Letters to the Editor

March 27, 2008

Postal workers union supports Catholic school students, teachers

I would like to comment on the recent student walkout in a show of support for the Holy Redeemer teachers’ fight to be union-represented.

I applaud the many young men and women who braved the cold that day out of respect for their teachers’ struggle for better working conditions.

You all have earned the respect of the labor force in your community. You did it with dignity, using prayer and peaceful marching. One student was quoted as saying, “Teachers have dedicated their lives to cultivate ours.” I say, they have done a heck of a job at Holy Redeemer.

You may be considered just “kids,” but that day you took on something that clearly defines you as young adults. Even though you were threatened with disciplinary action, you still followed your hearts and went ahead with the walkout.

You may not have changed Bishop Joseph Martino’s decision to deny the teachers a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, but you definitely gave him something to think about.

Maybe it is he who should be disciplined. How about two hours of community service. He may then find out how the other half lives.

I congratulate the parents for the morals they have instilled in their children. And to the teachers at Holy Redeemer, the Wilkes-Barre Area Local American Postal Workers Union has your back.

John Kishel President, Wilkes-Barre Area Local 175, American Postal Workers Union Wilkes-Barre

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