John Mitchell Day

(Photo L to R: Mike Milz. SDACT President; Rev. Patrick Sullivan, C.S.C.; Sam Bianco, President, Greater Wilkes-Barre Central Labor Council; Dan Bass, UMWA International Representative; Bill Godinas, President, UMWA Local 404.)

Today, representatives of the SDACT were privileged to take part in the annual John Mitchell Day ceremonies on Courthouse Square in Scranton, where each year the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) lays a wreath and conducts a program in memory and tribute to the man who is essentially the founder of the modern American labor movement.

For those that do not know the history, the victorious struggle of Mitchell and his miners in the famous anthracite coal strike of 1902 would not have been possible without the support of the Catholic church and its local bishop, Michael Hoban.

To honor this proud connection between the Church and Labor, in past years this ceremony was preceded by a Mass in Scranton's cathedral and celebrated by the current Diocesan bishop.

However, no Mass was held this year.

Out of respect for Mitchell's memory, it was determined that it would have been inappropriate for Bishop Martino, a notorious union-buster and enemy of the rights of working people, to be the celebrant.

Since January 24, when Bishop Martino announced his decision to "bust" the SDACT, out in Cathedral Cemetery old John Mitchell has probably been spinning in his grave non-stop.

Take heart John, once HB 2626 goes into force, you can return to your peaceful rest.

The Score is now Lions 9, Christians 0

At the September 18, 2008 hearing before the PA Labor Relations Committee on House Bill 2626, National Association of Catholic School Teachers President, Rita Schwartz, gave the following answer to Committee members when asked if there was a method within the Church to resolve grievances such as that against union-busting Bishop Joseph Martino.

After explaining the process for recourse against a bishop's actions, Schwartz gave an honest appraisal of the outcomes of those filings across the United States. "The record is, essentially, Lions 8, Christians 0." Schwartz was giving her slant on how teacher grievances actually shake out in Catholic schools, because they are filed with boards composed of other bishops.

Today, word reached us from Rome that our petition for recourse filed against Bishop Martino for union-busting "cannot be recognized." That now makes it Lions 9, Christians 0.

Even though all who were part of the decision to deny the recourse were bishops themselves, one would have thought that our complaint would have been given a fair hearing. But honestly, one would have thought this only if one were not living in the real world.

To put things in perspective, this decision was made by the same institution that sent Galileo to the Inquisition for asserting that the sun was at the center of the universe. Though the Church finally admitted their error in Galileo's case, it took them six centuries to come to that conclusion. Enough said.

Rejecting union cost diocese dearly

The following editorial appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice, October 13, 2008:

Rejecting union cost diocese dearly

The decision by the bishop of the Diocese of Scranton to reject the teachers’ union may turn out to be an expensive proposition for the church.

Nearly $2 million in sick pay and severance pay is due the teachers who were laid off when the diocese rejected the union.

An arbitration decision handed down last month called for the diocese to immediately begin paying out $725,000 to 40 former teachers from the former Bishop Hoban High School.

This is one example, among many, of why the diocese should have continued to recognize the union.

Bishop cost diocese money when he opposed union

The following letter to the editor of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice appeared October 10, 2008:

Bishop Cost Diocese Money When He Opposed Union

Editor:

Once again Bishop Martino and the Diocese of Scranton have proven that the Catholic lay teachers definitely need a union.

In the 1970s, before the union, teachers had no pension, salaries were in the $7,000 per year range and medical coverage required the teacher to pay many bills up front and file for repayment which took months. Older teachers could not afford to retire and many actually worked well into their seventies until they were just too sick to go on.

In the first few years negotiations got the teachers increased salaries, better medical coverage and a pension plan. At first this plan was not the best and it was clear that retirement for older teachers was still going to be hard to manage. In those years each school was run by its own board and in an effort to help the older teachers other plans were worked out at the various schools with the help of the individual school boards. Some called for severance pay, other plans like the one at Bishop Hoban called for payment for unused sick days to help retired teachers by keeping them on the group medical plan until they could get on Medicare.

If a teacher called in sick they were paid as usual, but also a sub had to be paid for that day. If teachers did not call in sick for a minor illness the school would save the sub’s pay and the teacher would get some of the money saved for the unused sick day applied to medical coverage upon retirement. This medical coverage would also encourage older teachers to take early retirement. Since older teachers have higher salaries; getting the older teachers to retire and replacing them with young teachers with lower salaries would again save the schools money. Many of the school boards saw the logic of how money would be saved in the long run and agreed to variations on this idea.

When the bishop decided to close all the schools and lay off the teachers, the union tried to tell him that the sick day clause would kick in and all the money owed teachers would become due at once rather than being spread out over years as intended. Also it meant the older teachers with the higher salaries would be hired for the new system and the lower paid young teachers would be laid off.

