"You should pay the laborer his wages before his sweat dries," Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him instructed. Fair labor laws are central in Islam. In another hadith, the Prophet peace be upon him said:
"Allah said, 'I will be an opponent to three types of people on the Day of Resurrection:
1. One who makes a covenant in My Name, but proves treacherous;
2. One who sells a free man as a slave and devours his price; and
3. One who employs a laborer and takes full work from him but does not pay him for his labor.' "
Then, why is it that some of us view the labor movement as not my problem? At the 52nd Annual ISNA Convention in Chicago, IL on September 6, 2015, leaders from public service and social justice came together for a special session, “Exploring the Parallels of Islam and America’s Labor Movement.”
The panel featured Congressman Keith Ellison representing the 5th congressional district in Minnesota in the United States House of Representatives; Linda Sarsour, Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York; and Maimuna Syed, Field Director of the California Labor Federation in Northern California.
Syed defined a labor union as “people who work, coming together to make a change at their work place.” So this group potentially includes every adult. Sarsour drove the point home, “remember who the labor worker is: airport workers, teachers, cab drivers. These people are part of our community. They are our fathers, our brothers, our sisters. The labor movement is a part of our movement.”
For those of us who are economically privileged, labor is still our movement by faith. Congressman Ellison explained, “My mission today is to help the Muslims understand that yes we got to be concerned about surveillance and spying. All this is essential. But if we stand by and let these unfair economic situations go by, and say that’s not our problem, that’s someone else’s problem, that ain’t right.”
Congressman Ellison gave attendees a crash course on the unfair economic situations we face: “America is richer today than it has ever been in the history of America itself. And yet, here in our country, we have over a million people living on less than a dollar a day. We have 46 million people surviving off food stamps even though they work full time. At the other end of the scale, we have the top one tenth of a percent of owners, makes well over the bottom 90%. We have extreme wealth inequality in America today.”
Congressman Ellison then connected this unfair economic portrait with our religion: “My value system as a Muslim does not permit me to sit by and say it’s fine. So many things that people argue in defense of this economic situation are antithetical to the Islamic belief. Like they don’t wanna pay no taxes. Yet, as a Muslim, who amongst us can say we don’t think we should pay zakat or sadaqa for the poor?”
Caring for the poor is a pillar of Islam and treating workers well is a part of faith. Labor unions provide organized outlets to advance these causes, and to make workplaces fair and comfortable for everyone. Congressman Ellison gave an example, “You’re on the job. You need to make salah. It’s real nice to be able to go to your union rep, and talk about salah. Or Ramadan, or wearing hijab. All of these are worker issues, which you can raise through that process.” Congressman Ellison explained more generally, “Labor union is supposed to speak up against racial injustice and sexism.” So Muslim workers have a place in labor unions, just like workers of all faiths and backgrounds. Ellison stressed the point, “What we should not do anymore is be tip-toing through the labor movement. This is an area we can be as Muslim as we are. We don’t have to go from Mohammed to Mo or Samir to Sam just to be a part of it. You can be you. You can do you, and the labor union is supposed to help you do it.”
Syed further explained, “When you think about labor you think about White men. That is not what labor is anymore. We represent workers at the workplace. Whoever that worker is. The labor movement is the largest civil rights organization in the country.”
As a civil rights organization, labor unions fight for civil rights for all peoples. So when standing up for causes that affect Muslim workers, it’s important to stand up for all workers. Warning, “I don’t have a filter. I say what I think,” Sarsour drove this point home: “What is troubling to me amongst the Muslim community is there is a double standard. We step up sometimes when it’s about us. We go crazy about salah accommodations. … But then you’re not there, when workers are asking for $15/hour to feed their families, that’s hypocritical, sisters and brothers.”
