All You That Labor: Religion and Ethics in the Living Wage Movement (Religion and Social Transformation, 10)
To ignore the presence and influence of religious activists in the US living wage movement would be to miss a key dimension of a faith-labor coalition for living wages, argues Snarr (ethics and society, Vanderbilt U. Divinity School), whose examination of the religious elements of the living wage movement is based upon participant observation of movement activists in campaigns in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee and a literature review. She discusses the moral framing of the movement and how it articulates alternate visions of political economy, the role of religious organizations in multiracial and ethnic living wage organizing, feminist organizations in living wage activism and their connections to religious activists, and the use of religious ritual for strengthening moral commitment and moral agency within the movement. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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<p>“Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”Mathew 11:28 (AKJV)<br>In the early 1990s, a grassroots coalition of churches in Baltimore, Maryland helped launch what would become a national movement. Joining forces with labor and low-wage worker organizations, they passed the first municipal living wage ordinance. Since then, over 144 municipalities and counties as well as numerous universities and local businesses in the United States have enacted such ordinances.<br>Although religious persons and organizations have been important both in the origins of the living wage movement and in its continuing success, they are often ignored or under analyzed. Drawing on participant observation in multiple cities, All You That Labor analyzes and evaluates the contributions of religious activists to the movement. The book explores the ways religious organizations do this work in concert with low-wage workers, the challenges religious activists face, and how people of faith might better nurture moral agency in relation to the political economy. Ultimately, C. Melissa Snarr provides clarity on how to continue to cultivate, renew, and expand religious resources dedicated to the moral agency of low-wage workers and their allies.</p>
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