The bishop would not talk with the union and although the bishop’s representatives were informed this would cause the diocese to lose money rather than save money the bishop’s plan went ahead.

Soon the union found out why the diocese didn’t worry about this. The diocese simply told the union that the diocese just wouldn’t honor the old contracts and the teachers would not get the sick day money. The union of course filed a grievance for each school where the contract was being violated and soon the lawyers on both sides were the only ones getting money.

Some of the schools realized it would be cheaper to pay the teachers instead of paying the legal costs but many did not and the process has dragged on for more than a year. In every case that has been settled the teachers have been awarded the money due.

Recently the largest school, Bishop Hoban, where the most money was involved received the arbiter’s decision. Once again the teachers were judged to be in the right. If fact the arbiter essentially said the case was open and shut, the contract clearly said the money was owed and the diocese was ordered to pay. Several other schools are still unsettled and the diocese continues to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to fight against paying the teachers.

If Bishop Martino talked to the teachers and recognized the union none of this would have happened. A new union contract would have been worked out and the diocese would have saved thousands of dollars in legal fees. Older teachers would be retiring over the next few years and the plans of the old school boards would be saving tens of thousands of dollars instead. Before all the cases are settled perhaps as much as a million dollars in payments and legal fees will be paid by the diocese. But, there is only one bishop of Scranton and he makes the decisions. By the way, the annual diocesan appeal will be starting soon and your money is needed to pay future legal fees.

Eugene Gowisnok
Swoyersville

The idea that what is done in the Church is ministry, and what is done in the secular world is work is just false

In the most recent edition of the Catholic Light, there appeared an article critical of the effort to pass HB 2626. Here is an excerpt from that article:

"Calling them the 'bishop’s collaborators' and 'co-ministers', Nicholas Cafardi underscored how teachers in Catholic schools are not simply employees but “office holders of the Church.” Cafardi, testified House Bill 2626, will “impede if not destroy this co-ministry” of the Catholic Church. The Pennsylvania House Labor Relations Committee hosted a hearing Sept. 18 in Wilkes-Barre on the bill. '(The legislation) would require the diocesan bishop to use the mechanisms of the state to deal with what is not, at base, a secular but rather a religious and spiritual relationship,' he stated. 'Should the proposed legislation be adopted, the church-state conflicts that it would propagate are enormous.' House Bill 2626 would amend the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act to specifically include lay teachers and other employees of religious employers such as Catholic schools."

Yet, Rev. Sinclair Oubre, a noted Canon Lawyer and Director of the Catholic Labor Network, provided testimony at the August 18th hearing on the bill which claimed that the above position taken by the Scranton Diocese was disingenuous. Here's what Father Oubre had to say:

Ministry vs. Work: A False Distinction

"In an effort to maintain control, or to maintain a union-free environment in Catholic institutions, theories are put forth that try to make the false distinction that what is done in a church institution is ministry, and that which is done in the secular world is work. That distinction has no basis in Catholic social teaching, or in the many actual instances where workers in Catholic schools, hospitals and even Vatican departments are represented by unions, and participate in collective bargaining.

When both the law and the teaching of the Church are examined, ministry and work are never divided. The idea that what is done in the Church is ministry, and what is done in the secular world is work is just false.

Since ministry is the means by which many in the Catholic Church make their living, church documents and canon law both recognize that care must be taken to see that proper remuneration and social security is extended to those who carry out ministry, and especially those in the laity.

Canon 1287 2° directs administrators of goods to:

“Pay a just and decent wage to employees so that they are able to provide fittingly for their own needs and those of their dependents.”

In the United States bishops’ pastoral letter Economic Justice for All, the responsibility of providing an adequate living is laid out.

“351. We‑bishops commit ourselves to the principle that those who serve the Church‑laity, clergy, and religious‑should receive a sufficient livelihood and the social benefits provided by responsible employers in our nation.”

This commitment to meet a minimum level of dignity for church employees manifests itself by the Church allowing itself to be included into a number of federal and state laws. These would include the federal minimum wage, FICA, American With Disability Act, federal wage and hour laws and many state and local building codes.

The theory that some Catholic teachings should be enshrined in civil law, while others should not, seems to lack any logic. Since those who minister in the Church, work for the Church, and those who work in the Church do ministry, any civil law that enshrines the Catholic Church’s teaching, and is not contrary to that teaching, is an assistance to the Church in carrying out its ministry.

Including the right to organize and collective bargaining in the Pennsylvania civil law is no different than covering church employees through minimum wage and wage and hour laws. In both cases, the civil law is codifying what the Church already teaches, promotes, and should be binding on itself."