Writing in the Fort Lauderdale-based Sun-Sentinel, Archbishop
Thomas Wenski of Miami, who serves as chairman of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human
Development, called for an increase in the minimum wage. “For a worker to be dignified by his or her work, remuneration must be just,” said Archbishop Wenski. “The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that workers deserve just wages, wages that allow them and their families to fulfill material, social, cultural and spiritual needs.”
“The current state and federal minimum wages do not meet that standard,” he added.
“Those who toil to harvest our produce, to cook and serve our food, and to clean our buildings, are our brothers and sisters — and they deserve to enjoy the same dignity in work that others enjoy.”