Contents:
John Reilly, A Tribute
NACST Presidents' Roundtable
Wrong About Labor's Future, Msgr. Higgins February 17, 2000
National Interest in Labor & School Legislation [Editorial]

from the President

     John J. Reilly, founding President of the National Association of Catholic School Teachers, died on March 2, 2000.  With his passing, Catholic teacher unionism has lost a giant.
 What can one say about John Reilly?  This twinkling-eyed, wily Irishman was our David in the face of many a Goliath.  His slingshot, though verbal, was always on the mark.  His determination and intensity were legendary.  His read of a situation was always uncanny.  It was almost as if his brain contained a divining rod where hypocrisy was concerned.
     For almost thirty years, John had been in the forefront of the lay teachers' fight for justice and dignity.  This was his vocation.  You could be sure that wherever the battle was raging, John was always smack in the middle of it, whether it was on a picket line in Pittsburgh, New York or Scranton, at a chancery sit-in in Los Angeles or testifying in a courtroom in Philadelphia.
     None of us ever doubted John.  We followed willingly, though the course, many times, was uncharted.  His leadership inspired.  His honesty and integrity fanned the flames of our resolve.  His concern for justice and fair treatment of Catholic teachers and Catholic schools was always the primary motive for his actions.
     John was President of NACST from 1978 until his retirement in 1993.  He continued to play an active role in the Catholic teacher movement serving as a consultant and organizer for NACST.  In 1998, the NACST Executive Committee presented John with the first Msgr. George G. Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award to honor a man who fought tirelessly for justice and dignity for Catholic school teachers.
     I had the honor of working with John Reilly for over thirty years, first as the Philadelphia union, ACT, Local 1776, was formed and grew into the strong and powerful entity it is today, then as the National Association took shape and became the foice of Catholic teachers across the country.  We fought many battles together, sometimes like Don Quixote and Sancho, but always with our ideals and integrity intact.  His advice to me often was "Hang loose."  Although John, many times, gave that impression, inwardly, there was always the alert watchfulness of the lion.  He was a remarkable man, a man  I was privileged to call friend.

      ACT staff member Ed Stehle presented the following points for verbal communicators:
•  knowing the audience's frame of reference
•  viewing communication with members and interested parties as a slow, deliberative process
•  creating an environment conducive to effective communication, including relating to audience members on a personal level

     Dr. Kenneth Fisher presented a seminar on effective written communication, with these points:
•  using a 3-step writing process- planning 50%, drafting 20%, editing 30%
•  writing with 4-easys for readers - easy to read, easy to understand, easy to interpret, easy to remember
•  organizing in 3-steps - state the main idea, explain the message in detail, restate main idea to motivate readers

Msgr. Higgins

Troy's book ["Beyond Unions and Collective Bargaining"] hardly was off the press when the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor released a detailed report indicating that union membership nationwide rose faster last year than any time in the past two decades.

Troy has great confidence in the beneficent workings of free competition.  The individualistic model, he adds, "swims with the currents of market forces."

Starting with Pope Leo XIII's pioneering 1891 encyclical "On the Condition of Labor," Catholic social teaching has rejected the notion that wage justice can be left purely to the workings of the free market.  Every social encyclical since Pope Leo's pioneer document reaffirms his teaching on this point.

A recent congressional hearing chaired by a Republican senator provided ample statistical evidence of just how poorly the free market protects and negotiates for the 1.3 million nurses aides.  Their average hourly wage is $6.94 (without benefits) and their turnover is 94 percent.

Troy admits in his book that the market is imperfect, but I can find no evidence in the book that he really understands how terribly imperfect it is.

     In his address to the 2000 USCC CAD Bishop Wuerl noted the steps his diocese [Pittsburgh] has taken to promote Catholic schools.  Among those efforts are the "Extra Mile" Foundation which solicits development funds for diocesan schools and the assessment to each parish to support schools throughout the diocese.  The diocesan efforts to have everyone support Catholic education are working effectively for both Catholics and the general population in western Pennsylvania.
     The Pittsburgh school-support programs are based on the principle that Catholic education is the responsibility of all Catholics, even in parishes in which there is no school.  Members of the business community give credence to appeals from diocesan officials seeking development funding outside Catholic institutions because they see the value of the Catholic schools and the active commitment of Church members.
     If the same principle were applied on the national level the Church would be viewed with the same credibility and support of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  To that end, to gain effective national support of Catholic schools, Church officials throughout the country must do two things: implement programs in every diocese in which all Catholics contribute to the schools; and, follow labor policies enacted in federal legislation, consistent with Church teaching.
     Twenty-one years ago the Church fought against unionization in the federal courts.  Bishops have been using the 1979 U.S. Supreme Court Chicago Bishops decision to trample on the labor rights of Catholic school employees.  If the bishops today expect the nation at large to support Catholic schools through legislation which helps Catholic school parents and staff then they must give credible witness to the Church's own commitment to the schools and the nation's laws, including labor legislation.