In a room full of at least 700 people the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic School Teachers laid out its stand in the battle to unionize Catholic School teachers.Association President Michael Milz got a standing ovation after his self introduction to a group that filled nearly every seat in the Grand Ballroom of Genetti’s Hotel and Convention Center in Wilkes-Barre, and started by thanking parents who had organized the meeting and asked the union to come and give its position.
“If today we can’t convince you out union is about justice and dignity for workers, then we have no right to expect your support,” Milz said in his opening remarks.
Milz then gave a long list of Catholic Church written pronouncements supporting unions and the right of worker’s to unionize, from Pope Leo XII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which Milz said the Vatican issued specifically to suggest unions be organized to fight the spread of communism, to the current Pope’s first encyclical in 2005, which he said was quickly followed by bishops worldwide rushing to outline their own support of organized labor.
Milz cited writings as recently as one put out by the U.S. Bishops on Labor Day in 2007 that repeated the Church’s support for all people to have the right “to organize and join unions.”
Association Vice President Jim Lynch gave an overview of the local union’s history and repeated the union’s claim that they have never put pay and benefits first in negotiations, spending most of their time trying to improve working conditions and curriculum.
“it was never about money,” Lynch said. “It was always about your children.”
Lynch also noted that getting reasonable salaries and benefits helped reduce turnover rate at Catholic schools and increase teacher longevity in the system.
Milz returned to the microphone to detail the union’s fight to be recognized by the diocese, beginning in the autumn of 2006 when they first heard that the diocese would likely reorganize schools in a way that eliminate the many small school boards the union had been negotiating with.
Milz said the union has repeatedly sought dialog with the Bishop, yet got nothing but response, most often hearing any news from the Diocesan Newspaper, The Catholic Light.
He noted that the union did not hear it had been rejected by three of four newly formed regional school boards until it was published in the Catholic Light.
Since then the union has staged rallies, an informational picket and one day on which teachers forced the closing of Holy Redeemer High School by calling in sick.
Milz said the union is trying to do everything possible to change the bishop’s decision and allow teachers to vote on unionization, short of “disrupting the education process.”
“We hope the bishop will see his is completely out of synch with the community,” Milz said.
The union had petitions for attendants to sign as they entered the room. After Milz second speech, he asked the media to leave so parents could ask questions without worrying about being identified.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce