With corporate America being as big and as strong as it is, we need all the help we can get.”

Said Doug Moore, a local organizer with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, “Our struggles are identified with the struggles in the community. You can’t separate the two.”