About 100 rally for Catholic teacher union

From the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, May 1, 2008:

About 100 rally for Catholic teacher union

About 70 students and 30 adults gathered outside Holy Redeemer High School after classes ended and walked to Wilkes-Barre's Public Square for a rally supporting Catholic teacher unionization."We are here because we believe in truth and justice, and we believe in standing up for truth and justice," senior Kevin Hourigan - one of the organizers of the rally - told the crowd gathered around the portable bandshell that had been outfitted with speakers and a microphone.

Student Dan Kotsko opened the rally with a communal "Hail Mary," then read "prayer for teachers and students," and junior Chris Bohinski belted out the national anthem before Hourigan gave a speech extolling the value of the teachers and endorsing their effort to unionize.
"We are here because we love our teachers and we cannot rest until we see our Catholic teachers granted the right to unionize."

Several students took turns reading brief passages from various Catholic Church writings supporting the right to unionize, from Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum" to the Diocese of Scranton's own policy manual.

Senior Carl Frank, who also helped organize the event, read from a theology book he said was "approved by the diocese.

"Human beings have the fundamental right to form and act through their own private organizations, specifically labor unions.

After another prayer read by Kotsko and a thank you from Hourigan, the crowd walked back to the school before dispersing. Police zipped from intersection to intersection during both walks, stopping traffic so they could safely cross the streets. Frank said he and the other students had filled out necessary forms and paperwork to get the police escort and the use of the bandshell.

Acknowledging that they had promised to keep fighting a battle that so far looks interminable - the diocese has repeatedly insisted rejection of the union is final and irrevocable -- Frank and Hourigan said they will do what they can even after graduation. Frank plans to attend King's College in Wilkes-Barre while Hourigan is heading for New York University.

They also said that, if the struggle continues into next year, they believe there are juniors now who will pick up where they left off within the school.

The diocese and Bishop Joseph Martino have repeatedly said - and posted statements on the diocesan Web site saying - that such efforts are pointless and that the newly implemented "Employee Relations Program" will fairly represent all school employees.

The Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers represented teachers in many local schools, but lost that right when the diocese restructured the school system last year, eliminating the small parish and local school boards the union had negotiated with. In January, three of the four regional boards formed in their place rejected a request by the association to unionize teachers. The union, parents and some students have staged rallies, informational pickets and prayer vigils since then. The union also staged sick outs that shut down individual schools on several separate days.