110+ Years of Catholic Social Thought
The following article appeared in the September, 2008, edition of Initiatives, the newspaper of the National Center for the Laity.
Is it morally acceptable for cemetery workers (gravediggers, gardeners, clerks and others) to strike, knowing that bereaved families will be inconvenienced? Is it virtuous during negotiations for management to tell its cemetery workers “to take it or leave it” and then refuse further talks or mediation? How are specific labor issues settled while respecting both the right to collective bargaining and the corporal work of mercy to bury the dead?
Such was the situation in January 1949 when 240 workers at Calvary Cemetery in Queens (all of whom were Catholic) went on strike seeking a five-day workweek with the same paycheck they previously earned for six days. Their employer, Cardinal Francis Spellman (1889-1967), offered a 2.6% cost of living increase; participated in two bargaining sessions; then said take it, or leave it and never again communicated with the union. Instead, Spellman brought his seminarians to Queens and personally supervised grave digging. He busted the union.
Arnold Span of St. Francis College in Brooklyn revisits the newspaper articles, correspondence, documents and commentaries on this sad incident in his article, “The Most Memorable Labor Dispute in the History of U.S. Church-Related Institutions.” It is a sad incident because Spellman comes off as a tragic figure, a prisoner to his rigidity and impatience—even though along the way the Spellman team (including a priest director of cemeteries and an attorney) makes innovative suggestions about moral theology. It is sad because our church looks hypocritical; i.e. Catholic principles are binding unless they are inconvenient for bishops. It is sad because Spellman exploits his seminarians. (A further research project might uncover the affect of this incident on the vocations of those young men.)
Spar thoroughly investigates Spellman’s claim that the union was communist. He concludes that Spellman, who initially recognized the union and regularly bargained with it, knew that the workers were not communist. However, drawing upon a technicality regarding CIO affiliation, Spellman clothed his stubbornness in anti-communist rhetoric.
The heart of the difficulty is Spellman’s paternalism, Spar concludes. Spellman doesn’t truly believe that workers have innate dignity, long before they punch the clock. Instead he considers labor relations as a matter of capricious benevolence. His cemetery director says the archdiocese is “not really obligated to recognize the unionization of its employees,” and can ignore what the priest admits “is the social philosophy of the church” whenever workers are ungrateful. (American Catholic Studies [Summer/OS], 263 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19106)
Catholic moral principles can go by the wayside inside Church institutions unless bishops and their managers (regardless of their good intentions and their devoutness) put aside paternalism in favor of public accountably. As the current scandalous mismanagement of deviant Church employees proves, the paternalistic style eventually damages our faith.
A current example of misguided good intentions comes from Scranton, a diocese where former bishops, notably Bishop Michael Hoban (1853-1926) and Cardinal John O’Connor (1920-2000), observed the church’s labor doctrines. However, Bishop Joseph Martino (Diocese of Scranton, 300 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, PA 18503; www. dioceseofscranton.org) is now busting a union, the 30-year old Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (450 Carey Ave. #200, Wilkes-Bare, PA 18702; www.sdact.com).
Martino thinks that violating a Catholic doctrine is necessary for the greater good of the church. After all, reports Suzanne Sataline, Martino’s schools “are grappling with a financial crisis brought about by several factors: plunging enrollments as families choose to send their children to more modem, high-tech secular schools; the growth in tuition-free charter schools; mounting benefits costs; and financially troubled parishes that don’t have extra money to prop up parish schools.” (Wall St. Journal, 7/10/08)
Martino desires the best in a difficult time and admittedly his behavior might buy a little time for a few schools. It is not obvious though how destroying a union will significantly change Pennsylvania demographics, young adult Mass attendance rates, parish finances and other real causes of the school deficits.
Martino is “engaged in a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Bob Wolensky of the University of Wisconsin and an expert on Pennsylvania labor relations tells the Wall St. Journal. “By denying the teachers this right [to collective bargaining] and closing the schools, he has eroded additional support for Catholic schools and therefore the Catholic church.”
