w
American Friends Service Committee w Bread for
the World w Office of Social Justice of the Christian
Reformed Church w Church World Service w
Disciples Center for Public Witness (Disciples of Christ) w
Ecumenical Poverty Initiative w Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America w Faith in
Public Life w Franciscan Action Network w
Friends Committee on National Legislation w Interfaith
Worker Justice w Islamic Society of North America w
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
w Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
w National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of
the Good Shepherd w National Council of Churches of Christ in
the U.S.A. w National Religious Campaign Against Torture w
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby w
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) w Religious
Action Center of Reform Judaism w Union for
Reform Judaism w Unitarian Universalist Association w
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries w
The United Methodist Church -- General Board of Church and Society w
April 22,
2015
Dear Mr.
President,
In the faith
community, we believe that every person is a child of God, that God wants
shalom, that is, peace and wholeness for each of us, and that there is inherent
dignity in work and the fruits of labor.
As you know,
our nation generates great abundance yet only a few among us share in the
bounty. This growing gap between the
wealthy and everyone else is not only a political issue, but also a moral one
that we are compelled by conscience to address. Indeed, it is an affront to human
dignity when hardworking men and women are deprived of fully enjoying the
fruits of their labor and must struggle simply to feed, clothe and shelter
themselves and their children.
Your recent executive
orders to boost the federal contract minimum wage to $10.10 and to prevent wage
theft and other legal violations on federal contracts begin to address this
great challenge.
These orders
have been transformative in the economic life of our nation, inspiring many leading
business executives and public officials to follow your example. During the past year, the mayors of New York,
Chicago, and Philadelphia issued their own executive orders covering municipal
contractors and the CEOs of
companies like The Gap, IKEA, Wal-Mart, and Target announced that they too
would raise wages for their lowest paid workers. In addition, numerous cities,
counties and states are now moving, or have already passed, legislation to
ensure workers aren’t cheated out of a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work. All
together, the living standards of 9 million workers will be enhanced because
you expressed solidarity with workers who are struggling to survive.
As leaders
of faith communities in the United States, we express our gratitude to you for exercising
moral leadership by using your executive powers to start lifting low-wage
workers out of poverty. Our faith
traditions advocate for justice, and we recognize that your actions provide a
firm foundation for rebuilding a more fair and equitable society.
However, given
the scale of human suffering caused by poverty jobs, we urge you to do even
more to aid our nation’s most vulnerable workers by promoting living wage and benefit standards on
federal contracts with the power of your pen. We believe that if you lead on this, our
economy and labor market will once again follow your lead.
We therefore call on you to issue
a “Model Employer Executive Order” that provides a contracting preference for
companies that pay living wages of at least $15 an hour, offer good benefits
and paid-time off for sickness and care-giving, provide full-time hours and
predictable work schedules, as well as promote the rights of workers to bargain
collectively so they do not need to strike to have their voices heard.
By taking
bold action before you leave office, you can ensure that all people have an
opportunity to live into their God-given potential. Thank you for considering our request. We would gladly accept an invitation to meet
with you to discuss this issue further.
Sincerely,
The Reverend David Beckmann
President
Bread for
the World
Taquiena Boston
Multicultural
Growth & Witness Director
Unitarian
Universalist Association
The Reverend Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
Executive
Director
Disciples
Center for Public Witness (Disciples of Christ)
The Reverend Jennifer Butler
CEO
Faith in
Public Life
Sister Simone Campbell, SSS
Executive
Director
NETWORK, A
National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Patrick Carolan
Executive
Director
Franciscan
Action Network
Lawrence Couch
Director
National
Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Father John Edmunds, S.T.
General
Custodian
Missionary
Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
The Reverend Sèkinah Hamlin
Director
Ecumenical
Poverty Initiative
The Reverend Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe
General
Secretary
The United
Methodist Church -- General Board of Church and Society
Aura Kanegis
Director for
Public Policy and Advocacy
American
Friends Service Committee
Gerry G. Lee
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Rudy López
Executive
Director
Interfaith
Worker Justice
The Reverend Stacy Martin
Director,
Advocacy
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America
Peter Vander Meulen
Director
Office of
Social Justice of the Christian Reformed Church
The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II
Director for
Public Witness
Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Director,
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Senior Vice
President, Union for Reform Judaism
Diane Randall
Executive
Secretary
Friends
Committee on National Legislation
Martin Shupack
Director of
Advocacy
Church World
Service
Sandy Sorensen
Director,
Washington Office
United
Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
The Reverend Ron Stief
Executive
Director
National
Religious Campaign Against Torture
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National
Director
Office for
Interfaith & Community Alliances
Islamic
Society of North America
Jim Winkler
General
Secretary and President
National
Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
