For as long as the Catholic Labor Network has existed, St. John’s University in Queens, New York, has served as a witness to Catholic Social Teaching on labor and work by engaging in collective bargaining with the union chosen by its faculty, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Thus we are shocked and saddened to learn that the University leadership has elected to terminate this practice and announced it will no longer recognize or bargain with the union.

Since Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum in 1891, the Church has endorsed the right of workers to form unions and bargain collectively. Lest there be any confusion, the US Bishops clarified in their 1986 Pastoral letter on the economy, Economic Justice for All, that employees of Catholic institutions enjoy this right. “All church institutions must also fully recognize the rights of employees to organize and bargain collectively with the institution through whatever association or organization they freely choose [353].”

This clear teaching is why the other leading Catholic institutions in New York City recognize and bargain with unions representing their employees:

• The Archdiocese of New York Catholic Schools bargains with the teachers represented by the Federation of Catholic Teachers, OPEIU;
• Archcare bargains with CNAs and Home Health Care Aides are represented by SEIU 1199
• Catholic hospitals across New York bargain with the New York State Nurses Association and SEIU 1199; and
• Fordham University bargains with clerical employees represented by the OPEIU, adjunct faculty are represented by SEIU 200, and graduate assistants are represented by CWA 1104.

The Catholic Labor Network urges St. John’s to honor Catholic Social Teaching and follow the example of these other Catholic institutions and return to the bargaining table with the unions selected by the St. John’s faculty.