One of my recent volunteer activities for the Alliance of Baptists has been “digitalizing” the minutes of the Board and the membership meetings. This has given me an opportunity to read the history of the organization–and it actually is quite interesting! The early minutes reflect concern with the changes in the Southern Baptist Convention, but as the years pass by, that issue fades and the identify of the Alliance as a group of progressive Baptists working together to do God’s good work in the world takes shape.  

In September 1997, the Mission Statement was written to support the Covenant and stated, in part: 

To keep faith with our Covenant … we side with those who are poor (and) pursue justice with and for those who are oppressed.”

But, how do we do this?
Beginning in 1998, the minutes include discussions and decisions about how we invest our funds in ways consistent with Alliance values. That has resulted in investments in various community efforts—as opposed to commercial banks—including the Baptist Coalition for Responsible Investing, the Gleaner’s Fund, and more recently, the Shore Bank in Chicago. At our 2008 convocation we passed a resolution on community investing. In addition, in 2008, we established a partnership through the UCC Coffee Project with Equal Exchange so Alliance churches could provide fair trade products to their members. These efforts help poor people get access to loans at affordable rates and purchasing goods that are certified “fair trade” means the workers are paid a living wage for their work.
At the 2009 convocation, we adopted a statement on economic justice that supported both an increase in the minimum wage and support of the Employee Free Choice Act.  

Why should we support an increase in the minimum wage? After adjusting for inflation, the minimum wage in the United States is at its lowest point since 1968. The current minimum wage does not provide even a minimally adequate standard of living but instead has become a poverty wage.  And so, the Alliance responded.  At the 2009 convocation, we stated: 

“We join other faith leaders and communities in calling on the 111th Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10 in 2010 and join with us in ending poverty wages. We pledge today to raise our voices in advocacy for a raise in the minimum wage in meetings, letters, and other communications with our congressional representatives and senators.”   

In addition to calling for an increase in the minimum wage, we also pledged to join other faith leaders in supporting workers efforts to work together cooperatively to better their lives. 

Unions are one of the best ways for workers to bring greater justice to the workplace. Unions have provided living wages for their members, comprehensive benefits, job security, fairness in the workplace, and a voice in the workplace.  But the right to organize has been seriously eroded in the United States.

The Employee Free Choice Act, a bill currently pending in the 111th Congress, will redress this imbalance and strengthen workers’ right to form a union. It will address the lack of legal protections and law enforcement for workers who wish to unionize. It will give workers a fair and direct path to form unions through majority sign-up. It will also help employees secure their first contract in a reasonable period of time and toughen penalties against employers that violate U.S. labor laws. In recognition of these facts, at the 2009 Convocation, the Alliance pledged:

Because of our commitment to social justice and the reduction of poverty, we join other faith leaders and communities in recognizing the right of workers to organize for collective bargaining with employers regarding wages, benefits and working conditions. To that end we call on the 111th Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We pledge to raise our voices in advocacy for workers to have their right to organize and we will support that right by supporting the EFCA in meetings, letters and other communications with our congressional representatives and senators.

One of the best ways to diminish poverty is to pay workers fairly. I encourage you to get your churches, your friends and your family to support these efforts. Write a letter to your congressional representative and/or senator.  Tell them your faith leads you to support workers, to advocate for fair wages and for fair trade. Make it clear to them that as Christians we support fair trade, not free trade. Make it clear to them that we support the dignity of each worker and support their right to organize and advocate for their wages, benefits and working conditions. 

Of course, we pray for the poor. Of course, we do acts of mercy and provide food and clothing and housing for the poor. But let me also encourage you to do acts of justice, advocate for the poor and encourage the Congress to change the system, provide low-wage workers with a living wage by increasing the minimum wage and to support workers’ efforts to organize for better wages, better benefits and better working conditions.