Catholic Labor Day Message on Inequality Advocates Employee Ownership

In the U.S. bishops' annual Labor Day statement, Bishop Frank Dewane, chair of the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said that economic inequality is a major issue, and that "Excessive inequality" threatens cooperation among all people in society "and the social pact it supports." He suggested several options, and worker ownership was prominent among them: "Worker-owned businesses can be a force for strengthening solidarity, as the Second Vatican Council encouraged businesses to consider 'the active sharing of all in the administration and profits of these enterprises in ways to be properly determined... The Catholic Campaign for Human Development has helped in the formation of many employee-owned companies which provide jobs in communities where work opportunities may be scarce."