Hundreds of labor leaders and union members representing dozens of labor organizations processed into St. Patrick’s Cathedral on September 7 for the Labor Mass, ahead of the annual Labor Day Parade on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.
Banners from groups including the New York Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA, Ironworkers Local No. 40, and many more lined the aisles next to the altar, as the leaders and workers took their seats in the cathedral’s sanctuary.
Among them were 90 day laborers from the Bronx, Yonkers, and Portchester, whose participation in the Mass was made possible by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.
Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York since 2001, served as the Mass’ principal celebrant and homillist. Along with Monsignor Sullivan, concelebrants included Father Eric Cruz, regional coordinator for Catholic Charities for Westchester and Putnam Counties and The Bronx, and Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Monsignor Sullivan said in his opening remarks, apologizing on Cardinal Dolan’s behalf for being unable to attend. “I’m delighted that [Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s] schedule didn’t permit it. Because I get to pray with some of the best people of New York. So I get the privilege, the honor to pray with you, and I thank you for being here this morning.”
He also welcomed a number of special guests attending the Mass by name, including Mario Cilento, president of the New York AFL-CIO; Vincent Alvarez of the New York City Central Labor Council; Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller; New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon; Alex Bores, New York State Assemblymembers for the 73rd District of New York; and Gary LaBarbera, president of Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.
In his homily, Monsignor Sullivan noted a recent conversation he had with a New York City taxi driver, who planned on working during the Labor Day weekend. “‘Work is good,'” the driver told him. “I thought it was just an incredible indication of how work, for so many people, is just a very good way for them to express, to do what they need to do for themselves and their family, and they regard it, as good,” Monsignor Sullivan said.
“What you do is to make sure that work is good and decent so that people can have the basics, can make sure that their basic human rights are respected and able to be exercised in their own lives,” Monsignor Sullivan said, adding that labor is “incredibly valuable and incredibly important, and should never be denigrated.”
“The cab driver was right. Work is good. And it will be better because of what you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do. Thank you for who you are,” he said, concluding the homily.
The Mass is a traditional opening for the Labor Day Parade, a secular event which in recent years has fallen on the weekend after the official holiday.