SDACT Press Release Regarding Sick-out at St. Nicholas-St. Mary's School

March 26, 2008

Tomorrow, March 27, 2008, members of the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT) have called for a sick-out at St. Nicholas-St. Mary's Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre. It is part of SDACT's direct action campaign to call attention to the Scranton Diocese's refusal to allow the teachers their right to form and be represented by the union of their choice. Teachers at St. Nicholas-St. Mary's had been represented by the SDACT for the past twenty-four years.

This sick-out is part of SDACT campaign for justice and dignity for Diocesan lay teachers in accordance with the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church. In their 1986 Pastoral Letter on the US Economy, the US Catholic bishops stated:

"Unions may also legitimately resort to strikes where this is the only available means to the justice owed to workers. No one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself. Therefore, we firmly oppose organized efforts, such as those regrettably now seen in this country, to break existing unions and prevent workers from organizing.”

Rather than disrupt the educational process at all schools where teachers support the union, we have chosen instead to affect the educational process in one school for one day. The members of the Association regret the inconvenience suffered by the parents due to these actions. Moreover, we apologize to the students for disrupting the educational program in progress.

We continue to make every effort to avoid a general disruption in the educational process. We invite all parents to lend us their support in both word and deed, because we believe our cause is just and because we believe that their voices would be valuable in promoting a resolution to the current crisis.

Follow the links below for related stories:

Sick-out cancels classes at St. Nicholas/St. Mary

Teacher sickout closes W-B elementary school

Parochial teachers’ sick-out set today