The self-defeating paternal approach is not unique to Martino.
About six years ago INITIATIVES began reporting on Resurrection Health Care (7435 W. Talcott Ave., Chicago, IL 60631; www.reshealth.org, a system of hospitals and other facilities sponsored by Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (310 N. River Rd., DesPlaines, IL 60016; www.csfn.org) and Sisters of the Resurrection (35 Boltwood Ave., Castleton, NY 12033; www. resurreetionsisters.org). Nurses and service workers there want to collectively bargain under the auspice of AFSCME (5509 N. Cumberland Rd. #505, Chicago, IL 60656; www.reformresurrection. 2Kg). The hospital leaders refuse to meet with the workers’ committee.
Workers at St. Joseph Health System (500 S. Main St., Orange, CA 92868; www.stjhs.org) want to be represented through SEIU West (560 Thomas Berkley Way, Oakland, CA 94612; www. voiceatsaintioes.org). The Sisters of St. Joseph (480 S. Batavia St., Orange, CA 92706), who sponsor SJHS, are elsewhere in relationship with unions, including at Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Healthcare West. At SJHS they are blocking an election.
Providence Health System (4805 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97213; www.providence. which has a relationship with the Sisters of Providence (9 F. Ninth Ave., Spokane, WA 99202; www.sistersothrovidence.net) and Sisters of the Little Company of Mary (9350S. California Ave., Evergreen Park, IL 60805; www.lcmh.org), is blocking its nurses and other workers from forming a union.
Obviously, orders of women religious face many difficulties in fulfilling their ministry within our society’s dysfunctional health care system. Retaining union-busting consultants is not, however, an ingredient for healing the sick. For its part our National Center for the Laity (P0 Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629) has distributed all but a dozen copies of a 30,000 press run of Ethical Guidelines for a Religious Institution Confronted by a Union by Ed Marciniak. This booklet is sympathetic to administrators trying to make ends meet. Yet the booklet explains what a manager of a Catholic institution (whether she or he is Catholic or not) is allowed to do. As soon as NCL raises a little money, the booklet will be updated and re-issued.
Is it morally acceptable for cemetery workers (gravediggers, gardeners, clerks and others) to strike, knowing that bereaved families will be inconvenienced? Is it virtuous during negotiations for management to tell its cemetery workers “to take it or leave it” and then refuse further talks or mediation? How are specific labor issues settled while respecting both the right to collective bargaining and the corporal work of mercy to bury the dead?
Such was the situation in January 1949 when 240 workers at Calvary Cemetery in Queens (all of whom were Catholic) went on strike seeking a five-day workweek with the same paycheck they previously earned for six days. Their employer, Cardinal Francis Spellman (1889-1967), offered a 2.6% cost of living increase; participated in two bargaining sessions; then said take it, or leave it and never again communicated with the union. Instead, Spellman brought his seminarians to Queens and personally supervised grave digging. He busted the union.
Arnold Span of St. Francis College in Brooklyn revisits the newspaper articles, correspondence, documents and commentaries on this sad incident in his article, “The Most Memorable Labor Dispute in the History of U.S. Church-Related Institutions.” It is a sad incident because Spellman comes off as a tragic figure, a prisoner to his rigidity and impatience—even though along the way the Spellman team (including a priest director of cemeteries and an attorney) makes innovative suggestions about moral theology. It is sad because our church looks hypocritical; i.e. Catholic principles are binding unless they are inconvenient for bishops. It is sad because Spellman exploits his seminarians. (A further research project might uncover the affect of this incident on the vocations of those young men.)
Spar thoroughly investigates Spellman’s claim that the union was communist. He concludes that Spellman, who initially recognized the union and regularly bargained with it, knew that the workers were not communist. However, drawing upon a technicality regarding CIO affiliation, Spellman clothed his stubbornness in anti-communist rhetoric.
