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June 2003 [current]
Contents:
from the President: THE
YEAR IN REVIEW
John J. Reilly
Memorial Scholarship Winners
Highlights
of the 2003 Negotiation Season
No Greed Here
NACST at Work: Organizing
From the
Editor: The NACST Agenda
From the 2003 NCEA Convention
Red Ribbon Week 2003
Low-Income School
Teachers' Student Loan Forgiveness Program
Previous Issues
| 2003
John J. Reilly Memorial Scholarship Winners
The second 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 2003 Scholarship:
Katherine S. Neville, SLATA,
St. Louis
Megan M. Servick, COACE,
Columbus
Robert B. Whitman, COACE,
Columbus
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| Highlights
of the 2003 Negotiation Season
ACT [Philadelphia] - negotiations
opened March 25 with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Following initial
presentations of bargaining positions, ACT members voted May 13 to authorize
a strike.
UCCEA [New Providence NJ] - negotiations
concluded in early April and members ratified a new three year contract
with salary increases of 12%, 5%, & 5%. The contract includes
a provision for duty-free lunch and salary increases in the second and
third years if the Archdiocese of Newark imposes a salary increase higher
than the 5%.
In addition, negotiations continue at NACST @ St. John Vianney and are
nearing completion at St. Rose [Belmar NJ]. |
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from the President
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
At the end of each school year, I look
back at the various events which shaped the kind of year it was. Back in
September, one of our schools was on strike; throughout the year, there
were a number of grievances and arbitrations, and, sadly, as the end of
the school year approaches, some school closings were announced.
On the brighter side, we saw the first negotiated
elementary contract in the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey. Congratulations,
again, to the St. Denis Teachers Association and its President, Janne Darata.
There were also teachers from a number of dioceses
across the country who contacted the National Association with questions
about and assistance with organizing. By this time next year, hopefully,
all of these fledgling groups will be in the process of negotiating their
first collective bargaining agreements.
This past school year brought us into contact
with a large number of teachers at the NCEA Convention in St. Louis, the
Indiana Non-Public Education Conference and the Diocese of Toledo In-Service
Day.
Several locals, my own included, are currently involved in contract
negotiations. Therefore, for many teachers and their families, unfortunately,
it will be a long and uncertain summer.
No one working in the field of Catholic Teacher
Unions can do it alone. I am fortunate to work with an Executive
Committee whose expertise and experience I value highly as I do the Presidents
of our locals, I marvel at the stamina of our Presidents who teach full
time and also devote themselves full time to their local associations.
They are, indeed, a special breed as are their families who share them
with us.
participants and
guests at the 2003
NACST Leadership Conference
As I look ahead to the 2003-2004 school year,
I see a number of our locals opening negotiations and I anticipate new
groups forming and seeking assistance with organizing. And in October,
2003, the National Association of Catholic School Teachers will be celebrating
its silver anniversary.
First, however, it is time for us to take a well-deserved respite.
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No
Greed Here
excerpts from an August, 2000 editorial in the Bucks
County Courier Times on the negotiations between ACT and the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia
During difficult labor discussions teachers unions are sometimes accused
of being greedy. Let us say straight off that we do not think this
union is being greedy. Nor do we believe any of those teachers who
chooses to teach in a diocesan school is greedy. All of those teachers
know they will not earn in salary and benefits what their counterparts
in the public schools earn. They don't expect to.
What they do expect in return for their material sacrifice is a different
kind of educational experience - one that openly and proudly combines temporal
and spiritual teachings - in an environment where God is a welcome participant.
We would guess the vast majority of Catholic school lay teachers are more
than happy to accept the trade-off.
That said, it's still critically important that these teachers earn
a decent living, given the vital role they fill in the community and the
service they render to the church (whether they're Catholic of not).
Many of them have families to support; all of them face the same financial
obligations the rest of us do.
The goal of the archdiocese is to turn out competent graduates.
To do that you have to have competent teachers. To attract competent
teachers you have to pay them a competitive wage.
Or at least, not punish them with a contract that effectively reduces
their net income.
|
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NACST
at Work
Organizing
Teachers in Utica, NY [Syracuse Diocese] are
in the process of writing a constitution and by-laws to form a new organization,
following meetings with NACST President Rita Schwartz.
Unionization discussions have taken place in Harrisburg,
PA and at more schools in Cleveland OH and Philadelphia PA.
BATA
At their May General Membership Meeting, members
dealt with the practice of the Archdiocese "spinning off" schools from
the current bargaining unit. Rita Schwartz addressed members about
representation/unionization issues connected with the practice. |
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| From
the Editor: The NACST Agenda
Following the Fall 2002 US Bishops Annual Meeting
in Washington, DC, the NCR editorialized "We have a new dirty
word in the ecclesiastical lexicon: agenda." In an address to the
bishops, USCCB President Wilton Gregory indicated that the current crisis
in the US Church was being used by some "to exploit the vulnerability of
the bishops in this moment to advance their own agendas."
