10 people launch 20-hour prayer vigil supporting union

From the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, March 30, 2008

Ten people gathered in a chilly St. Peter's Cathedral Prayer Garden at 4 p.m. to begin a 20-hour prayer vigil in support of efforts to unionize Diocese of Scranton teachers.

Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT) President Michael Milz said people will arrive in one-hour shifts until noon Sunday to maintain he vigil, though he conceded that with night time temperatures predicted to dip into or near the teens, he will advise those on night shifts take advantage of Bishop Joseph Martino's decision to make the chapel in Holy Cross High School across the street available.

A group called Parents Supporting SDACT came up with the prayer vigil idea, part of an ongoing campaign to convince Martino to reverse his rejection of unionization. Milz said the vigil is a good example of how unorthodox this labor dispute has become. "Usually a union goes on strike to try to get parents' interest," he said, "But everybody is with us, so we have to rethink things and shift the focus to the overall discontent brewing with the bishop."

Milz also said the Association is talking with some legislators about a possible effort to amend the National Labor Relations Act so it covers Catholic School Teachers. The law allows most employees who want to unionize to petition the National Labor Relations Board, which can order and oversee a secret ballot election among employees on unionization. But in 1979 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law doesn't cover Catholic teachers. Milz conceded the odds of getting the law amended are slim.