The Most American Attitude in the Entire Lithuanian Press: 19th century trade unions fought for decent working conditions, today - how to defend freedom of conscience and speech

“A 19th-century worker feared that if he got sick he would not have bread, and if he got old - a source of livelihood. In the 21st century, people are increasingly afraid that for a publicly expressed word, opinion or truth of belief - they will be eliminated from the public sphere, lose their job, experience public bullying and humiliation.

 

The same solidarity mechanism that was once born in factories and mines, today more and more often has to be activated to defend not only the workplace, but also the right to speak, believe, and disagree.

 

Trade unions began to be formed in the early-mid 19th century, when the industrial revolution completely changed the world of work - people from villages flocked to cities, worked in factories for 12-16 hours a day, without social guarantees, without security, without a real opportunity to negotiate with the employer.

 

The first modern trade unions were formed in the early 19th century Great Britain was at the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution. Initially, workers' associations were prohibited by law (the Combination Acts). Attempting to organize could result in imprisonment or even exile (the famous case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in 1834). Nevertheless, people still gathered.

 

In 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which is considered the beginning of Catholic social teaching. It stated for the first time so clearly and authoritatively: workers have the right to form associations; the state must not prohibit trade unions; workers' organizations are a natural and legitimate way to protect themselves from exploitation; employers must respect the dignity of workers and pay them fair wages.

 

At that time, Europe was still in a strong confrontation between capital and the growing socialist movement. Leo XIII proposed an alternative - a Christian social model that recognized private property, but at the same time defended the solidarity of workers and the right to organize. In essence, he stated: workers' unions are not a threat, and a necessity if we want social justice. It is from him that the tradition of Christian trade unions begins.

 

When it comes to the beginning of modern social policy in Europe, it is necessary to remember Otto von Bismarck, the German Chancellor, who introduced state-organized social security at the end of the 19th century. Germany was rapidly industrializing, the working class was growing, the socialist movement was growing, and the government was afraid of revolutions (after the uprisings of 1848, Europe was still living in a state of anxiety).

 

O. von Bismarck was a conservative, not a socialist, but he understood: if the state did not take care of the workers, they would be drawn into revolutionary movements. Therefore, his social policy was both a project of social justice and political stabilization - an effort to reduce revolutionary tension, strengthen loyalty to the state, and weaken the radical left.

 

In the Russian Empire, where workers did not create strong trade unions, a bloody Bolshevik revolution broke out, and social exclusion and inequality were exploited to justify both repression and both conquests and the communist regime.

 

On 1 May 1955 in Rome, at a meeting with Christian workers' organisations, Pope Pius XII officially declared 1 May the Feast of St Joseph the Worker as a conscious response to World Labour Day. The intention was to recall Christian social teaching.

 

1 May was already an international day of workers' solidarity, strongly linked to socialist and communist movements. The Church proposed an alternative – Christian – understanding of labour relations: not as a class struggle, but as dignity, solidarity, social justice and cooperation between workers and employers. This was a symbolic but significant step in the context of the Cold War.

 

This decision reinforced Catholic social teaching, emphasised the dignity of work, gave a Christian identity to workers' movements and established the idea that workers' rights and faith were not in opposition.

 

If in the 19th century trade unions primarily defended the physical and economic security of the worker, today it is increasingly necessary to defend freedom of conscience, religion and speech.

 

Christians are increasingly being ostracized from the public sphere and accused of discrimination and hate speech due to their attitudes based on Christian ethics and moral teachings. The public sphere and culture no longer support customs based on faith and religious beliefs, on the contrary, they seek to eliminate them by all possible means.

 

Constant tension, sown fear and discrimination encourage people to come together and defend their civil rights and freedoms.

 

The Lithuanian Christian Workers' Trade Union was founded in 2021, when priest Algirdas Toliatas shared on his Facebook account an invitation from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lina Šulcienė to sign two petitions on topics at the center of public debate: one of them called for opposition to the Istanbul Convention, the other to the Partnership Law.

