As I exited the building, I could still feel the emotionally charged atmosphere. On Monday, January 16, Interfaith Worker Justice hosted a service to honor Martin Luther King’s commitment to worker justice as part of their Faith Advocates for Jobs Campaign in Washington, D.C. The audience often joined in singing with the extremely talented Shiloh Baptist Church Choir and prayed with leaders from various religious denominations. Two individuals shared testimonials about their personal experiences as unemployed Americans, and overall, it was both a beautiful and inspiring service.

One of the most memorable segments of the service was the sermon given by Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. I was surprised by how this small man, who began speaking in such a quiet, almost delicate voice, could give such a powerful sermon. Other persons who had previously heard Rev. Forbes speak gave me knowing smiles after I shared with them my awestruck reaction to his dynamic oration. He had the audience sitting on the edges of their seats for his entire message—one that could not be more timely.

I can’t speak for those who were alive during the 1963 March on Washington, but for those of us who have only heard about it, we think “Civil Rights,” “Integration,” “Equality,” “Racism.” In 2012, it is pertinent to remember the full title of this event in 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The original intent of the march was to go beyond racial equality, and to promote the basic right of people to have employment: that all may have a just wage; that all may have the opportunity to maintain a decent quality of life.

Civil rights are integrally connected with jobs. In order for people to achieve full dignity they need to have the means of earning a living and supporting their families. As Dr. King said on August 28, 1963, “Our emphasis must turn … to putting people to work … When they are placed in this position, they can then examine how to use their creative energies for the social good.”

When Rev. Forbes mentioned the parable of the lost sheep from the New Testament, I immediately thought of the Occupy movement and the increasing polarization between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” None of us can afford to be mentally “lost.” In order to make Martin Luther King’s vision a reality, we need 100% of Americans to be committed to promoting the common good. In this vein, let us not forget that freedom and responsibility are inseparable.

Rev. Forbes drew a tangible connection between the abstract vision that Dr. King had for our society and the concrete action that we can take to achieve this vision. We are God’s hands in putting our nation on the right track.

I will end by sharing a little food for thought from Rev. Forbes—What if each place of worship in the United States (e.g. church, mosque, synagogue, etc.) decided to take up a collection to hire someone to help with their community’s work, to pay a year’s worth of living wages for one person? Imagine the ripple effect that would occur. There would be one less unemployed individual, then 10 less, then 100 less, and if this happened across the nation…

NETWORK objects to large banks taking up a practiced being outlawed for “payday lenders” who have been charging up to 365% interest on small, short-term loans made available to people with poor credit ratings. We, with 250 organizations and advocates, support federal action to stop banks as well as payday lenders from engaging in these unethical practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau held a hearing in New York City.  Wells Fargo, a national bank, wants to bring its version of this (direct deposit advance) to New York.  The state has anti-usury laws which advocates see would be violated by this. Direct Deposit Advances are usually small loans, but the payments are taken directly out of the paycheck of the borrower. Evidence is that those who have relied on payday loans got caught in a cycle of loans due to inability to pay back on time. Loan built upon loan, with the interest accumulating with each additional loan. At least payday lenders were not able to take the payments by direct deposit. Borrowers would pay back the loan, but would lack money for other necessities, leading to another loan and so on.

A sign-on letter from the 250 organizations was hand-delivered to Director Cordray at the New York City meeting.

Job growth continues to be stymied by federal budget cuts.  Again, this month, there were 12,000 job losses in the public sector (the way to “save” in cutting budgets is to eliminate workers). These were lost by men – although they gained 89,000 jobs in the private sector (in manufacturing and leisure/hospitality). Women did gain 3,000 public sector jobs in July, despite having lost 403,000 net public sector jobs since June of 2009.

When will some legislators learn that federal budget cuts increase unemployment, therefore reducing both state and federal revenue, and costing both in unemployment benefits?

The unemployment rate dropped from 7.6 to 7.4% in July. That is good! Fewer people are applying for unemployment (UI) benefits. The reasons for the drop are not as encouraging. Job creation was less than expected. More people are dropping out of the ranks of those looking for work, or are among the long-term unemployed no longer eligible for UI benefits.

This article omits this as a reason to no longer be counted. So the “employment rate” remains about the same. Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas share a graph that could be scary.

The Urban Institute found that another reason for the decline in unemployment numbers is the increased number of young people who are just not entering the workforce. Some are returning to school; that’s a good thing. But, what about the others?

“The official unemployment rate only counts people actively looking for work. It’s dropped less because people have found work than because they’ve stopped looking. Ergo, there’s been no recovery — just a hardening of the post-recession labor market.” -Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas

Millions of workers – mostly women – struggle to make ends meet on minimum wage earnings. Women comprise nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers although they are only 49.2% of the employed population. They also comprise 61% of full-time minimum-wage workers (working 35 or more hours each week) and nearly two-thirds of workers in tipped occupations.

