Contents:
27th NACST Convention/Conference
Yet, Again - from a USCCB Statement 
NACST 2005 John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarships
From the NACST President: 2005 Labor Day Statement
Msgr. Higgins on Catholic School Teacher Unions
The Catholic Labor Network
From the Editor: Filling the Void?
Red Ribbon Week 2005
Local Negotiations
Local Settlements
Previous Issues
 

NACST 2005 John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarships

The annual John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarships have been awarded by NACST.

The scholarships were established to remember the founding president of NACST and are awarded annually to help defray the cost of a college education for outstanding children of NACST members.

The students will receive $1250 in each of their four years of study, making each scholarship a $5000 value over each student's course of collegiate studies.

Congratulations to the  winners of the 2005 Scholarship:

Anna Kasunic
Federation of Pittsburgh Diocesan Teachers

John R. Ladd
Federation of Pittsburgh Diocesan Teachers

Rebecca Miller
Diocesan Elementary Teachers Association Buffalo

27th NACST Convention/Conference

The annual NACST Convention will be held October 8-10 at the Wyndham Hotel in Washington, DC.

Keynote speaker this year is the Reverend Sinclair Oubre, coordinator of the Catholic Labor Network [see page 5].

In remarks at the 2002 gathering of the CLN Fr. Oubre stated: "I truly believe that our Catholic Social Teaching is a message that the world needs to hear.  It is not only a gospel of temporal solidarity and the fulfillment of our earthly needs, but it is also intricately tied to the whole redemptive process that Jesus came to proclaim.  As such we must recognize that when we proclaim our Catholic Church's social gospel, we are not just providing people with a means for a better world, but we are inviting them to live in a way that will lead them to eternal life in Jesus Christ."

Convention business includes Executive Committee elections, a presentation on HSA's and other benefit accounts [following up on the 2005 Presidents' Roundtable], reports of locals, and the general issues forum.
 

LABOR DAY 2005: THE CHURCH AND WORKERS' RIGHTS

  As we celebrate LABOR DAY 2005, I think it is important to seek out the teachings of our Church on social justice and observe how the Catholic hierarchy champions the rights of workers, most especially, their own. This year, we can turn to the recently released COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH, a 331 page text drawn up by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the request of the late Pope John Paul II  "to give a concise but complete overview of the Church's social teaching."

 Church social teaching is quite extensive, but, for our purposes, I think a trip to Section V, THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS, is in order. The teachings say all the correct things and seem to make the Catholic Church the clear winner of the  "Employer of the Year" award. Besides listing the basics like the fundamental right to "a just wage," the COMPENDIUM goes deeper and makes it clear that "one's personality in the workplace should be safeguarded 'without suffering any affront to one's conscience or personal dignity.'  Another fundamental right follows: workers have the right to assemble and form associations."   The  COMPENDIUM continues, "These rights are often infringed, as is confirmed by the sad fact of workers who are underpaid and without protection or adequate representation."

 In light of this most recent promulgation of Catholic social justice, it might be well to revisit the state of labor relations in some of our locals to see if and to what extent the employer Church is fulfilling the tenets of its own social doctrine. Unfortunately, it seems that, in several instances, bishops regard the COMPENDIUM as a work of fiction, not as their guide to labor-management relations with their own employees.

 There is Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis. This forward-looking Ordinary continues to stand by his 2004 policy mailed to every elementary lay teacher: "Neither the Archdiocese nor individual parishes will recognize or bargain collectively with any organization as a representative of teachers.²"

 In Boston, a thirty year collective bargaining relationship was destroyed by Archbishop Sean O'Malley. He canceled the collective bargaining agreement, refusing to live up to it even while it was still in force. He created "independent" high schools, merely alter egos of the former school system. By doing this, he stripped teachers of union representation, ended all job security and tenure and, instead, reduced over two hundred lay teachers to "employees at will," subject to whatever rules new Boards of Trustees decide to create, however and whenever they want.

 In Middletown, Connecticut, a private high school blatantly refused to recognize their teachers' right to form an association and to seek recognition and collective bargaining. A recent letter to the officers of the teacher association is but one more indication of the hypocrisy prevalent in more and more dioceses. These teachers are threatened with "discipline or dismissal" if they make any comments to "parents, prospective parents, alumni and other potential supporters of the school" about the school's refusal to follow the teachings of the Church in regard to the right of its employees to form unions. The religious head of the school deems this as "disruptive behavior" and "destructive tactics."  He states that these need only be tolerated "in a setting where the right to form and join a union is legally recognized." 

 Legally recognized?

 The letter ends with a resounding social justice statement: "You may not agree with all the principles set forth in this letter. However, you are now on notice of our expectations, and in the event you choose not to comply with them, you cannot claim to be surprised by the consequences that follow." 

 The Church teachings contained in the COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE
OF THE CHURCH would soundly condemn these three employers. Yet, a blind eye is turned when the violators of Church teaching are part of the institutional Church itself. You cannot condemn hypocrisy in others while you accept it from your own. This creates but one more giant credibility problem for the Catholic Church.

 The National Association of Catholic School Teachers wishes all of our fellow Catholic School Teachers a happy Labor Day and a productive new school year. Let us hope that it will be a year in which the words "social justice" become more than another empty phrase printed in yet another volume of Church teaching.