 

The priest was subjected to very aggressive attacks, nicknames, and bullying in the Lithuanian media and social networks - well-known public figures and influencers publicly criticized the priest and put pressure on him for his “wrong” position and actions.

 

The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference also reacted to the situation, regretting that “priest A. Toliatas received harsh and offensive reactions to his respectfully expressed opinion”, and emphasizing that “the clergyman did not deviate from the position represented by the Church”, and the priest “exercised his right as a citizen and a clergyman to express his opinion”.

 

Soon, active believers formed an initiative group, and after receiving the blessing of Cardinal J. Em. Sigitas Tamkevičius SJ and his consent to be the spiritual leader of the organization, a decision was made to establish the Lithuanian Christian Workers’ Trade Union. Priest Algirdas Toliatas became the spiritual guide of the organization.

 

2023–2024 The Christian Trade Union has already had several cases where it had to help its members who faced cancel culture and discrimination at work because of their views.

 

These are well-known cases in society: the litigation of journalist Virginijus Savukynas against his employer LRT over a message he posted on his Facebook account criticizing the then-Minister of Justice Ewelina Dobrowolska; an attempt to dismiss historian and journalist Vidmantas Valiušaitis from his job at the National M. Mažvydas Library using fictitious reasons for dismissal, when the real reason was his research and revealing the truth on topics important to Lithuanian history; and also, based on an anonymous complaint, an attempt to discredit Christian Trade Union Council member Prof. Dr. Birutė Obelenienie in the public sphere, by putting pressure on the management of Vytautas Magnus University regarding a course she was teaching on the Christian view of sexuality.

 

It is important to understand that the culture of cancellation is not just a problem for individuals. When silencing practices take hold in the public sphere, when people begin to fear expressing their beliefs due to possible professional or reputational consequences, trust in the state weakens, civic activism decreases, and society becomes divided and more vulnerable.

 

Such an atmosphere – when some citizens feel excluded from public discourse – is a threat to national security, because a weak, divided society cannot be resistant to external threats.

 

Not only individuals but also non-governmental organizations, especially those operating in the areas of family strengthening and Christian advocacy, face the culture of cancellation and discrimination.

 

The Institute for a Free Society, which participated in the competition organized by the Ministry of Social Security and Labor, headed by the then Minister Monika Navickienė, did not receive funding, because the experts who evaluated the application indicated that the organization’s critical position on the Istanbul Convention and the draft law on civil unions was the main reason for the project’s rejection.

 

Last year, the Crisis Pregnancy Center, one of the few non-governmental organizations providing real assistance to women experiencing unplanned or crisis pregnancies, loss of a child due to miscarriage or premature birth, termination of pregnancy or postpartum depression, did not receive project funding from the Ministry of Social Security and Labor.

 

Pal. J. Matulaitis Social Center, Psychological Support and Counseling Center, Kaunas Archdiocese Family Center, Vilnius Caritas also faced a similar situation.

 

All this shows that it is not enough to just be indignant and monitor the situation. Courage and action are needed.

 

Therefore, from 2023, the Christian Trade Union began to mobilize a solidarity financial fund, the funds of which are used to cover the costs of legal aid and provide other support to those who, due to their beliefs, face injustice in the workplace.

 

These measures yielded results. Virginijus Savukynas won the case in the court of first instance against the LRT, which did not dare to appeal; Vidmantas Valiušaitis signed a favorable peace agreement with the National Library of M. Mažvydas; the campaign to discredit and persecute Prof. Dr. Birutė Obelenienė was terminated in the face of widespread resistance.

 

Of course, not everyone can be on the front lines of the fight for freedom of speech and conscience. Not everyone is a teacher, journalist, doctor or official. However, everyone can show solidarity with those who are currently or will be faced with restrictions on freedom of conscience, religion or speech. Because a state is as free and strong as the people living in it are.”