Sorrow and hope mark themes of SDACT rally

SDACT President, Mike Milz, made the following remarks during yesterday's rally to mark the introduction of Pennsylvania House Bill 26 before the General Assembly.

"As you know, we have asked you to wear the armbands that we distributed today. The colors of those armbands – black and green – are appropriate to the purposes that mark this rally today.

First the black. Everyone knows that black is the color of mourning, and without a doubt we are here for that sorrowful purpose. My teacher colleagues and I are only one of the groups here to mourn. We are here to mourn the loss of our rights, for it was exactly one year ago today that the person who lives in the house directly behind us, Bishop Joseph Martino, decided that the more than one hundred years of Catholic teaching in support of the right to organize was nothing more than words on paper. He announced that after 30 years of successful collaboration between our teachers’ association and the Diocese’s Catholic schools he would no longer recognize our teachers’ right to be represented by a union of their own choosing.

With us here to mourn for their own reasons are our many friends from the labor community and others who believe in the cause of social justice. They are here to mourn the loss and betrayal of labor’s once-staunch ally. For anyone who knows the labor history of Northeastern Pennsylvania knows that it had been the Catholic Church in Scranton which had stood side by side with the area’s working people in their struggles to organize and achieve social justice.

More troublesome is the fact that over the past year, not only has the Church in Scranton abandoned the cause of labor, but it has taken to using the tactics of the most vicious anti-union employers. The Bishop has attacked the leaders of our teachers, calling them manipulative, selfish and greedy. He has said that unions no longer serve a place in the modern economy. He has charged that having a union will bankrupt the schools, the typical ploy used by anti-union firms. He has intimidated teachers who support our cause and fired those in our union leadership. Finally, he has established a company union, something which would be illegal in any other work place in America. Wal-Mart and other union busting businesses can learn a lot from Bishop Martino.

Here also to mourn with us are our many supporters who are parents with children enrolled in our Catholic schools. They are here to mourn the fact that each day their sons and daughters are exposed to blatant hypocrisy. Catholic elementary students who are required to learn their catechism are instructed that “if the dignity of work is to be protected, then the rights of workers to organize and join unions must be respected.” Those in their senior year in high school must complete a theology class on the Church and social justice. There, they read the pastoral letter of the nation’s bishops on the economy which states that “no one can deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself.” Anyone who has been a teacher even for a short period knows you can’t fool kids. They can smell a phony. Bishop Martino’s actions make a mockery of their theology lessons.

Yes, there are many reasons for us to be mournful today. However, the other purpose for which we are gathered is to show that, regardless of the setbacks we have suffered, there is still hope all can yet be made right. Green, the other color on your armbands, symbolizes that hope.

Today we are announcing the introduction of House Bill 26 in the House of Representatives of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The exact same bill had been introduced in the last legislative session, which then expired before any action could be taken. With the continuing support of Catholic school teachers across PA, along with the ongoing help of our friends in the labor community and all in the general community who support social justice, we know our campaign for the bill’s passage will not fail.

The employees of religiously-affiliated schools remain the only PA workers not covered by federal or state labor laws. There is something innately wrong and un-American in that. The nation’s laws should apply equally to all Americans. No one should be forced to accept second-class citizenship just because they choose to work for a religious entity.

HB 26 will correct this current injustice. With your help, we will overcome this current and tragic state of affairs. We hope we can continue to count on your support. If we do not stand together now, we will become silent accomplices to an act which denies basic human rights to a group of Americans. The armbands we wear today are green and black, but the choice we must make is black and white."


(Below: Representatives Eddie Day Pashinski and Kevin Murphy pledge their support and sponsorship of Pennsylvania House Bill 26 at SDACT rally.)