Posted on 09/18/2011 11:36:36 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Tuesday, the new academic year ground to a halt for Roman Catholic high schools in the Philadelphia area. The archdiocese called off classes for about 16,500 students because of a teachers strike. The local chapter of the Association of Catholic Teachers, representing 700 Catholic high school teachers from 17 different schools, rejected the archdiocese’s contract proposal last week and began its strike Sept. 6.
Theresa Ryan-Szott, chief negotiator for the archdiocese, said bargaining has been going on since March but has moved “at a snail’s pace” because of what she called union foot-dragging. The work stoppage entered its second week as bargaining between the teachers union and school system stalled largely over issues of job security and working conditions.
Union members oppose provisions regarding sick leave, the planned use of part-time instructors, and the displacement of teachers affected by school closings. They also demand salary increases of 14.5 percent and more respect.
System officials said union resistance is preventing them from modernizing the schools and instituting innovations such as online grading. They noted the proposed part-time instructors would be used for niche classes such as engineering, robotics, and Mandarin, not core subjects.
According to the archdiocese’s website, the proposed contract “was a watershed agreement aiming to allow our schools to adapt to the ever-changing 21st century educational landscape and provide our students with the tools to succeed.”
The union has asked for mediation twice, but the archdiocese refused both times. “We believe that we know our students, our teachers, our parents, and our schools better than any outsider,” Ryan-Szott said. Last Sunday, the two sides exchanged proposals, but the archdiocese said the union “did not want any face-to-face discussions with the full Archdiocesan Negotiating Team.”
Superintendent Mary Rochford added, “We are in a position that we should not be in. The contract needs to change so that it is there to advance educational initiatives and programs that our students need. Our schools need to be excellent, timely, and relevant for our children and we cannot work in a contract that ties our hands to that.”
an example of what one priest called “the gay left” in the church.
And Chaput was installed only a matter of days ago. Welcome to Philly, Archbishop Chaput.
Hey, lets hear it for teacher’s unions!
need I also point out, “Obama voters?”
FIRE THEM ALL!!!!!!
I thought Nuns and Brothers taught at Catholic schools, when did that change?
Catholic school children should be educated by Nuns and Brothers. Teacher’s unions are for “professional” teachers, not educators.
I agree. If this is a Catholic school, WHERE is the Catholic spirituality of these teachers? (I bet Bishop Chaput wisely ensures they are gifted with such...)
Yep.....these are private schools and unions have no place in them. Bring back the Brothers, Priests and Nuns. You’ll most likely get a better educated child anyway. They take no static from anyone.
Fire them
After what I saw in Catholic high school over 40 years ago I wasn't at all suprised by the pedophile priests and the hard left social gospel lurch the Church has taken. Dude, where's my Church?
We miss our bishop in Denver. I hope God gives him the strength to have a Reagan moment and help restore the faith there.
The “spirit of vatican ii” depopulated many orders. Until the new orthodox orders build up, Catholic schools will be staffed by lay men and women. Mrs.Bustard is one such. She is not in a union. I can’t wait to get her take on these foul folk.
The American Catholic church has sold it soul to unions and the “living wage”. Now it bites them in the butt.
In this economy, anyone with a job that provides wages and healthcare insurance should thank the Lord and drive on.
A raise? Shut the front door.
Poetic justice.
This is but another example of unions are fading away. Here are more Luddites. I don’t understand you comment about the gay left in the church in this situation. (I certainly know about the gay left in the church.)
Get back to the day when we had the Irish Christian Brothers in HS. Caught with cigarettes, no problem. You get to eat the whole pack. Long Hair? No problem, they cut your hair. If your parents complained, they threw you out. This was all good training for the military. Oh, and they had no Teachers Union.
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