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A "Labor Priest" on Catholic school teacher unions
from Organized Labor and the Church,  Msgr. George Higgins [Paulist Press, 1993]

     The question is not whether "church people" see unions in Catholic schools as a good idea or whether other ways exist to meet the ordinary right of teachers.
     The question is: Are "church people" prepared to support the right of teachers to form union, if and when these teachers choose to do so?
     Officers of Catholic teachers' unions ... fully understand that their organizations must take serious account of those elements - doctrine, financial, etc. - which make church-related schools significantly different from public schools.
     But these differences should not be exaggerated and certainly should not be used as an argument against the organization of teachers' union in Catholic schools.
     I would go further and say that strong teachers' union, given a willingness on the part of school administrators to cooperate with them in good faith, can make a valuable contribution to the betterment of the entire Catholic school system.
     Once church-related institutions reach a point of sound labor relations, they may discover new opportunities for carrying out the church's social mission.
     Catholic institutions - hiring hundreds or even thousands of workers, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, who have not volunteered to serve the church at a personal sacrifice - should be prepared to bargain collectively if their employees choose to organize for this purpose.
     I sympathize with those administrators who seek to nurture a spirit of community in church-related institution.  But a Christian community which fails to respect the dignity of its own employees is a contradiction of terms.
     This is not to say that workers must belong to a union in order to have a sense of their own dignity.
     It is to say, however, that their right to organize must be respected.
     Wherever the free exercise of this right is thwarted or obstructed, there can be no such thing as a genuine Christian community.

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The Catholic Labor Network

 The Catholic-Labor Network [CLN] began with the gathering of a small group of religious, laity and clergy in Decatur, Illinois, in 1995 when the town was being rocked by two major strikes and one lockout.  Their goal was to hear from those who had been active in Catholic-labor issues, pray with one another, and to begin to re-establish a network of support.
 The CLN is "a place for those Catholics, lay, religious and clergy, who are active in their churches and in unions" so they can "learn about their Church’s teachings [regarding] labor issues, pray for those who are working for economic justice and share information about events and struggles that may be taking place in their area." 
 Information about CLN, its mission and work, can be obtained by visiting www.catholiclabor.org.
 

From the Editor: Filling the Void

When the hierarchy acts against its own teaching it's necessary for others to pick up the slack and put the Church's social justice teaching into action.

In the 20th c., Church teaching on unions was promoted by priests such as Msgr. George Higgins, Msgr. John Egan, the Rev. Martin Mangan and lay people such as Cesar Chavez and Dorothy Day.

These priests and lay people provided the Church's  prophetic witness in labor issues.

Today, in the labor arena priests and lay people in the CLN and in NACST are filling in the void which is the hierarchy's disregard for social justice. 

CLN and NACST members' actions are the height of fidelity to Gospel values and teaching.

While the secular organized labor movement in the U.S. experienced troubles this summer, NACST members look forward to the new school year as yet another opportunity to give witness to the Church's social justice teaching.

Keep up the good work, renewed as the new school year begins.

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Yet, Again ...
excerpts from the USCCB's 2005 document Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium [full text at www.usccb.org/bishops/schools.pdf]

 We, the Catholic bishops of the United States, wish to offer our deep gratitude to those individuals who staff our Catholic elementary and secondary schools, the dedicated lay and religious administrators and teachers.

 Our total Catholic community must increase efforts to address the financial needs of our Catholic school administrators, teachers, and staff.  Many of our employees make great sacrifices to work in our Catholic schools.  The Catholic community must not ignore the reality of inadequate salaries, which often require these individuals to seek supplemental employment (Lay Catholics, no. 27) to meet living expenses and expenses due to limited or non-existent health-care and retirement benefits.

 Catholic social teaching on the provision of just wages and benefits is both strong and clear.

 It is our community's responsibility to take action to address these issues now.

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LOCAL NEGOTIATIONS

Holy Cross - as of August 2005 negotiations have moved to mediation but, without a tentative agreement, the school has placed the following ad in local papers - “Substitute/Replacement Teachers in all academic areas for a Catholic High School in New Jersey beginning Sept. 2005.” Applicants are instructed to send a letter of interest and resume to the school’s attorney.

As of August 2005 Negotiations continue at St. Rose in Belmar NJ and between the CTU and Camden diocesan schools.  Salary and health coverage remain the key sticking points in both sets of negotiations.

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LOCAL SETTLEMENTS

CHALTA - members ratified a new 3 year contract for language with a 1 year agreement for salary - the new contract contains no increase in the percentage of employee contribution for hospitalization.

Altoona/Johnstown - members ratified a new 4 year contract with annual wage increases of $1500/1st year, $1400/2nd year, $1350/3rd & 4th years with the starting salary increasing $500/year - teachers will be paying a health insurance premium co-pay of between $425/year individual up to $600/year family.

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‘Drug Free - I Have the Power'  Red Ribbon Week   October 23-31 2005

Red Ribbon Week  raises awareness and rallies communities to fight drug, alcohol and tobacco use among youth.  The annual event is sponsored by the National Family Partnership [NFP].
 Since its inception, NACST has made participation in Red Ribbon Week activities easily accessible for NACST members.
 NFP works with TulipWorld.com, an award-winning Dutch bulb site, to offer on-line bulb packages designed to suit every climate and budget. 
 Included in the package is a guide on talking to students about drugs and remaining drug free. 
 The theme this year is "Drug Free- I Have the Power."  Bulbs planted during Red Ribbon Week will bloom in about six months, just in time for National Alcohol Awareness month in April.     Packages can be viewed at www.nfp.org.

Previous Issues
April 2005    December 2004    September 2004
June 2004   April 2004  December 2003  September 2003
June 2003  April 2003   December 2002  September 2002 
June 2002  April 2002   December 2001  September 2001
April 2001  February 2001  December 2000  September 2000
April 2000   September 1999   December 1999