A bill has been introduced to Pennsylvania state legislature that would force the Catholic Church to recognize teachers under the Labor Relations Act, a change that would allow the government to mediate between the Catholic Church and teachers of the Catholic school system.House Bill 2626, sponsored by state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, has 55 co-sponsors and is currently in the labor committee.
The bill, if passed, would endow Catholic teachers working for a diocese with the ability to unionize under the labor relations board, a government branch which could force its employers - Catholic dioceses - to recognize the union or its demands.
A 1996 Supreme Court decision maintained that Catholic lay teachers do not fall under the law's heading, and a 1941 ruling found that non-profit corporations do not fall under the law either.
HB 2626 specifically addresses the issue behind inclusion in the labor relations act, reading, "the term 'employee' shall include any employee, and shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless the act explicitly states otherwise."
The Diocese of Scranton objected to the legislation, issuing a reminder that the Catholic view of teaching is one of spiritual formation.
"Teachers and staff in Catholic schools are not mere employees, but ministers in advancing an important mission," the diocese said in a June 13 press release. "The bill seeks to portray Catholic schools as indistinct from commercial institutions, and fails to acknowledge that the schools are, first and foremost, communities of faith, in which all work cooperatively to transmit the religious doctrines and values of the Catholic faith to new generations of Catholics. This is precisely what makes Catholic schools special. HB 2626 will compromise the religious character of Catholic schools in direct violation of the constitutional separation between church and state."
Critics of the diocese have accused Bishop Joseph Martino of preventing workers from unionizing, betraying the pro-unionization attitude that the Catholic hierarchy has maintained for over one hundred years.
The diocese has stressed, however, that it does not oppose the bill because it allows unions, but because of the problematic effects it would create in the relationship between church and state.
"The bill would produce serious religious freedom and constitutional consequences that go well beyond who gets to represent the interests of some Catholic school teachers in Scranton, Pennsylvania," said the statement.
"House Bill 2626 would grant a governmental agency the right to examine Church doctrines and religiously based disciplines, and declare those doctrines and disciplines to be mere "pretexts." The authorization of that type of church-state entanglement would provoke a constitutional confrontation of the first magnitude."
"The statement from the Scranton Diocese reflects our initial analysis of the bill," said Amy Hill, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC), the public affairs arm of Pennsylvania's Catholic bishops. Ms. Hill also stated that the PCC has not yet issued an official statement concerning the HB2626.
The Diocese of Scranton has come under fire for laying off Michael Milz, president of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers and a leader in the movement to unionize.
The diocese laid off eight teachers this year due to 700 fewer enrolled students, and the diocese made clear that Milz's dismissal had nothing to do with his union activities.
Bill George, state president of the AFL-CIO, rejected that assertion, taking the layoffs as an inflammatory gesture.
"When you take a shot at the union and fire somebody, you've crossed a line," he said. "When you no longer respect the teachers, you no longer respect the people."
Rep. Pashinski indicated that he would like to hold hearings for the proposed legislation in Wilkes-Barne, in Alleghany County, and in Philadelphia. Hearings could not be held until the Pennsylvania House approves a budget, but Rep. Pashinski hopes to bring HB 2626 to a vote by September.
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