Doing right by others

Today the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, to which I belong because I work in the newsroom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, authorized an indefinite byline strike. That is to say, while we wrote stories we didn't put our names to them. (I don't write that much but had something published today.)

This has become as issue for us because contract negotiations between the company and its various unions have become pretty nasty. Not helping matters was a tasteless editorial published on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that tried to downplay President Donald Trump's racism in light of his alleged "s---hole" remarks the week before.

I bring this up because for the last few decades evangelical Christian media have taken aim at unionism, insisting that defeating organized labor would be a victory for "Christian values." I don't see how, frankly, as too often faith has been aligned with corporate interests. And while I may not personally have a dog in this fight, I decided to strike my byline from today's story in solidarity with my colleagues.

The reason is that, as a Christian, I support my colleagues per the Sermon on the Mount's "do unto others" principle. In fact, it's even the second of the two great commandments, to "love your neighbor as yourself." Working and fighting for economic justice meets that principle.

I sometimes wonder how our nation's political life would be affected if we believers actually lived that out. Rather than see folks who don't agree as the "enemy" we would place ourselves in their shoes and consider just how policies we support affect them. And we can't do this just on a personal level, either.

Are things that bad that such drastic measures had to take place? They might very well be.

In 1991, when I was working for a local grocery store, my union called a strike and we stayed out for about six weeks. The company thought that it could simply keep the stores open and induced the full-time workers to cross the picket line. (I wouldn't do that anyway, and besides I was only part-time.) We ended up winning because the customers stayed away, with people coming up to me in church saying, "Don't worry, Rick; we're not shopping at [that store]."

It may come to that as well in this case. That's why the union took the action and I've elected to support it.

I don't pretend to know what will happen with the new contract, but I do believe in taking a stand and also in standing with those who may be affected by corporate decisions. Sometimes a united front is necessary to combat injustice; for that reason I'm glad to stand with my co-workers.