from the President

     When I write my annual Labor Day Statement for the newsletter, I usually point to several of our local unions that are either struggling for recognition or fighting off attempts by diocesan and/or local school administrators to get the union out.  This Labor Day is no exception; however, this year, both situations are occurring in my own union.
     Since late May, I have been totally involved in trying to settle a contract at Holy Cross High School in Delran, NJ and fighting that same school's anti-union action of refusing to negotiate a first contract with the recently recognized maintenance men and, instead, subcontracting the work out.
     The negotiations so far have been extremely frustrating, much like trying to nail Jello to a wall.  The school has just installed its fourth principal in three years.  He has never worked in a school whose teachers are represented by a union.  He is not present at the bargaining table.  The diocesan schools office personnel have no experience with a union either; they, however, do participate in the contract talks along with their lawyer, a diocesan benefits person and three vice principals with one year of experience at the school.
     The five long-time teachers from Holy Cross who comprise the union's negotiating team, as well as staff people from the ACT office in Philadelphia, have listened for over two months to the three vice principals talk about how they need language in the contract to be able to write up teachers for all sorts of infractions.  Case in point: one of the proposals from the school stated that teachers who are going to be out sick on a particular day "are required to call the school by 6:00 a.m."  When we asked what would happen if you became ill after 6:00 a.m. or if your child got sick in the car while being driven to school, we were told that the teacher would be spoken with and spoken with again if the next call came in after 6:00 a.m.  They hoped it wouldn't lead to disciplinary action.  When we inquire as to the specific problems which these administrators have experienced which caused them to place punitive and negative language in their proposals, they really can't come up with any incidents or names.
     The school was very insistent about placing two quotes in the contract's Preamble from the 1972 Bishops' Pastoral, To Teach As Jesus Did.  The union said it would agree to this if the school also included a quote from the same pastoral which spoke of the value of lay teachers and exhorted those in Catholic education to treat lay teachers as "full partners in the educational enterprise."  The school dropped its request to have their quotes in there and settled on a general statement that both sides accepted the statements found in To Teach As Jesus Did.
      The remainder of the school's proposals wanted almost every aspect of the teachers' work day to be decided at the discretion of the administration.  The contract language negotiated over the past 30 years was to be erased and in its place the school was insistent that almost everything was managerial prerogative.  The teachers at Holy Cross voted 45-0 on Tuesday September 3rd to reject the school's final offer.  They are now on strike, and they are walking the line with pictures of St. Joseph the Worker and quotes from Catholic social justice teaching attached to their picket signs.
     The union asked for immediate mediation and, as I write this, we are preparing to begin our second day of talks with a mediator from the New Jersey State Department of Mediation in attendance.  The first session ended at 4:00 a.m. September 6th with quite a bit left on the table.  The problems have just been increased by the school's advertising the Sunday newspaper for "Substitute HS Teachers in all academic areas" and offering $100 a day.  Would teaching as Jesus did involve the hiring of strikebreakers?  I'm sure we'll be told that this is also a managerial prerogative.
     I am so very proud of these Catholic school teachers at Holy Cross High School.  They are being treated very badly by both their school and diocesan administrators, and, through it all, they continue to be strong and determined Catholic teacher union members as they remain totally committed to Catholic education.

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One NACST local begins the 2002-2003 school year on strike and several locals ratified new contracts.

Members of ACT at Holy Cross [Delran, NJ] voted Tuesday September 3 to strike, after negotiations broke down over the Labor Day weekend.  The primary issues in the strike concern language changes proposed by the school, which would "gut" the teachers' rights area of the negotiatied contract.[see page 3].

In Cleveland CHALTA reached a three-year agreement in which there was no increase in the teachers' contribution to benefits.

In the Camden, NJ, Diocese CTU members ratified a three-year agreement with 4.4% salary increases per year and maintained no pay-in to insurance premiums.

Teachers at St. Denis [Manasquan, NJ] returned to the classroom for their third year without a negotiated contract.  SDTA amended its lawsuit against the school to include unfair labor practices concerning salary increases.  The amended lawsuit accuses the school of giving salary increases to nonunion teachers, while keeping union teachers at previous salary levels.

In Buffalo, DETA members at three elementary schools ratified contracts while three other schools continued negotiations after teachers returned for the opening of school.

In Boston, BATA members are set to vote in mid-September on the Archdiocese's final proposal.  The Archdiocese has withdrawn its proposal to spin-off union high schools, making them "independent" [see June 2002 Newsworthy].

