I know that the Bible says that we should love our enemies, but I also know that workers have nothing in common, objectively speaking, with our employers. ..

 
I pay dues to three unions. This is something that I do voluntarily, not because I want or expect something from my unions but because I want something good for all of us and because I think that we can win better lives for everyone by having those hard fights with the employers and the government---fewer hours, better wages, control of production and distribution, an industrial policy that puts people first, safe and healthy workplaces and communities, support for people from cradle to grave. If we're on organized, we can't win.  

I know that the Bible says that we should love our enemies, but I also know that workers have nothing in common, objectively speaking, with our employers. Loving one's enemies becomes possible when each side in a conflict becomes authentic people, people who know who they are and live out who they are and take responsibility for themselves and others. People who can place themselves as inheritors of history and who can pass on to future generations something better than the past. The very act of becoming authentic people who God will use for justice and mercy requires such deep levels of change within us that, once that change is made real, reconciliation becomes possible. I think that unions, at their best, help working-class people define who we are and help us redefine who and what we want to be. The moral and political power of a mass justice-centered movement will force others to redefine themselves.

"May we all grow in grace and peace, and not neglect the silence that is printed in the center of our being, It will not fail us."

~ Thomas Merton