The heart of the difficulty is Spellman’s paternalism, Spar concludes. Spellman doesn’t truly believe that workers have innate dignity, long before they punch the clock. Instead he considers labor relations as a matter of capricious benevolence. His cemetery director says the archdiocese is “not really obligated to recognize the unionization of its employees,” and can ignore what the priest admits “is the social philosophy of the church” whenever workers are ungrateful. (American Catholic Studies [Summer/OS], 263 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19106)
Catholic moral principles can go by the wayside inside Church institutions unless bishops and their managers (regardless of their good intentions and their devoutness) put aside paternalism in favor of public accountably. As the current scandalous mismanagement of deviant Church employees proves, the paternalistic style eventually damages our faith.
A current example of misguided good intentions comes from Scranton, a diocese where former bishops, notably Bishop Michael Hoban (1853-1926) and Cardinal John O’Connor (1920-2000), observed the church’s labor doctrines. However, Bishop Joseph Martino (Diocese of Scranton, 300 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, PA 18503; www. dioceseofscranton.org) is now busting a union, the 30-year old Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (450 Carey Ave. #200, Wilkes-Bare, PA 18702; www.sdact.com).
Martino thinks that violating a Catholic doctrine is necessary for the greater good of the church. After all, reports Suzanne Sataline, Martino’s schools “are grappling with a financial crisis brought about by several factors: plunging enrollments as families choose to send their children to more modem, high-tech secular schools; the growth in tuition-free charter schools; mounting benefits costs; and financially troubled parishes that don’t have extra money to prop up parish schools.” (Wall St. Journal, 7/10/08)
Martino desires the best in a difficult time and admittedly his behavior might buy a little time for a few schools. It is not obvious though how destroying a union will significantly change Pennsylvania demographics, young adult Mass attendance rates, parish finances and other real causes of the school deficits.
Martino is “engaged in a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Bob Wolensky of the University of Wisconsin and an expert on Pennsylvania labor relations tells the Wall St. Journal. “By denying the teachers this right [to collective bargaining] and closing the schools, he has eroded additional support for Catholic schools and therefore the Catholic church.”
The self-defeating paternal approach is not unique to Martino.
About six years ago INITIATIVES began reporting on Resurrection Health Care (7435 W. Talcott Ave., Chicago, IL 60631; www.reshealth.org, a system of hospitals and other facilities sponsored by Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (310 N. River Rd., DesPlaines, IL 60016; www.csfn.org) and Sisters of the Resurrection (35 Boltwood Ave., Castleton, NY 12033; www. resurreetionsisters.org). Nurses and service workers there want to collectively bargain under the auspice of AFSCME (5509 N. Cumberland Rd. #505, Chicago, IL 60656; www.reformresurrection. 2Kg). The hospital leaders refuse to meet with the workers’ committee.
Workers at St. Joseph Health System (500 S. Main St., Orange, CA 92868; www.stjhs.org) want to be represented through SEIU West (560 Thomas Berkley Way, Oakland, CA 94612; www. voiceatsaintioes.org). The Sisters of St. Joseph (480 S. Batavia St., Orange, CA 92706), who sponsor SJHS, are elsewhere in relationship with unions, including at Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Healthcare West. At SJHS they are blocking an election.
Providence Health System (4805 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97213; www.providence. which has a relationship with the Sisters of Providence (9 F. Ninth Ave., Spokane, WA 99202; www.sistersothrovidence.net) and Sisters of the Little Company of Mary (9350S. California Ave., Evergreen Park, IL 60805; www.lcmh.org), is blocking its nurses and other workers from forming a union.
Obviously, orders of women religious face many difficulties in fulfilling their ministry within our society’s dysfunctional health care system. Retaining union-busting consultants is not, however, an ingredient for healing the sick. For its part our National Center for the Laity (P0 Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629) has distributed all but a dozen copies of a 30,000 press run of Ethical Guidelines for a Religious Institution Confronted by a Union by Ed Marciniak. This booklet is sympathetic to administrators trying to make ends meet. Yet the booklet explains what a manager of a Catholic institution (whether she or he is Catholic or not) is allowed to do. As soon as NCL raises a little money, the booklet will be updated and re-issued.
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