Christians and labor unions

[cubeus19]

Hi guys, I was wondering what are your views concerning labor unions? Should Christians be in labor unions? As of now, I'm unsure. I've heard some say that Christians should stay out of them since they promote communism while others say you can still either stay in them or resign and still keep your job and maybe the same benefits that you had with your job while as a union member if you do certain things such as writing a specific note to the union stating that you don't want your dues going to political of social agendas or pet projects and that you would rather have your dues go to charity instead. That plus asking if they will accommodate your religious beliefs. I was mostly wondering because I have a relative who works for a bread company and everyone in that company is under a union, and the state that he lives in is a forced union state. He says he currently loves the job, he gets paid very well, he has health insurance and retirement, and from what he last told me the way it works in that particular company, you work twenty years and then you can retire if you like. I was wondering that if I didn't have these doubts about labor unions that would be a job I would like to get into since other people I know (both them and their spouses) in order to make ends meet have to both work not one but two eight hour jobs a day! I was wondering if you don't get into a job that is part of a union or don't have like a big master's degree in something is working two eight hour jobs a day the ONLY Christ-centered way to keep from starving to death? Let me know what you think. Thankx.

[RickD]

cubeus, To put this as simply as possible, that's a decision only you can make. Have you tried praying about it? Most, if not all of us have on-the-job issues that conflict with our faith. If this is an important issue to you, ask God for guidance. I hope it works out for you.

[Canuckster1127]

There's a subculture in American Christianity that sees anything other than american capitalism as somehow contrary to Christianity and Christian Values.

Christianity existed long before the advent of capitalism and communism, and many other forms of economic worldviews. A relationship with Christ exists independently of these factors as well, although certainly, it's natural for views in one area to impact views in another.

I've worked jobs in a union environment as well as non-union environments. All things being equal, I preferred Union Shops because the benefits were better and the pay was better. There's nothing wrong with doing the things necessary to care for your family where the opportunities exist as long as you're clear in your conscience. The only issues that I dealt with at my time in a Union Shop was the knowlege that some of my dues were going at the time to support a political agenda and party, whose platform I didn't agree with. In the US, there's now legal relief mandated in these situations where you can direct that the portion of your dues not go in this direction. It can be a practical issue in terms of union shop stewards black-balling you, but this has been around now for long enough that I bet it's not as big an issue anymore.

There's nothing wrong with Unions in the proper context in my opinion. They and the labor movement in this country have been responsible for curtailing child labor, promoting education and literacy, the 40 hour work-week, overtime pay, benefits and the list can go on. Like any human organization, there are corrupt elements. That's true of government and it's true of Corporate America and Management too. No one element of our economy is demonstrably more virtuous than any other. There's a reason why checks and balances within systems tend to work and that's because they recognize our self-centered tendencies and work to balance them with other people's needs as well.

If you can get a good job with a union based work-place, in general, in my opinion, there's no reason to equate that with compromising or violating your Christian Faith. Unless you (as some people seem to ) think that Jesus came 2000 years ago to promote American Capitalism 1700 years later and continuing. I'm glad for the country I live in, glad for the opportunities, but I don't confuse economic systems as having much to do with my primary relationship with Christ. I could and would walk with and love Him in any other context and do it with a clear conscience.