Catholic Church, Catholic Schools, Catholic Unions

The Catholic Church opposed communism, but it still has a strong tradition of social justice that opposes any exploitation of workers. Catholic principles expect employers to treat workers well and honor union agreements. Catholic school teachers in Brooklyn and Queens are alleging, though, that the church has engaged in unfair labor practices against their union.

The New York Times reports:

The impasse in the Brooklyn Diocese, where about 145 other Catholic schools remain without a union, presents a problem for a church with a tradition of social justice teachings that uphold not only the right to unionize, but also an employer's duty to pay a just wage. Those ideals are bumping up uncomfortably against the economic realities of declining enrollments, shrinking budgets and closings. From Brooklyn to Boston and St. Louis to Philadelphia, labor groups representing teachers and other employees at Catholic schools accuse the church of holding secular employers to a higher standard than its own. They say the church makes major workplace changes with little consultation, as if it were issuing decrees. In some cases, church officials have insisted that the separation of church and state exempts them from government oversight.

The union [Federation of Catholic Teachers] said the diocesan proposals ... made greater demands on teachers' time and duties compared with teachers in non-union schools. "We believe they wanted to set up a circumstance where we had inferior conditions," said Richard Lanigan, the secretary treasurer of Local 153 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which is bargaining for the teachers. "It is basic union busting." Frustrated by the delays [after failing to reach a contract despite more than 62 bargaining sessions over the last two and a half years], the union successfully petitioned the New York State Employment Relations Board to issue a complaint against the diocese for unnecessarily dragging out the negotiations and offering less to the union than to other teachers.

This does seem to be a classic case of ideals conflicting with real-world needs. Promoting social justice is fine, but it won't work in the long run if you don't actually practice it as well. Similar criticisms were raised over the sexual abuse crisis and the failure of the leadership to properly discipline priests who molested children.

Read More:

• Roman Catholicism
• Roman Catholicism News
• Catholicism & Homosexuality
• Popes and the Papacy
• Antisemitism
• Vatican Council II