Pope Benedict is a union man

Pope Benedict XVI, in a new encyclical released July 7, says the support of unions that can defend workers' rights must be "honored today even more than in the past." The worldwide leader of the Roman Catholic Church  notes that workers' ability to form a union and bargain is at risk, partly because governments "often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labor unions."

Here’s what the pope had to say on the need for workers to have the freedom to form unions:

“Through the combination of social and economic change, trade union organizations experience greater difficulty in carrying out their task of representing the interests of workers, partly because Governments, for reasons of economic utility, often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labor unions. Hence traditional networks of solidarity have more and more obstacles to overcome.

“The repeated calls issued within the Church’s social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers’ associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past, as a prompt and far-sighted response to the urgent need for new forms of cooperation at the international level, as well as the local level.”

The Vatican and a wide variety of Catholic leaders have continued to express support throughout the year for workers’ freedom to form unions, and many Catholic scholars and organizations like the Catholic Labor Network and Catholics for Working Families have come out in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Big drop for annual construction rate

Construction during May dropped 0.9 percent compared to April, but the rate fell a whopping 11.6 percent compared to the level in May 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

A total of $964 billion was spent on construction in May. In the nonresidential sector, spending on construction gained slightly from the month before, while nonresidential work dropped 3.4 percent.

Public construction during May dropped 0.6% below the revised April estimate, and gighway construction fell 1.3%

Data for June 2009 will be released on Aug. 3.