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Milwaukee archbishop affirms value of unions

CWN - February 17, 2011

As Wisconsin lawmakers contemplate a bill that would curtail collective bargaining by state employees, Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee has issued a statement upholding the value of unions.

“Hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers,” Archbishop Listecki wrote. After quoting Pope Benedict’s teaching on workers’ associations, the archbishop added that “it does not follow from this that every claim made by workers or their representatives is valid. Every union, like every other economic actor, is called to work for the common good, to make sacrifices when required, and to adjust to new economic realities.”

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  • Posted by: Minnesota Mary - Feb. 25, 2011 5:46 PM ET USA

    Archbishop Listecki needs to take a trip to Detroit to see what the unions have done for that city. I've found that the bishops are generally on the wrong side of every issue regarding the well being of this nation.

  • Posted by: sarsok8679 - Feb. 18, 2011 12:57 AM ET USA

    Yet there are no unions for the workers in their Archdiocese! When has any teacher's union worked for the common good of the community? ANSWER: NEVER!

  • Posted by: Steve214 - Feb. 17, 2011 7:05 PM ET USA

    There is no Catholic responsibility to support unions which work tirelessly to elect pro-abortion candidates: and public service unions do. Nor is there any Catholic responsibility to support political corruption: public service unions bribe politicians through political contributions, and then sit down at the bargaining table for the pay off--at the expense of the tax payers.

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