The share of women varies somewhat by state from a low of 47.7% in California to a high of 63.3% in Mississippi (www.epi.org/raising-federal-minimum-wage). They provide care for children and frail elders, clean homes and offices, and wait tables. Bringing home $10.10 an hour would mean more money for food, gas, diapers and shoes.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) provides important facts that defy our stereotypes about minimum-wage workers: more than three-quarters of women are 20 or older (not teenagers!) and most do not have a spouse’s income to rely on.

Full-time work at $7.25 an hour pays only $15,080 a year. That’s nearly $4,500 below the poverty level for a mom and two kids. It’s even slightly below the poverty level for a family of two. Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, as proposed by the president and legislation pending in Congress, would boost annual earnings to about $20,200, enough to help pull a mom and her two kids out of poverty.

If the minimum wage had been indexed to inflation, as we do for Social Security, it would be $10.72 today. If it had grown at the same rate as productivity (which it did until the 1980s), it would be $18.30 today, according to an EPI study.

The declining real value of the minimum wage has significantly contributed to the enormous growth in U.S. income inequality. The gap between the minimum and average wages of typical American workers used to be much smaller than it is today. From the mid-sixties to the early 1980s, minimum-wage workers earned a wage that was equal to about half that of the typical American worker. Today’s minimum wage is equal to only about 36% of that worker (of course, much could be said about the inadequate “typical” wage today). But raising the minimum-wage to $10.10 by 2016 would return the minimum-wage to roughly 50% of the average production worker wage.

Increasing the minimum wage would boost wages for millions of working women and help close the wage gap. The EPI estimates that if the minimum wage were gradually increased to $10.10 per hour, almost 28 million workers would get a raise, including over 1 million workers earning slightly more than the minimum wage due to what economists call the “spillover effects.” The Center for American Progress concludes that about 55% of those directly affected and nearly 50% of those indirectly affected by the increase would be women. Similarly, women of color would be affected by the increase: 16% of affected female workers are African American, while 19% are Latina (www.americanprogressaction.org/women-are-the-biggest-losers…)

Since women are the majority of minimum-wage workers, raising the minimum-wage would help close the wage gap. The typical woman earns 77 cents for every dollar the typical man does; African-American women working full-time year round made only 64 cents; and Hispanic women only 54 cents for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. The fact that all women are more likely to be minimum-wage earners than men contributes to that disparity.

Raising the minimum-wage would also strengthen the American economy. Increasing the wages paid to low-wage workers results in lower turnover, boosts worker efforts, and encourages employers to invest in their workers. Most minimum-wage workers need this income to make ends meet and tend to spend it quickly, boosting the economy. Research indicates that for every $1 added to the minimum-wage, low-wage worker households spent an additional $2800 the following year, thus increasing spending nationwide by about $48 billion, even benefiting the GDP (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago study entitled “The Spending and Debt Responses to Minimum-wage Increases”).

The federal minimum cash wage for employees in tipped occupations is $2.13 per hour, unchanged in over 20 years and less than one-third of the minimum-wage. Restaurant servers, the largest group of tipped employees, experience poverty at nearly three times the rate of the workforce as a whole — and about 70% of servers are women, according to the National Women’s Law Center. Because of the numbers of women involved, it’s worth examining the restaurant industry as a prime example of gender inequity. A recent study by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United revealed:

• 66% of tipped workers are women who receive a pittance for a wage and often receive less than their share of tips
• Restaurant occupations are among the lowest paid in the U.S. and employ a majority of women who are paid below the poverty level
• Servers — of whom 71% are women — are almost three times more likely to be paid below the poverty level than the general workforce and nearly twice as likely to need food stamps as the general population
• Women are more often kept among the lower paid positions than in most industries; for example, women are hired for only 19% of chef positions, one of the highest paid in the restaurant business
• Women also are confined to the lower-paying segments of the industry, such as quick serve and family-style rather than the highest paying fine dining segment
• Women restaurant servers who are full-time are paid just 68% of what male servers are paid, even though they are considered in the same category of servers

The restaurant business is only one example of an industry where minimum wages and low-paid women predominate, where women receive unequal treatment and where poverty wages are the norm. One could just as easily have chosen the hotel industry, the healthcare industry or many others.

Raising the minimum-wage would allow almost 2.8 million women see their incomes rise above the poverty line. This one move alone wouldn’t solve all of the inequities women face in the labor market, but it would be a step in the right direction.

On March 6, prior to International Women’s Day, seven women religious leaders from Chicago and the Western Suburbs gathering in Naperville, Illinois to call for an increase in the minimum wage.  The event was held in conjunction with press events around the country organized by Interfaith Worker Justice – a leader in the fight for economic and worker justice in the U.S. since 1996.