Those of us working in the Church do, indeed,
have our own agenda. The NACST agenda is simple, straightforward,
and has never been hidden from the bishops. The Ordinaries in whose
dioceses we work are certainly aware that our agenda is to promote and
put into practice the Church's own social justice teaching, to bring about
the realization of workers' rights promulgated in more than a century of
Catholic labor teaching.
Our agenda is to make sure that the Church
practices that which it preaches.
During negotiations and organizing, teachers
often face School/Church representatives who are unaware of the significant
workers' rights recognized by the Church.
According to the NCR editorial,
"the most pressing reality that never seems to make it onto the hierarchical
agenda is the dire need for reform of a closed structure that remains entirely
unaccountable to the community it serves and is largely out of range of
criticism."
We at NACST have, for almost twenty-five years,
been vocal and tireless in our efforts to push our agenda for "meaningful
lay participation in decision making," and a "full and open accounting
for the use of the church's treasury."
As we end the 2002-2003 school year, we remain
committed to all teachers in our schools and our responsibility to push
our agenda for justice in the Church. |
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| From
the 2003 NCEA Convention
Student numbers down, but schools' future looks
up
from a report in the April
18, 2003 NCR
Enrollment in the nation's Catholic schools fell
by 2.4 percent in 2002 as 140 schools were closed or consolidated, yet
experts say there are strong signs of life for parochial schools.
Forty percent of Catholic schools have waiting lists for admission,
and 47 new Catholic schools opened last year, according to a report issued
by the National Catholic Educational Association.
Enrollment in the country's 8,000 Catholic schools fell by 65,000 students
to 2.5 million. One-quarter of students are members of minority groups,
and 13 percent are non-Catholic, although that figure can reach higher
than 70 percent in some urban settings.
Despite 300 new schools in the past decade,
the number of Catholic schools is down about 5 percent.
Michael Guerra, president of the NCEA, said population shifts to the
suburbs have emptied inner-city schools. "We have students anxious
to attend Catholic schools in places where we don't have enough buildings.
And in some areas, we have an abundance of buildings but fewer students,"
he said.
NACST/St. Louis Locals
NACST President Rita Schwartz, Vice President
Mike Milz and Secretary-Treasurer Bill Blumenstein held meetings with officers
of the St. Louis Archdiocesan Teachers Association [Catholic High Schools]
and the Association of Catholic Elementary Educators [Catholic Elementary
Schools] while in St. Louis for the NCEA Convention.
Of major concern for SLATA is the representation
for teachers at a school which was "spun off" from Archdiocesan control
during the school year.
Congratulations to
Cindy Vertin, Bishop Le Blond High School,
St. Joseph, MO,
winner of the NACST Palm Pilot Raffle.
The raffle is held by NACST for NCEA convention
attendees
who complete union information request cards.
|
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For
the 2003-2004 school year:
‘Unite for a Drug Free World
- Plant the Promise!'
Red Ribbon Week 2003
Begun in 1985, Red Ribbon Week [sponsored by
the National Family Partnership] raises awareness and rallies communities
to fight drug, alcohol and tobacco use among youth.
“We need everyone’s help to spread the ‘Freedom
is Drug Free’ message loud and clear across America!” says Peggy Sapp,
president of NFP. “Taking part in this unique and meaningful program
helps raise awareness and funds for drug prevention and education."
Five bulb packages have been created to help
parents, schools, businesses, churches, and other community organizations
get involved in this year’s Red Ribbon Week festivities. A portion
of all sales from bulb packages will go toward The National Family Partnership’s
drug prevention programs.
To make participation both simple and easy,
NFP has teamed up with TulipWorld.com, an award-winning Dutch bulb site
to offer on-line bulb packages designed to suit every climate and budget.
Click here to view available packages. |
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| Low-Income
School Teachers' Student Loan Forgiveness Program
Following up on the report in the April 2003
Newsworthy,
more information regarding Catholic school teacher eligibility to participate
in the federal student loan forgiveness program for teachers in low income
schools is available from the Federal Student Aid Office of the US Department
of Education.
The FSA HELPLINE number is 1-800-433-3243
(1-800-4FEDAID) and is available 7 days a week, through evening hours.
Click here
for further information.
A school’s designation as “low income” is
based on the percentage of students at the school who are eligible for
a free or reduced price lunch, as reported by the district to the state
each year. For this purpose, per the federal definition, schools with more
than 30% of their students eligible for free/reduced lunch are identified
as low income schools.
Currently, legislation allows forgiveness
up to $5000. |
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Previous Issues
April
2003 December
2002 September
2002
June 2002April
2002 Decembet
2001 September
2001
April 2001
February 2001
December 2000
September 2000
April 2000
September 1999
December 1999
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.nacst@verizon.net. |
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