from the President

  I begin every State of the Union Address by saying that the National Association of Catholic School Teachers and its affiliated locals are doing very well, thank you. There is always room for improvement, but considering some of the obstacles out there, we're doing just fine. During the Report of Locals last night, it was great to hear the success stories like Hartford, Columbus and Youngstown. We can be cautiously optimistic. Unfortunately, there are also Boston, St. Louis and Philadelphia.

 Many of us have not seen one another for two years and that is not good.  As has been said so often, we need to come together to communicate, to share and to draw strength from each other.

 Last May 1st, our good friend Msgr. George Higgins passed away. How fitting that he should leave us on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. At a time when the Catholic Church is engaging in more overt anti-union activities, we have lost our champion. There is, sad to say, no one out there to take his place. So often, over the years, Msgr. Higgins was the Jiminy Cricket of the U.S. Bishops and religious congregations of men and women, something they badly need. We¹ll have to hope that there is someone out there who will put on Monsignor¹s mantle.

 The sexual abuse scandal that we have all known existed, finally became a national issue. We also know that the Church often doesn't practice what it preaches. The Dallas Agreements - not yet in practice - are a national initiative. However, when we, the employees of the Church, ask the bishops for a national social justice initiative, we are told by the president of the Bishops' Conference that "The conference does not have the structure, the authority or the resources to pursue your request. The exploration of issues of justice for employees in Catholic schools needs to happen within local dioceses."

 NACST receives calls and e-mails from teachers across the country who want to do something to stop the way they are being treated. The initial discussion is rarely about money, although we all know what a problem it is to be falling farther and farther behind our public school colleagues. Teachers in Butte, Montana; Phoenix, Arizona; Washington, D.C. and Maryland want job security, they want a grievance process, they want to stop administrators from treating them in a less than Christian manner. Some of these teachers are afraid, but they know they need to change the way things are. We¹ve all been there; that¹s why we are here today. 

 That is the State of the Union. Looking ahead to 2003, we see more negotiating and more organizing. The National needs to continue to grow and this is not always easy without protection under labor law. Even though this is not the best of times for Catholic school teachers or the Unions that represent them, we need to keep fighting to protect the good contracts that we have and to get those contracts for teachers who do not yet enjoy them

 I get so angry when I hear Catholic school teachers speak of administrators threatening to fire them if they talk about a union. I tell these teachers about all of you because you have heard these same threats, fought the same battles and have stood strong.

 Thank you for all that you do to maintain justice and dignity for Catholic school teachers.

Keep up the good work.

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NACST 2002 Convention Update on Teacher Unions in Catholic Schools Charles Russo, M.Div., J.D., Ed.D. Panzer Chair in Education & Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Dayton The keynote address focused on the role of lay employees in Catholic schools as "the Church" dealing with members of the hierarchy at this time in Church history. According to Dr. Russo, "I think the challenge is to teach the bishops what the Church has to say." The Catholic Church has developed a rich theology of labor including papal encyclicals, ecumenical council documents, and bishops' statements.  In all these, it is clear that collective bargaining and teacher unionism are "highly compatible" with Catholic theology. Teacher unions in Catholic schools are a mechanism for justice.  While the bishops may think the application of the Church's theology of labor is "all outside the purview of the employer Church," it is the role of lay Church employees to continue to educate the bishops and call them to fidelity to the Church's teaching. Catholic education became a priority for US bishops in the second half of the 19th century.  In 1860 there were 200 Catholic schools.  That number increased to 1300 by 1870, 5000 by 1900 and reached a peak in 1965 with 14,296 schools nationwide.  In 2002, there are 8,144 US Catholic elementary and secondary schools. In the second half of the 20th century lay faculty at US Catholic schools rose from 16.7% in 1950 to 93% in 2000.  In those fifty years, bishops moved from dealing with a predominantly clerical and religious workforce to the overwhelmingly lay employees today.  This shift in the workforce at Catholic schools has not, however, been accompanied by the bishops' application of the Church's theology of labor. In a review of Catholic teacher union lawsuits, Dr. Russo decried the "money and time the Church has squandered in fighting its own teaching." Dr. Russo encouraged convention delegates, as the Church, to "teach the bishops what it is to be Catholic."

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NACST 2002 Convention Reports of Locals

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NACST 2002 Convention "Keeping the Local Young" Executive Vice President Mike Milz reported to the Convention delegates on the need to attract and develop union leadership skills among younger teachers. NACST membership is currently 35% in the 22-39 year range; 40% in the 40-55 year range; and, 25% in the 56 and older range. The average age of Local Presidents is 58 and Local Board members' average age is 48. Strategies proposed by convention delegates included increasing the number of meetings between union officers at individual schools and further implementing payment for union work.

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The John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarship  The National Association of Catholic School Teachers established the John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarship to help defray the cost of a college education for outstanding children of NACST members. During their senior year of high school, $5,000 awards are made to three students, $1,250 in each of their four years of college study.  All sons, daughters and stepchildren of all active NACST members are eligible to participate in this scholarship provided they are in good standing in their senior year of high school. Application forms are available from each member's local NACST affiliate or from the National Office.   Each eligible student must submit his/her SAT or ACT scores and the NACST application by March 1 of his/her senior year in high school to his/her parent's local NACST affiliate. The number of candidates submitted from each local is dependent upon the number of members in the local: one candidate from each affiliate with fewer than 100 members; two from each affiliate with 100-500 members; and three from each affiliate over 500 members. All candidates will be chosen by a Local Selection Committee appointed by the affiliate's Executive Board. The applications of all local winners will then be forwarded to the National Office for consideration in the national competition.  The primary emphasis in the selection process will be on academic performance. All factors will be given appropriate consideration as follows:  Class rank, grades and curriculum ... maximum points: 40  SAT,ACT scores ... maximum points: 30  Extracurricular and community activities ... maximum points: 30 Good luck to all.

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NACST at the NCEA Booth 830 NCEA 100th Annual Convention & Exposition April 22-25, 2003 St. Louis, MO

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The next local Presidents' Roundtable Conference has been scheduled for February 14-17, 2003.  The NACST Executive Committee has approved payment of expenses for all local presidents to attend.
Presidents may obtain specific information about the conference by contacting the NACST office.

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