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Boston Labor Guild Brings Together Labor, Management

By Mark Pattison for the Catholic Labor Network It’s not every day that you see a labor guild of any type, much less one that accepts managers – and even lawyers – as members. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Boston Labor Guild. “The Labor Guild is actually a neutral organization,” says Lisa Field, the Guild’s […]

L.A. Hotel Workers Rework ‘Las Posadas’ amid Strike Threats

By Mark Pattison for the Catholic Labor Network   Thousands of workers at two dozen hotels in the Los Angeles area won contracts by the end of 2023 as UNITE HERE Local 11 has waged a campaign since April to win improved pay and benefits for union members – but thousands more are still waiting […]

What’s the Problem at Ascension Health?

One of the things we do at the Catholic Labor Network is monitoring labor relations at Catholic institutions. There’s a reason for this. Church doctrine teaches that workers have the right to organize in unions to engage in collective bargaining, but who’s going to listen to us if Catholic institutions don’t respect that teaching with […]

The Campaign for Just Employment Practices at LMU

A guest contribution from CLN Member Prof. Anna Harrison The cry for just employment practices is ringing out on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty went public in November, 2023 with their unionizing effort. And LMU Solidarity/Solidaridad—an umbrella organization of students, staff, and faculty—is pleading with the administration […]

Nurses at Baltimore’s St. Agnes Hospital form Union

Workers at another Catholic institution have formed a union! At the start of November, a majority of the nurses at Baltimore’s Ascension St. Agnes Hospital voted to join National Nurses United. The nurses were concerned with understaffing at the hospital. Ascension, a Catholic health care chain with hospitals and nursing homes across the country, has […]

Autoworkers, Actors Win New Contracts

Settlements end nationwide strikes The past few weeks have seen the resolution of two major national strikes by American workers. TV, movie and streaming actors walked off the job in July; auto workers employed by GM, Ford and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) followed in September. Both groups of workers scored important victories, persuading their employers to […]

Union busting at Baltimore’s Ascension St. Agnes Hospital?

America’s Catholic Bishops have long published a set of Ethical and Religious Directives covering Catholic health care. The seventh of these “ERDs,” as they are known in the industry, instructs a Catholic hospital to “treat its employees respectfully and justly” including “recognition of the rights of employees to organize and bargain collectively.” So what’s the […]

Labor actions continue across the country

It was a busy summer, and it seems the season for labor action has extended into fall. Inflation has substantially eroded wages over the past few years, and as contracts negotiated before the pandemic expire many workers are trying to catch up. Technological change is on the table too — autoworkers are trying to secure […]