April 2002
Contents:
from the President: What a Difference a Union Makes
Catholic School Teachers - Why Unionize? How Can We Unionize?
Affiliates in Action
John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarship
Congressional Advocacy Days
Catholic-Labor Network Gathering
The Benefits of NACST Affiliation
Paterson NJ Catholic School Salaries on the Rise
Editorial: Catholic Teacher Unions - Look to the Future
Unfortunately, thousands of other Catholic school teachers are employees at will; they have no contract other than the one the administration has written and the administration can change at any time. These teachers have no real say over the conditions under which they work. They have no job security, no meaningful grievance process and they suffer the indignity of having to be invited back even after many years at the school. When a non-unionized Catholic school teacher hears the words "just cause," they usually mean "just 'cause the Principal says so."
There is no reason for Catholic school teachers not to be represented, not to have a say over their professional lives. The social justice teachings of the Church were written to include those who work for the Church. As the U.S. Bishops stated in their 1986 Economic Pastoral, All the moral principles that govern the just operation of any economic endeavor apply to the church and its agencies and institutions; indeed the church should be exemplary.
What a difference a union makes. Let the National Association of Catholic School Teachers know how we can be of assistance to you.
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CAD participants were addressed by: Bishop Donald Wuerl [Pittsburgh], chairman of the USCCB Committee on Education; Hon. Eugene Hickock, U.S. Under Secretary of Education; Hon. Chris Smith, U.S. Representative from NJ; and, researchers and staffers from the USCCB, the Center for Educational Partnerships, and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Panel presentations focused on recent research on the feasibility and performance of school voucher programs; the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [the "No Child Left Behind" legislation]; and, the upcoming reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Conference participants received information about national legislative programs and initiatives affecting Catholic schools, as well as programs for tax credits and vouchers for parents of Catholic school students.
Recent studies of voucher programs have indicated that students attending Catholic schools in large urban areas have achieved significant academic benefits when their parents participate in privately-funded voucher programs. A major study of voucher programs in New York City, Dayton and Washington, DC will be released April 15 by the Brookings Institution. [Details of this study and other information presented at the CAD will be presented in the next issue of Newsworthy.]
CAD participants were encouraged to use the information presented at the conference to promote inclusion of Catholic school parents and students in federal education programs.
CAD participants visited members of Congress Tuesday March 5.
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On February 23, 2002, The Catholic-Labor Network held its third national Gathering in Washington, D.C. NACST President Rita Schwartz and Executive Vice President Mike Milz were in attendance. Rita Schwartz was a presenter on the Gathering’s third Panel THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS EMPLOYER. Among the other presenters was Sister Barbara Pfarr of the National Interfaith Committee on Worker Justice and NACST’s 2000 Convention Keynoter. Listed below are excerpts from President Schwartz’s talk, JUSTICE AND DIGNITY FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS. The full text is available here.
The double standard practiced by the employer Church is the greatest challenge faced by Catholic teachers seeking representation and collective bargaining. We read countless Church social justice documents exhorting secular employers to pay a just wage and form partnerships between labor and management. . . However, Catholic teachers experience daily the employer Church’s true mission statement: DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO. It might be good to point out that although salary is not the primary issue [of teachers who contact NACST about organizing], it is one of significant importance. The difference between Catholic school salaries and public school salaries, the Faith Gap, grows ever wider. The top of many elementary salary scales is the public school starting salary in the neighboring districts. The National Association of Catholic School Teachers and its affiliates continue to try first to work within the faith community, but since that has proven futile in all but rare cases, we find ourselves in State and Federal Courts. We have also from time to time filed canonical recourses at the Vatican. We’ll do whatever it takes to make the employer Church practice what it preaches.The Catholic-Labor Network Gathering was a wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with a number of other Catholic labor activists, among them long-time friends of NACST, Father Ed Boyle of Boston’s Labor Guild and Father Pat Sullivan C.S.C. The Catholic-Labor Network’s website can be accessed through the Related Links section of the NACST website.
