DIOCESE OF SCRANTON Teachers rally for unionization

DIOCESE OF SCRANTON Teachers rally for unionization, but bishop says he fears bankruptcy for schools

SCRANTON - It may be a new year, with new symbolic colors to support a legislative bill with a new number, but the message - and response - were very familiar.

More than 200 supporters, many from regional union locals, joined a noon rally outside Diocese of Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino’s residence to mark the one-year anniversary of the fight to unionize local Catholic school teachers. Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers President Michael Milz handed out green and black arm bands.

“Black is the color of mourning, and without a doubt we are here for that sorrowful purpose,” Milz said, repeating the claim that Martino rejected more than a century of Catholic Church support for organized labor when he rejected the request to unionize.

“Yes, there are many reasons for us to be mournful today,” Milz said, but “there is still hope all can yet be made right. Green, the other color on your arm bands, symbolizes that hope.”

Milz introduced state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, who last year introduced House Bill 2626. It would amend the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act to cover Catholic school teachers, giving them the chance to get the Labor Relations Board to force the diocese to hold a secret ballot vote among diocesan teachers on unionization.

The Labor Relations Committee held two hearings on the bill, but no action was taken before the House recessed, effectively killing the bill in committee. Pashinski announced it is being reintroduced as House Bill 26. He said he is seeking new co-sponsors, that no more hearings are necessary, and that the bill would almost certainly be moved out of committee and up for a House vote within “weeks.”

Pashinski recounted his days as a student in Catholic schools and his excitement when he was old enough to get his own envelopes to put into Church collection baskets. He said the decision to reject unionization was “focusing on a tiny problem. We have a much bigger problem. No one is coming to church. Why? It’s not the same church I remember, it’s not the same church you remember.”

“You’re not asking for something unreasonable,” Pashinski said, “you’re just asking for a place at the table.”

The diocese posted a response on its Web site, repeating its claim that the union would bankrupt the school system and that the “Employee Relations Program” put in place represents all school employees fairly.

“Make no mistake about it,” the statement said, “if HB 26 passes, it will mean the end of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Scranton, costing local communities $73,880,400 each year to educate these students.

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