September 2000 
Website Opening Page -  preview
Contents:
from the President: Labor Day 2000 - Reality Bites
Msgr. Higgins Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Faith Gap for Catholic School Teachers
Editorial: Once Again, Inform
 

The 22nd Annual NACST Convention/Conference was held October 6-8 at the Loew's Hotel in New York City. Keynote Speaker: Sister Barbara Pfarr National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice Convention Photos

from the President
 Each year as I begin to write my Labor Day Statement, I wonder what America's bishops will be saying in theirs; what exhortations they will make to other employers about the rights of workers to a just wage, to just treatment, to health benefits and to dignity as a creature of God.  It is truly surreal when you read what is said by the Bishops' spokesman and, then, try to make these words mesh with the actions of the employer Church.

 The eternal enigma of "practice what you preach" has been very much in the front of my brain this summer because I am involved in two separate contract negotiations, one for a first labor agreement and one for a fourteenth.  The first contract covers the teachers in our newest affiliate, St. Denis School in Manasquan, New Jersey; the other, the 1000 lay teachers in the 22 high schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  The issues in both are the standard ones, and the similarities in the employers' approaches are amazing./  The St. Denis negotiations just got underway; the Philadelphia talks have been ongoing since April.  The school year will begin in Manasquan as bargaining continues; the opening of the school year, which is two weeks away in the 5-county Philadelphia Archdiocese, is somewhat in doubt.

 A major issue in Philadelphia is the School System's proposal that the teachers contribute quite a lot more to the medical plan premium than the System is offering, at the present time, in salary increases.  There is also the matter of an early retirement incentive which has been in the contract for the past six years and which the System has deleted from its proposal.

 There is substantial room for improvement in the opening salary, benefits and working conditions proposals from St. Denis Parish.  Also of concern to the teachers is the grievance procedure proposal from the parish, the ending step of which has the pastor making the final decision.  And, the teachers can only grieve "alleged violations of express terms or conditions (which are not relating to discipline and/or continuation of employment)."

 How do these proposals mirror the words of the Church's social justice teachings?  Where are they delineated in the U.S. Bishops' Economic Pastoral?

 As we return to our classrooms this new school year, let us hope that for the employer Church it will not be business as usual.  We need to see an end to the Bishops' Labor Day rhetoric; we need to see the words of social justice reflected in their actions.

 What may truly be needed by many bishops is a heavy dose of reality therapy.

Msgr. George Higgins was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom August 9 by President Clinton.  The award is the highest civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. Government and is awarded by the President "only to those persons deemed to have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Among other recipients of the award were: Rev. Jesse Jackson, John Kenneth Galbraith, former Senator George McGovern, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Simon Wiesenthal, and labor activist Mildred McWilliams Jeffrey.

The text of Msgr. Higgins' citation reads:

For more than half a century, Monsignor George Higgins has championed workers' rights, civil rights, and religious tolerance.  As Director of the Social Action Department of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Chairman of the Public Review Board of the United Auto Workers, and as Chairman of the United Farmworkers' Martin Luter King, Jr., Fund, he has played a vital role in strengthening the labor movement and protecting workers from exploitation.  Putting his faith into action, Mongsinor Higgins has worked unceasingly to improve the relationship between  Jewish and Catholic communities as well as the quality of life for working families worldwide.  We honor him for his unwavering commitment to fairness and equality.

In the midst of the country's longest economic expansion in history, Catholic school teachers (90 percent of the workforce in Catholic schools) have been left behind.  The 2000 NACST salary survey of diocesan administrators in 24 states shows that the average starting salary for Catholic school teachers is just $19,993 - well below the national average public school starting salary of $25,735.

Catholic school teachers, whose role in the success of Catholic education is widely recognized, have seen starting salaries remain relatively flat over the past five years, when adjusted for inflation.

NACST President Rita Schwartz, quoted in an April 27, 2000 Baltimore Sun article, stated, "Going into Catholic school teaching, you know you're not going to get a public school salary.  However, when you see what our Catholic schools' teachers are making, the church owes them a just wage."
For Catholic schools' most experienced faculty the 2000 survey results are even more distressing.  Routinely, salaries for senior teachers, many of whom have obtained master's degrees, are capped at arbitrarily low levels.  The survey shows that the maximum salaries in Catholic schools across the nation average only $40,571.
 

When questioned about factors influencing the turnover rate of Catholic school teachers, 90% of administrators cited salaries as the major factor for teachers leaving.

"When you consider that Catholic schools outperform other schools in almost every category and that teachers are the most important fact in their success, it should be shocking to everyone that our teachers are forced to remain on the last rung oof this booming economic ladder," Schwartz further commented.

Individual survey responses and results

As the school year begins, and Labor Day 2000 fades into memory, we are again reminded of the disparity between the Catholic labor teaching and the reality of working in Catholic schools.  Msgr. Higgins is recognized by the nation for his work on behalf of labor.  New alliances between religious leaders and union organizers/workers are being formed.  Catholic school negotiators continue to fail in the application of Church teaching.  A living wage for Catholic school teachers continues to be a dream.  Salaries are kept woefully inadequate.

The benefits of teacher stability in our schools cannot be overemphasized.  But how can experienced, good teachers be expected to remain in our schools when they find the fruits of Catholic teaching, i.e. a living wage and economic justice, in the public sector?

At the start of another school year, it is time to re-emphasize the phenomenally progressive Catholic labor teaching for the U.S.Catholic community, especially its leaders.

We who labor in the Catholic schools must make our voices heard for the stability and good of our students.

We need to inform the bishops and move them to deal with our concerns for justice and the good of Catholic education in this nation.

Previous Issues
April 2000
September 1999
December 1999