Congressman Ellison gave a word of advice, “If you want a friend, be one.” Muslims should adopt the cause of the worker not only to make friends, but also because the cause of the worker is the cause of the Muslim. It will not hurt to make friends along the way, and in fact, by partnering with labor unions, Muslims have already made an impact in causes that matter. Sarsour gave the example of the recent Eid victory in New York City Public Schools. “With 1.2 million students, NYC has the largest public school system in the entire country,” she explained. Sarsour continued, “When holidays were designated years ago, it wasn’t because of the student population. It was based on an economic decision based on Jewish and Christian teachers. In New York City one out of every eight students is Muslim. In 2006, the state had statewide exams on Eid. That was the beginning for the coalition.” After a several years of working with labor unions and people of faith, the coalition just won Eid day off, which will be implemented this coming Eid Al-Adha, as Sarsour stated, “In two weeks, the public schools will be closed on Eid for the first time, this year. It was because of the labor movement, that we were able to do it.”
Sarsour gave another example of the 253 mile March to Justice from New York City to Washington D.C. that took place on April 13, 2015. In this march, Sarsour and other activists spoke out for causes beyond those that are considered specific to Muslims, including ending to racial profiling, stopping the militarization of law enforcement, and creating alternatives to incarceration for young people. She explained the importance of the labor union: “When we were thinking about doing this march, people thought you must be out of your mind to walk 253 miles. Labor puts resources into their organizing work. 1199 union workers marched with us, and they gave us two RVs. 1199 is a health care union. They made sure that we were fed, that we had everything that we needed, that we were protected, that we were taken care of, and that the union endorsed us. They are health care workers. For us in NYC, they are predominantly Black. We could not have marched on the March to DC without the 1199 union support.”
While social justice may not sound like the cause of the labor movement, this cause is in fact at the heart of this movement as it grows to represent the diverse workforce. Sarsour clarified, “Labor is part and parcel of our community and every social justice movement. Any issue that you care about, the labor movement is central to every issue that you work on.” Congressman Ellison continued, “Immigration reform. Human rights issues. A lot of things that Muslims think are important, Labor is working on.” Other examples that labor unions are working on include undocumented immigrants, women’s rights, racial discrimination, and incarceration. Sarsour pointed out, “We use the word solidarity a lot. In these movements, you are not an ally. I am in the movement because I believe it is our movement.” On immigration Sarsour, stated, “For the folks in the room who are immigrants or children of immigrants, nobody puts their children in a boat if the water wasn’t safer than the land,” and reminded us that protecting immigrants is “a legacy of your parents and your grandparents.” On women’s issues, Sarsour reminded us that “Islam is one of the most progressive religions.” On Black Lives Matter, Sarsour reminded us that “One third of our community is black.” Issue after issue, Sarsour stated, “You name the issues that are happening in this country, and Muslims and Islam could be considered the progressive movement in the United States of America. We are some of the most progressive people in this country.”
It is our duty to work with Labor on issues that affect all workers, and Muslims can turn to Labor for Muslim-specific issues in return. An audience member asked about the discrimination sometimes faced in building a new mosque, and that, too, the panel suggested is a cause that Labor would welcome. Syed explained, “When it comes to building a mosque, you will have the support of every union related to building because you are putting their workers to work.” Congressman Ellison suggested, “This is another source of power to move an agenda forward. Contacting the labor union may be another friend that you can pull into conversation to win that fight.” Sarsour stressed the importance of working together, “Think about intersectionality, how we are going to work within the labor movement.”
For far too long, Muslims have viewed the worker cause as not ours. In fact, it is our cause, and will be central to advancing any cause we care about. The cause of social justice came up over and over again at the ISNA Convention. Hazem Bata, Secretary General of ISNA, told a packed audience, “All of us have an obligation. We are fortunate to be born in the wealthiest nation in the world. So much of what attracted people to Islam had to do with social activism. Before you can establish concern for religion, you have to establish justice. It is a prerequisite to faith. It is our duty as citizens, also our duty as Muslims do address justice.”
Sarsour challenged the audience to think about the Sunnah of the Prophet, “If our prophet were alive today, he would be at the forefront of every social justice movement that we are talking about today.” She asked, “If our prophet would be at the forefront then why are you not at the forefront?” We ought to be at the forefront, alongside our brothers and sister in Labor. After all, as Sarsour eloquently spoke from experience, “We will not win civil rights for Muslims in America without Labor and without working with other communities.”
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