Moderating the event was Sr. Karen Nykiel, OSB, a member of Pax Christi Illinois, a chapter of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement. Sr, Karen set the context of the event stating, “We are focusing on women at this event because more than 64%– almost two-thirds — of minimum wage workers are women.”

She went on to explain why this event was being held in a wealthy suburban city like Naperville, “Raising the minimum wage is not only an issue of importance in poor urban or rural communities in our nation. It is an important issue in communities like Naperville. Census figures show that poverty is growing at a faster rate in the suburbs then it is in urban areas. “

The first speaker, Rev. Elizabeth Bowes from the Glen Ellyn First United Methodist Church, began with a short history of the struggle to create the minimum wage in 1938 and how religious leaders from all faiths were united in that struggle. What these faith leaders had in common was that “they valued human dignity and thus desired to create a labor system that valued workers and treated them with fairness and respect.”

To illustrate how much value the minimum wage has lost over the years Rev. Bowes stated, “In 1968 when the minimum wages was $1.60/ hour you and your family of four could purchase an entire fast-food meal for one hour of work. Today at $7.25/hour – one hour of work can only buy one person a burrito at Chipotle or three cups of coffee from Starbuck’s.”

The next speaker was Sr. Kathleen Desautels, SP, from the 8^th Day Center for Justice located in Chicago. The foundress of Kathleen’s community, St. Mother Theodore Guerin, had a strong commitment to raising the status of women in America. As Mother Guerin once stated, “Women in this country are only ¼ of the family. I hope, through the influence of religion and education that she will eventually become ½ – the better half.” Kathleen pointed out that “nearly 175 years latter women still only earn 77% of what men earn for same work.”

As important it is to raise the minimum wage, Sr. Kathleen reminded everyone, “The minimum wage is only a start, what we need is living wage. That is why the 8th Day Center for Justice has been involved in the campaign to raise the minimum wage in Chicago to $15/hour. Do we need an increase in the minimum wage? Absolutely! But let’s not stop there. Let’s continue the struggle for a living wage for every worker. ”

Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher, pastor of the Du Page Unitarian Universalist Church spoke about her own experience with helping those who work minimum wage jobs. “The church tries to help, but the needs far outweigh the resources available. We should not treat human beings this way. This is not in line with America’s concept of fairness.”

Drawing from her own personal story Rev. Belcher stated, “After World War II my family survived on benefits from the GI Bill my father received. These benefits allowed my family to enter the middle class and gave us the opportunity to get a college education. Everyone deserves the same kind of opportunity to succeed.”

Sr. Mary Kay Flanagan, OSF, also of 8th Day Center, made the connection between raising the minimum wage and the works of mercy, “To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, to care for the sick and to bury the dead; all of these needs are the consequence of the lack of economic security in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Providing people with a living wage is a way to fulfill the works of mercy.”

The Rev. Lisa Telomen, from Grace United Methodist Church in Naperville also made the link between the struggle for raising the minimum wage and her Christian faith, “Looking at the life and teachings of Jesus it is clear that insuring that every person has enough to eat, that they have adequate shelter and clothing and that they have access to affordable health care is part of what it means to be a disciple.”

Sr. Dorothy Pagosa, SSJ-TOSF from 8th Day Center spoke about volunteering at a homeless shelter for women, “I was shocked to learn that part of my responsibilities was to wake some women up earlier so they could get ready for work. Their minimum wage jobs did not enable them to afford rent at any level. For most apartments you need first and last month’s rent as well as the regular rent payment. Let’s not forget utilities, food and clothes.”

Sister Dorothy also spoke about the grotesque salaries paid to many CEOs, “There seems to be no outcry from Congress when CEOs get increases in their salaries. There seems to be no concern that the cost of these huge salaries will get passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices or that these huge payouts will make it harder for companies to create more jobs.”

Dorothy took aim at Rep. Paul Ryan’s approach to welfare, “He says his ideas are in line with Catholic Social Teaching; but he is reading a very different version than I read. As Pope Francis stated, ‘While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation.’”

The last speaker was Sr. Gwen Farry, BVM, from 8^th Day Center. Sister Gwen shared about the different ways members of her community were working to increase the minimum wage in Springfield and in Washington DC. Speaking to the value of raising the minimum wage Gwen stated, “If the Gap can pay $10/hour to its employees why can’t others do the same? Even the Gap understands that raising the minimum wage is good for business. The fabulously wealthy do not create jobs; customers create jobs. The minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of consumers and that spending creates jobs.”

Speaking for everyone on the panel Sister Gwen ended by stating the moral imperative of this struggle, “No one working 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty.”