Nelson Stands with Hundreds of Striking Workers

(stay tuned to this blog for more information about and photos of the demonstration)

Action Alert:

This morning, the Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, Director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness, joined hundreds of striking workers – mostly janitors and food services workers – from the U.S. Capitol, Pentagon, Senate, Smithsonian Institution and other federal landmarks, as they walked off their jobs in protest of poverty pay.

Click here to write to the President and walk with low-wage workers too.

J. Herbert Nelson Marches with Good Jobs Nation Workers
in July 2014

The Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Director for Public Witness, and several other faith leaders joined with workers to call on President Obama to lead by example and champion the growing “Fight for 15” movement by signing Model Employer Executive Order that gives a preference to federal contractors who pay living wages of at least $15 an hour, provide decent benefits like paid leave, and allow them to collectively bargain so they need not go on strike to be heard.  

Today, the federal contracting process awards contracts to the lowest bidder, making the government the largest low-wage job creator in the country, funding over 2 million poverty jobs through contracts, loans, and grants to private businesses. Taxpayer dollars should create good jobs that pay workers livable wages, provide benefits, paid sick leave, and dignity in the workplace. We know from past movements that Executive Orders related to federal contract hiring can lead the marketplace, creating a tide that lifts all workers and builds a stronger economy.

This morning was the twelfth strike in two years by low-wage contract workers who are organizing under the banner of Good Jobs Nation. This is the second time in a year that Reverend Nelson has walked with these workers.  In response to previous strikes and Congressional gridlock, President Obama declared he would “lead by example” by signing executive orders to boost the minimum wage to $10.10 and end wage theft on federal contracts. In the wake of the President’s orders last year, the CEOs of private companies like The Gap, IKEA, McDonalds and Wal-Mart announced that they too would hike starting pay and several cities passed ordinances to end wage theft. 

However, just like the thousands of fast food worker who are calling for better pay, benefits, and working conditions, federal contract workers say they need “More than the Minimum” to survive. Even after President Obama’s executive orders, the U.S. Government continues to be America’s largest low-wage job creator. We can do so much better.

Reverend Nelson was joined in his solidarity with low-wage workers by several other religious leaders who wrote a letter to President Obama calling for his moral leadership in response to the suffering created by poverty wages –

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.  

Click here to stand with Reverend Nelson and low-wage workers in calling on the President to use taxpayer dollars to create good jobs, not poverty jobs.

For the complete letter and list of signatures, please visit the Office of Public Witness blog.

Celebrating Public Witness Victories

Washington Report to Presbyterians, Spring 2015

Victory on Establishing Diplomatic Relations with Cuba

In December 2014, the U.S. made a historic step forward in its Cuba policy when the Obama Administration announced that the U.S. will have full diplomatic relations with Cuba, ease travel restrictions, and review the additional policies that hinder the free relationship between the two countries. This was a huge victory for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the many Presbyterians who have worked together with our partners in Cuba for over fifty years. The Office of Public Witness has worked to advocate and to help Presbyterians advocate for this change of policy. Through action alerts, meetings with Congress and the Administration, and hosting delegations of our Cuban church partners, we have continually pressed for a full and free relationship between the two countries. We are looking forward to making sure these changes are fully implemented in the coming year.

Standing with Low-Wage Workers

J. Herbert Nelson stands with low-wage
workers in April 2015

In July 2014, the Reverend J. Herbert Nelson stood with striking low-wage federal contract workers to call on the President to set a new standard in the U.S. labor market. As the largest creator of low-wage jobs in the country, the U.S. government, through its contracts, has tremendous power to lead the labor market and improve jobs for millions of workers. When President Obama signed an executive order last summer requiring federal contractors to pay their workers at least $10.10 per hour, he set a standard for American workers, and many corporations, cities, and municipalities followed his lead. Days after Reverend Nelson stood with striking workers at Union Station, the President signed the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order” that will ensure that federal contracts are scrutinized for their compliance with federal labor law, such as wage theft protections and safe workplace regulations. This effort to raise the floor of the U.S. labor market continues in 2015 as the Office of Public Witness stands with workers who are demanding more livable wages and contract preferences for good employers who undercut the poverty jobs market by using taxpayer dollars to create good jobs.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation in Iran

A central concern for the PC(USA) has been Nuclear Proliferation and adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Last year, the Office of Public Witness worked in coalition with our interfaith and ecumenical partners in support of negotiated solution to the Iran nuclear issue and in opposition to harmful sanctions proposed in Congress. Because of your response to our alerts and the coalition of faith partners working in DC, we stopped the additional sanctions that would have derailed an agreement. Early in spring 2015, a historic agreement with Iran was announced — the key parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program. The details remain to be worked out, but this is a tremendous step forward. We will continue to make the final agreement a key priority in public witness work this year.

 

OPW Staff J. Herbert Nelson and Leslie Woods join religious
leaders to meet with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy

A Step in Addressing Global Climate Change

In 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized new regulations under the Clean Air Act to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. Power plants are the largest carbon emitter in the U.S. economy, contributing 30 percent of U.S. carbon pollution. Absent more comprehensive action from Congress, this regulation by the EPA is the largest step the U.S. has taken toward reducing its carbon emissions and beginning to address global climate change and disruption. The faith community was active in calling for these regulations. The Office of Public Witness provided official comments and testimony during the rule-making process, provided resources for hundreds of Presbyterians to weigh in on the rules, and joined with the inter-religious community to raise a voice for Creation Care in the EPA’s efforts to reduce carbon pollution.

