On this Labor Day, advocating for just wages means fighting company theft

September 10, 2021

Defining a just wage is a complex task. The definition must go beyond wage amount and include things like wage theft, not paying workers  what they’re legally due. This can take the form of misclassifying workers or avoiding overtime pay. A recent article in National Catholic Reporter, “On this Labor Day, advocating for just wages means fighting company theft,” considers how faith organizations need to be aware of wage theft and fight against through advocacy and financial decisionmaing. Dan Graff, Ph.D., director of the Higgins Labor Program, noted that this is particularly true in the absense of unions. 

“It’s especially important for faith communities to address such basic concerns now because of the lack of enforcement and the decline of unions, which traditionally protected workers’ rights, Graff added. ‘There’s a real absence. Moral communities are going to have to fill in.'”