In reading Bl. John Paul II's Centesimus annus, I came across a rather interesting statement: "Here we find the reason for the Church's defence and approval of the establishment of what are commonly called trade unions: certainly not because of ideological prejudices or in order to surrender to a class mentality, but because the righ of association is a natural right of the human being, which therefore proceeds his or her incorporation into political society. Indeed, the formation of unions "cannot...be prohibited by the State", because "the State is bound to protect natural rights, not to destroy them; and if it forbids its citizens to form associations, it contradicts the very principle of its own existence (Rerum novarum, 135)." (Centesimus annus, 7)
Why does the Church support trade unions or labor unions? Not because of their goals or what they are trying to accomplish. No, the Church supports simply their right to exist, because all humans have an inalienable right to form associations. In fact, Bl. John Paul II recognizes a fact it seems that many progressive Catholics conveniently ignore: "Later on, this movement [the labor movement] was dominated to a certain extent by the Marxist ideology against which Rerum novarum had spoken." This can be seen by the Goethe movement, as well as labor unions in the US, many of which are still overtly Marxist. Despite the evil these unions support (make no mistake, the Church has consipicuously stated that Marxism and Socialism are evil), the Church supports their existence because it is the right of their members to form such an association.
My conclusion: you don't have to support unions to be a disciple of the Social Teaching of the Church.
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