". . .the essence of the good society can be easily stated. It is that e very member, regardless of gender, race or ethnic origin, should have access to a rewarding life….No one, from accident of birth or economic circumstances, may be denied these things; if they are not available from parent or family, society must provide effective forms of care and guidance. (p.23)

         "In the "good society" no one can be allowed to starve or be without shelter. The first requirement is that there be ample employment and income opportunity, not enforced inactivity. The major part of the solution thus lies in the overall performance of the economy….adequate employment being ensured, there must still be a safety net for all. (pp. 27 & 28)

         "In modern times, especially in the United States, the empowerment of workers has been diminishing in its general effect. Trade union membership as a proportion of all workers has sharply declined, partly in consequence of the decline in mass-production, mass-employment industry. . .The good society seeks, where possible, to reverse this decline in trade union power, for worker organization remains a major civilizing factor in modern economic life." (p. 66)

Sermon

         "Love's Labor Is Not Lost" comes from the title of a play by William Shakespeare "Love's Labor's Lost." It is a comedy about Kings and princesses and courtiers falling in love and not doing the work of their spirit. It was just a teaser to get you in the door!

         About labor, do you remember your first job? What was it? How did you feel about it? I'll bet you have vivid memories about it and could tell us many stories. I realize I cannot judge everyone by my own experience. But, after witnessing the experiences of my own children and their friends and after hearing the stories of many friends and the families whose loved ones have passed away, it is clear to me that our first jobs, no matter what they were, were generally great learning experiences.

         My first job upon leaving school at 15 years (yes, if was 15 years then, 16 years now in England) was a "classical" job; it was in the mailroom of a large company. Almost everyone started in the mailroom. My initial job was simple. I was to go to each office and take the mail out of the Out Box and put the mail incoming mail in the addressee's In Box. The mail might be internal, from inside the company or outside. I did this four times each day. At the end of the day, we focused our efforts on the mail that was to be mailed to the outside world. All mail received from and sent outside the company was entered into a logbook. Only the head mail clerk could do such a responsible job. I learned to weigh each piece of mail and work the mail stamp machine and at the end of the second month, I was entrusted to go to the Post Office to have the machine assessed for the cost of mail for the week and reset for the next week. Each week, I was entrusted with a new task if I had learned the previous one. At the end of three months, I graduated out of the Mailroom to the Wages Department where each of the tasks of this department took two or three months to master. This was more than forty years ago but I remember much of it as if it were yesterday. I remember it as building confidence and confidence in me and I especially remember how I was treated with respect. And, by the way, we worked Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings. We were not unionized!

         Why do we remember our first jobs so well? I believe it is because we had few expectations and were open to whatever the experience offered. I realize now that what I experienced then met the top criteria identified nowadays as those that keep people working at the same company for many years. These are what are important to workers today (Kay & Jordan-Evans, p.6):

         · Always learning something new.
         · Meaningful work.
         · Good people.
         · Feeling part of the company.
         · Good boss.
         · Recognition of work well done.
         · Fun.
         · Sense of control over work environment.
         · Trust.
         · Respectful atmosphere.

         Except for 'sense of control over work environment,' I certainly experienced all of these qualities in most of the very diverse jobs I have done in my lifetime, including my first job I described when I was such a young person. It wasn't until I went to college that I had particular expectations.

         Today, we might spend many years preparing for a career only to find there are few jobs in that field. Or perhaps we are parents and don't want to travel far to work or need to take a part time job to be able to take care of children. We might have to settle for a job that fits our circumstances rather than our dreams. We can make ourselves unhappy having to "settle" for second best or we can be grateful we've found something that allows us to live decently. It's a bit like the 'glass is half empty' or 'half full' syndrome.

         Many people in the arts (or liberal arts) find the activity that is the love of their life does not pay the bills. We might have to take a job that pays the bills so we can do what we love part time.

         In the reading, John Kenneth Gailbraith said that the "good society" owes us jobs so that we can have a rewarding life. Society owes us employment, not necessarily our hearts' desire. We must make our own satisfaction out of what we do.

