Catholic School Teachers Strike Over Health Care

The Archdiocese of New York is engaged in a bitter battle with teachers at its 277 schools, which educate about 107,000 students. On Friday, nearly 200 teachers of the Federation of Catholic Teachers union went on strike saying the archdiocese has hindered their efforts to obtain a new health insurance plan. Another Catholic teachers’ union, the Lay Faculty Association, has planned a strike to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to New York April 18 to 20. This latest disagreement underscores the larger financial crisis Catholic schools have faced nationwide, with widespread school closings in urban areas and a decline in enrollment since 2000.

Through the 1960s, Catholic schools had essentially free faculty in the form of nuns and priests, however lay people have replaced them as the ranks of clergy have shrunk. In New York, the Catholic schoolteachers’ average salary is $45,000, nearly $25,000 less than their public school counterparts.

The major striking points in both unions’ contract disputes include an increased premium for health benefits and the unions’ desire for bigger pay raises and a better pension plan. The archdiocese has vowed not to budge since they feel that the offer presented to the unions was a good one and the teachers should have been accepted it. The Federation of Catholic Teachers union called the archdiocese to pressure them into handing over records of health insurance claims that the union needs to obtain a new plan.

A strike during the pope’s visit has stirred up mixed feelings. The unions believe that striking purpose is not to disrupt the visit, but to get the attention of the many high-ranking church officials who will be in town. Others consider the strike to be distasteful because they feel the teachers are using the papal visit, which is supposed to be a spiritual event, to gain traction.

How do you feel about this strike? Do you think the unions are justified in striking, including their future strike during the papal visit?

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/nyregion/05strike.html?ref=education