Labor Day Action Alert: Celebrating Workers by Improving Jobs

Today, we observe Labor Day. This national holiday is “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”[i]

In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we have long supported the rights of workers to organize, to share in workplace decisions and productivity growth, to seek protections from dangerous working conditions, and to gain time and benefits to enable full family life.[ii] Today we give thanks for workers and for vocation, which is a gift from God.

But the state of today’s economy does not serve all workers. According to a new paper published by the Economic Policy Institute:

“Comparing the first half of 2014 with the first half of 2007 (the last period of reasonable labor market health before the Great Recession), hourly wages for the vast majority of American workers have been flat or falling. And even since 1979, the vast majority of American workers have seen their hourly wages stagnate or decline—even though decades of consistent gains in economy-wide productivity have provided ample room for wage growth.

“The poor performance of American workers’ wages in recent decades—particularly their failure to grow at anywhere near the pace of overall productivity—is the country’s central economic challenge. Indeed, it’s hard to think of a more important economic development in recent decades. It is at the root of the large rise in overall income inequality that has attracted so much attention in recent years. A range of other economic challenges—reducing poverty, increasing mobility, and spurring a more complete recovery from the Great Recession—also rely largely on boosting hourly wage growth for the vast majority.[iii]

J. Herbert Nelson walks with Clergy Partners and Workers.

We must take proactive steps to improve jobs and wages, and to reduce inequality in this nation. This year, the Office of Public Witness has been working closely with partners at Interfaith Worker Justice and Good Jobs Nation. At a July 29 joint action of striking workers and religious leaders, Director for Public Witness, J. Herbert Nelson said,

“In the church, we believe in the inherent dignity of work and that God has called each of us to a vocation. Workers have a right to be compensated for their work with a fair wage that provides a living. One of the best ways to improve jobs is to give workers the leverage to organize for better pay, working conditions, and benefits. We have allowed greed to perpetuate a class of working poor in this country, even though there is easily enough for everyone to have what we each need. Worker pay has stagnated while productivity and wealth have skyrocketed. This is our shared failure and it is a sin.[iv]

There are many steps we must take to reverse the widening economic divide in our country, but one of the first could be to raise the minimum wage above the poverty level.

Write to your members of Congress and tell them to raise the minimum wage.

Read J. Herbert Nelson’s reflection on Work, Worth and Value,[v] published this summer shortly after his arrest in an act of solidarity and nonviolent civil disobedience.  Read more about the Office of Public Witness’ work on jobs and labor justice on our blog.

Celebrate Labor Day with us by speaking out for decent jobs and good wages. A job should keep you out of poverty, not trap you in it.

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[i] “A History of Labor Day,” U.S. Department of Labor, http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm

[ii] This characterization of PC(USA) support for workers’ right to unionize is excerpted from the Social Creed for the 21st Century, approved by the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

[iii] “Why America’s Workers Need Faster Wage Growth—And What We Can Do About It,” by Elise Gould; Economic Policy Institute. Aug. 27, 2014. http://www.epi.org/publication/why-americas-workers-need-faster-wage-growth

[iv] “Federal Jobs Lead the Marketplace,” Office of Public Witness blog; July 29, 2014; http://officeofpublicwitness.blogspot.com/2014/07/federal-jobs-lead-marketplace.html

[v] “Work, Worth and Value: a Reflection on Work by J. Herbert Nelson,” Advocacy as Discipleship, a publication of the Office of Public Witness; Office of Public Witness blog; July 30, 2014; http://officeofpublicwitness.blogspot.com/2014/07/work-worth-and-value.html

Washington Report to Presbyterians August 2014

The Summer 2014 Washington Report to Presbyterians went into the mail at the end of August!  

Click here to view or download the complete Washington Report to Presbyterians (PDF document).

THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE PC(USA) OFFICE OF PUBLIC WITNESS INCLUDES:

Reverend J. Herbert Nelson Joins Workers and Faith Leaders in Demanding Better Jobs for Low-Wage Workers

On Tuesday, July 29, 2014, the Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, II, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Director for Public Witness, joined with workers and other leaders in the faith community… in an action of nonviolent civil disobedience to urge President Obama to improve jobs for millions of workers. Read more.

Advocacy Training Weekend: Save the Dates April 17-20, 2015 – “Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration & Systems of Exploitation”

Come to Washington, DC, April 17-20, 2015, for the 13^th annual National Gathering of Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice titled, “Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration and Systems of Exploitation.” …The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is proud to sponsor and collaborate in planning this conference that seeks to build a movement to shake the foundations of systems of human exploitation (Acts 16). We further invite you to arrive early and attend “Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day,” an opportunity for Presbyterians to gather, reflect, educate, network, fellowship, and be in prayer together. Together we can build a movement to Break the Chains!  Read More.

The Office of Public Witness at the 221^st General Assembly

The staff members of the Office of Public Witness were busy at the General Assembly (GA), which took place June 14-21, 2014, in Detroit, MI… It was a busy week for us. Even as we supported the commissioners, advisory delegates and corresponding members with our prayers and expertise, J. Herbert Nelson also made five speaking appearances. We all had a great time connecting with old allies and new partners for justice all over the place – from the Exhibit Hall to the committee rooms to the Plenary floor. Here are just a few highlights…

Meet our 2014 Summer Fellows: A Celebration of Service Learning

Kyle Cristofalo, Anne Fyffe, Alissa Rashid, and David Clifford. Click here.

Welcoming PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers

Jenny Hyde and AmyBeth Willis. Click here.

Click here to view or download the complete Washington Report to Presbyterians (PDF document).