         In the Bible, Paul of Tarsus, writes in his letters that it is good to support ourselves. He supported himself as a tentmaker. But he also says we should help to support those who are unable to work-the strong must support the weak. However, if we find ourselves having to work at a job we don't really care for, we must at least ensure that we work for and with good people and we are treated with respect. If these basic aspects are not present, we will make ourselves ill and possibly shorten our lives. Also, if the job is less than interesting, we must ensure that we can do the things we enjoy outside of our work life.

         The good society must also provide ways of ensuring that employees have basic rights. You might have heard of the farmer in South Georgia. The Wage and Hour Department claimed he was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent to interview him. The agent said, "You just give me a list of your employees and tell me how much you pay them."

         "All right," said the farmer. "I have a hired man who has been with me for three years. I pay him $600 a week, plus room and board. I have a cook who has been here six months. She gets $500 a week plus room and board."

         "Anybody else?" asked the agent as he scribbled on a note pad. "Yeah," said the farmer. "There's a half-wit here. Works about eighteen hours a day. I pay him ten dollars a week and give him chewing tobacco."

         "A-ha!" exclaimed the agent. "I want to talk to that guy first!"

         "You're talkin' to him now," said the farmer.

         The fact is, we are all in service to one another. Every one of us is in service. If we're a boss or supervisor, we can make this world a better place if we treat our employees with respect. If we're workers, we owe it to ourselves to treat others with respect but also require respect for ourselves. What we do in our work lives is very important indeed for we are spending most of our time doing it. So whatever it is, we must do it well and in good circumstances. If we are no longer working, we can at least advise our friends, children, or grandchildren.

         In an imperfect world there is only one way to ensure that workers earn a living wage and are treated well: they should have access to union membership! John Kenneth Gailbraith says that "worker organization remains a major civilizing factor in modern economic life." Union membership has dropped every year for the last few decades, and so has compensation. The average wage for men was the same in 2000 as it was twenty years ago, indeed slightly lower. Union workers are far more likely to have health care and pension benefits and also better wages. (www.news.bbc p. 3) If more of our industries unionized, perhaps we wouldn't have 43 million people without healthcare.

         Another thing I would wish for workers is decreased working hours. Did you know that "US employees now work 1900 hours each year (the equivalent of 49 out of 52 weeks), even more than the 1840 hours worked in Japan and much more than the 1200 to 1500 hours worked in Europe. Americans often love to work in Europe because they are usually given the same benefits as Europeans even though they work for American companies. The average American has two weeks vacation a year plus eleven holidays. The average European has six weeks vacation a year and carries over unused vacation to subsequent years.

         In 1998, France passed a law requiring that all companies reduce the workweek of employees to a 35-hour week by the year 2002. The government gave great financial incentives to companies who hired young workers, long-time unemployed workers, and workers with disabilities. The over all goal was to have everyone work less so that more people could be employed. Additionally, the French government gives vouchers to the lowest income earners to be used at hotels on their vacation! This is not a utopian dream, it is real! It is built into French law!

         The Bible gave us the Sabbath. The unions gave us the weekends and vacations. Our psychological, physical, and spiritual well being requires us to work as well as we can but not too much, to play adequately and have sufficient creativity in our lives, and to nurture our spiritual lives individually and in community. But we need to work together to ensure that we all have the rights to which the Good Society aspires. I believe that the banner "Give us bread and roses" of the striking textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912, still expresses so many of these sentiments. (Dear Reader, at this point we sang the hymn "As We Com Marching, Marching," which has the "bread and roses" slogan and was the song of the unions.)

         May bread and roses be ours in the way we work and play. And one day, may all Americans enjoy the same benefits as those of our European brothers and sisters.

References

         The following have informed and inspired this sermon:

         Calhoun, Robert L. God and the Day's Work, New York: Association Press, 1957.

         Gailbraith, John Kenneth. The Good Society: The Human Agenda, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996.

         Kay, Beverly and Jordan-Evans, Sharon. Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1999.

         www.commondreams.org "Europe's Vacation Season Only a Dream for Most Americans" by Ray Moseley from the Chicago Tribune, August 7, 2000.

         www.news.bbc.co.uk "Black Workers Hit by US Recession," 2 September, 2002.

         www.business-in-europe.com "The 35-Hour Working Week Act of May 19th, 1998" from Corporate Law and Employment in France.