Unless the Diocese of Scranton rescinds its stunning decision, made today, that it will not grant recognition to the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT), a union chosen to represent its lay teachers in each of its local school systems, it runs the risk of inflicting more damage to the Catholic Church’s reputation among the local faithful than all that done by the recent priest pedophilia scandals. 

In one fell swoop, not only have Diocesan officials placed the viability of Catholic education in our region in extreme jeopardy, but in lying to their teachers, and in taking a position that is contrary to every Church pronouncement on the rights of working people that has ever been issued, the Diocese is risking its moral standing, and thus the credibility to continue to teach the children in its schools, and to instruct the parishioners in its churches about how one leads a Catholic-Christian life in today’s world.

 At this moment, Catholic school teachers are saddened and infuriated by the Diocese’s actions. There is a pervasive feeling that their support for and loyalty to Catholic education has been rewarded with nothing short of betrayal by those responsible for the schools. Throughout a year of uncertainty when the Diocese’s plan for school restructuring was drawing criticism from nearly every quarter of the Catholic community, only the Diocese’s teachers and their union steadfastly supported the plan. 

 Over the course of that same year, repeated attempts by the teachers to gain renewed recognition for their union in the new Diocesan scheme were met by pleas from the Diocese for more time to get their new house in order. Finally, teachers were told that recognition would have to come from the newly-established regional school boards, who once in power, also begged for more time to set up shop before addressing the issue of how recognition might be obtained. Each time, the teachers responded with patience and understanding.  

 The reason for such patience and understanding was the constant reassurance teachers had gotten from the pronouncements, both public and private, of Diocesan officials that the rights of Catholic school teachers to organize would be maintained, and that the excellent bargaining relationship which had been established between union and employer over the previous thirty year period would be restored. 

For example, the June 7, 2007, issue of The Catholic Light said the following:

“Legal counsel has advised the Diocese that on July 1, personnel in Catholic schools will become employees of the four regional school systems that have been established to govern the operation of the schools. Therefore, the Diocese would not be the proper legal entity to grant recognition to any union that would seek to represent school personnel. According to legal counsel, any such union should request recognition from the appropriate regional system through a formal process that consists of the following steps:

 -- A secret ballot election should be conducted in which the employees themselves determine whether or not they wish to be represented by a particular union. This is common labor practice, because a secret ballot reduces or eliminates unfair pressure – from either the employer, the union itself or co-workers – upon the voter.

-- The secret ballot election should be conducted by a neutral group; for example, an entity such as the American Arbitration Association.

When the four regional school systems are operational, any union seeking to represent Catholic school personnel in the Diocese of Scranton should undertake the above process. The Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT) was informed of this legal opinion in November. The Diocese and the four regional systems will remain committed to the teachings of the Catholic Church on respecting the dignity of all workers. The dialogue will continue to ensure collaboration and the promotion of fair and just policies in order to achieve the mutual goal of providing a quality Catholic education to the young people of the Diocese of Scranton.”

             The most shocking aspect of the Diocese’s position on union representation is that it represents a complete abandonment of the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church (referred to above), and completely contradicts the published school policies that ostensibly govern the system right now. 

           Nearly every Pope since Leo XIII, whose encyclical, “Rerum Novarum” first spelled out the Church’s position on workers’ rights to organize, has issued his own reaffirmation of those rights.  So have numerous international and national conferences of bishops who have specifically spoken to the rights of those employed by the Church itself.  As one can see in the following quotes, there is nothing equivocal about their support of those rights:

 “Within the Church rights must be preserved.  No one should be deprived of his ordinary rights because he is associated with the Church in one way or another.”  (Justice in the World – 1971 International Synod of Bishops)

“All Church institutions must also fully recognize the rights of employees to organize and bargain collectively with the institution through whatever organization they freely choose.”

 All the moral principles that govern the just operation of any economic endeavor apply to the church and its agencies and institutions; indeed, the church should be exemplary.

  No one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself.”  (Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the US Economy, 1986 Pastoral Letter from US Bishops).

  Moreover, current Diocesan School Policy #417, another written guarantee of teachers’ rights to organize, begins with this introductory paragraph:

"Catholic social teaching strongly supports the rights of lay teachers to organize and to bargain collectively. A corollary of the right of lay teachers to organize is the right which they possess to determine the agency or organization which is to represent them in the collective bargaining process. Catholic lay teachers also have the right to free elections, full negotiations, mediation, conciliation and similar services under the auspices of a neutral body.

            The words above speak to the fraud which the Diocese is attempting to perpetrate.  The alternative to unionization that they suggest is nothing more than a thinly-veiled “sweetheart union.”  It is the type of representation the employer desires.  It is not the type of representation chosen by the employees.  This shabby attempt to trick the public is something that would make even Wal-Mart blush.

            Once again, the examples of the Church speaking out on behalf of workers rights are legion.  Therefore, were the Diocese to maintain its current position, it will have effectively separated itself from the mainstream of the Roman Catholic Church and become an isolated schismatic island of narrow self-interest. If the Diocese cherry picks its precepts and ignores inconvenient portions of Church teachings, how can it expect the Catholic community to remain faithful and committed to its authority?

             Where does all of this leave the Diocese’s lay teachers?  We ask, how can the Diocese continue to run its schools after such an incredible breach of trust?  For Catholic lay teachers, that trust is the bond that has given purpose to their careers.  As Catholic school teachers, we have an obligation to practice what we preach, even when the Church vacates its obligations to do the same.  We must stand up for what we know is right and must forcefully insist that our rights be preserved, even if that means a disruption of the educational process. How could we face our students otherwise?  How could we tell them as we now do in our history and theology classes that we were wrong to say that they should be proud of their Church and its support of workers rights and social justice, particularly the role it has played in our own region’s history?

             But disrupting the educational process would be the last resort for our teachers.  We hope to rally the support of all who will be affected by the Diocese’s actions.  Certainly this would include our students, their parents and all Diocesan parishioners.  We also call on organized labor to recognize that the rights of all workers have now been placed at risk when the Catholic Church, an institution that has always stood shoulder-to- shoulder with working people, now appears to be abandoning that traditional alliance.  We hope all interested parties will contact Bishop Martino and ask him to rescind this unjust policy and return the Church in Scranton to the Catholic mainstream.