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The
Benefits of NACST Affiliation
from an April 1996 presentation to local members by former COACE
president Linda Haas
When I made the acquaintance of John Reilly
and Rita Schwartz from NACST [and] when I got to meet the officers from
other associations I realized the importance of joining NACST. Here
is a resource to help make our association stronger.
There is strength in numbers. We will
be stronger as part of NACST. We will have access to advice from
all the other organizations in the country.
As we struggle to negotiate more and better
benefits we see the need to be better trained and better educated.
The National offers training for Officers at National Conventions.
NACST also offers training for negotiations, grievance resolution, executive
committee duties and representatives.
I want us to be part of the national for many reasons. The main
reason is for the officers. If we want to become stronger and more
professional we should be part of this national professional organization.
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Paterson
NJ Salaries on the Rise
from a Catholic News Service item February 3, 2002
Starting salaries for full-time elementary
and secondary teachers in the schools of the Paterson, N.J., diocese will
be raised to $26,000 and $29,000 respectively, beginning in the 2002-2003
school year.
The current starting salaries are $19,000
for elementary teachers and $23,000 for secondary teachers.
By the end of a planned five-year cycle of
increases in the 2006-2007 school year, the starting salaries for elementary
and secondary school teachers, respectively, will be $29,575 and $32,320.
Parishes that believe they cannot meet the new salary guide "completely"
after consultation with their education and finance councils are asked
by Bishop Frank Rodimer to "write directly to me with all the financial
particulars" by March 1. "I will review your request and give you
a decision as soon as possible," he said.
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Editorial:
Catholic Teacher Unions - Look to the Future
Lay teachers make up 93% of U.S. Catholic
elementary and secondary school faculties.
As professionals committed to the American
tradition of parochial education, we serve both our students and the Church
when we negotiate terms and conditions of employment which give incentives
to keep dedicated teachers in our schools.
To unionize is to look to the future of U.S.
Catholic school education.
When teachers organize for purposes of collective
bargaining we put into practice the labor principles extolled in Catholic
social justice teaching.
From the first unions established more than
thirty years ago, every Catholic school contract has recognized the distinction
between religious matters appropriately determined by hierarchical authorities
and secular matters appropriately determined by educational professionals
working in the Catholic schools.
Catholic school teacher unions are, in all
ways, supportive of religious doctrine and values.
We are in the business of working for the
future.
NACST encourages all Catholic school teachers
to organize and work to guarantee the ongoing valuable tradition of parochial
education.
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NACST
Establishes John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarship
This spring NACST will award the first scholarships
established by the union to memorialize and pay tribute to John J. Reilly,
the first president of NACST.
Three scholarships will be awarded annually
to help defray the cost of a college education for outstanding children
of NACST members.
Each year, students will be selected and awarded
$1250 in each of their four years of study, making each scholarship a $5000
value over each student's course of collegiate studies.
The primary emphasis in the selection process
will be on academic performance.
Students submitted by locals will be awarded
scholarships by a National Selection Committee.
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Affiliates
in Action - NACST Local Activities
COACE: members ratified a new contract
February 12 to cover the 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005 school years
DETA: in the process of negotiating
for 6 elementary schools with contracts set to expire August 31, 2002
CTU: opening negotiations for diocesan/parish
high school and special education teachers
CHALTA: currently negotiating a
new contract for high school teachers in Cleveland
SDTA: negotiations stalled, currently
awaiting disposition of lawsuit filed in NJ civil court
ACT: set to begin negotiations
at Holy Cross for teachers and maintenance staff
Catholic
School Teachers:
Why Unionize?
keep good teachers in Catholic schools by:
• putting the Church's labor teaching
into practice
• having a voice in working conditions,
salaries, and benefits
• fairly resolving legitimate disputes
• treating teachers with respect &
professionalism
Catholic School Teachers:
How Can We Unionize?
• by talking to your colleagues at school
• by becoming informed of locals in
your area
• by emailing NACST
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| Newsworthy
is a publication of the National Association of Catholic School Teachers.
Direct comments, inquiries to: Chris Ehrmann, NACST, Suite 903, 1700 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19103 email nacst@snip.net. |
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