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     In tough times like these, we look to people of courage and candor, fidelity and wisdom.  Last May, we lost just such a person in Monsignor George G. Higgins.  After 62 years of service to the Church and several months of illness, he died at home in Illinois bringing to an end decades of principled service and faithful ministry to his Church and the labor movement.
     In his priestly ministry, Msgr. Higgins built bridges between the Catholic Church and the labor movement in the United States.  He helped field hands and farmworkers to join together to improve their lot.  He shared and interpreted the words and vision of the Second Vatican Council.  He spoke truth to power.  He was a man of conviction, humor, and humility.  His example should guide us as we approach Labor Day this year.
     Our yearly commemoration should remind us of his insistence that most people fulfill their vocation, their calling, by the work they do day in and day out.
     Whatever our work or status, each one of us is called by faith to shape the world in which we live and labor.  Each of us must live out what our faith teaches us about human life and dignity, about economic and social justice, about reconciliation and peace.  We are called to apply our values and our moral principles in our lives and in our work.
     Work has a special place in our Catholic tradition.  It is much more than a job.  As we participate in our own small way to God's continuing creation, our work promotes the common good and reflects our human dignity.
     Work should strengthen our family life, providing resources and respect, benefits and health care for families.  Work should enhance our family, community, and spiritual lives.  Work should allow a family to live in dignity.
     Workers need each other.  As Msgr. Higgins teaches us, workers often choose to join together to form associations - union - to make their voices heard and their work respected.  Msgr. Higgins believed that unions help workers not only to get more, but be more - seeking greater participation and a real voice in both the workplace and the larger society.
     Employers can and should do the right things for their employees and lawmakers can and should make laws to protect workers.
     As we approach Labor Day, we should reflect on how we bring together holiness and wholeness to the work we do.  Let us remember the lessons of Msgr. George Higgins and the rich legacy he left us.  Let us continue his efforts to secure a living wage and greater respect for the dignity and rights of workers.  In telling the truth, in building bridges among peoples, in standing with the poor, and in solidarity with Church's teaching on the importance of the labor movement, Msgr. Higgins calls us to reform and renewal, to leadership and service.

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NACST Convention

The 23rd annual NACST Convention will be held October 11-13, 2002 in New Orleans.

The Keynote speaker is: 

Dr. Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton, School of Education - Dr. Russo presents courses in School Law and Issues in Educational Leadership.  In addition, he has written extensively on issues of collective bargaining in nonpublic schools.

Elections for all positions on the NACST Executive Committee will be held at the conference.

Presentations will be made on the following topics:
"Grooming New Leadership"
"Successor Training"
"Recruitment of Members"

The local presidents' forum will again be held.

A video presentation of the Bishops' Report Card Rally will be made.

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the following letter was sent by NACST President Rita Schwartz to the National Catholic Reporter.  It appeared in the NCR July 5, 2002 edition.

     While the National Association of Catholic School Teachers applauds the U.S. bishops' desire to create nationwide protocols to deal with sex abuse allegations, we, as the representatives of teachers who are laborers in the church's vineyards, have, for many years, sought a common social justice policy to guide the employer church in her dealings with her employees.
     While the U.S. bishops' economic pastoral states clearly that church workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively, "indeed the church should be exemplary," diocese after diocese has become increasingly anti-union privately while publicly espousing the need for just wages and just treatment for all workers.  Our organization has consistently been told by the U.S. bishops that they were unable to set a national policy outlining protocols to be observed when church employees are being exploited and treated unjustly by their employers.
     As recently as April 30, we were informed by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 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."  Once again, the bishops of the Catholic church feel that they can practice justice selectively while preaching dignity and justice for all.  Whether at work in the classroom, parish office or hospital, church employees are undervalued, underpaid and underprotected.
     The leaders of our church need to regain moral and ethical credibility in all areas where they have been found wanting.  Catholic worker justice may not be as high profile as the sexual abuse scandal, but it is a scandal, nonetheless, and, as such, needs its own national zero tolerance policy.

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From the Editor: Labor, Holiness, Witness

This year's NACST and USCCB Labor Day statements both make references to the problems which can happen in labor-management relations.

The USCCB statement's emphasis on Msgr. Higgin's focus on the connection between work and holiness gives workers of the employer-Church a sound reason to continue to work for justice in the Church.

The NACST statement points out the difficulty in living out the holiness to which we who work for the employer-Church are called.

Church administrators and members of the hierarchy continue to promote the value of labor as an integral part of each person's God-given dignity.

As long as administrators continue to pay lip-service to Catholic teaching and the Catholic identity and mission of the schools, workers of the employer-Church can hold on to the hope that the employer-Church will some day be a sign of God's justice in the world.

As long as members of the hierarchy continue to espouse the Church's social justice teaching, workers of the employer-Church have an incentive to take action to bring about labor justice.

The strike at Holy Cross High School may not be resolved as soon as teachers would like.  But teachers must know that they are providing a valuable witness to the Catholic identity and mission of all of us who work for the employer-Church.
 

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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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