In an interesting March story, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published a thoughtful article on the work of women religious in the church. “The (almost) free work of sisters” posed difficult questions about the wages, working conditions and respect given those who perform so much of the church’s labor. Reporter Marie-Lucile Kubacki interviewed some of […]
This March marked the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ 2013 election. The Holy Father has won the respect and affection of Catholics and non-Catholics alike with his message of love, his humble example, and not least, his advocacy for social justice. Pope Francis has inspired our Church to recommit ourselves to the promise of the […]
On February 26 oral arguments began in Janus v AFSCME, the most important Supreme Court case in decades for American labor unions. A majority of employees in the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services have voted for union representation by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the AFSCME contract […]
Last month we reported in this space how Georgetown’s response to research and teaching assistants seeking union representative had generated a crisis in campus labor relations. Georgetown’s much-admired Just Employment Policy provides for living wages for campus employees and defends all workers’ right to organize, as established in Catholic Social Teaching. But when the graduate […]
OK, so the bishops stole our thunder a bit. But the Catholic Labor Network joined with other faith leaders and faith groups to submit an amicus brief to the Court opposing Janus and defending the right to organize. Other Catholic organizations signing the brief included Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice, the Conference of Major Superiors […]
In the labor movement, all eyes are on the Supreme Court and Janus v. AFSCME, where a member of the union is arguing that paying “agency fees” to pay for its services violates his freedom of speech. If Janus wins, all of state and local government employment will be rendered “right-to-work” and unions critically weakened. […]
The Catholic Church and the U.S. labor movement share similar positions in several major policy areas, with each supporting a living wage for all who work, the right to organize in labor unions, and the protection of immigrants – even those who are undocumented. So we in the Catholic Labor Network wondered: how often do […]
More than 200 nurses at Providence Hospital in Washington D.C. who are represented by National Nurses United (NNU) have negotiated a new contract. The Nurses report that, beyond wage gains, they won “more time for nurses to discuss patient care issues: The Professional Practice Committee (PPC), comprised of nurse leaders from units throughout the hospital, […]
In recent years, Georgetown University has earned considerable respect from both labor unions and Catholic social ministry activists for its remarkable Just Employment Policy. The policy, developed over more than a decade of dialogue between students, faculty, administrators and workers, helps ensure that university personnel practices demonstrate Catholic Social Teaching. But a confrontation with graduate […]
Our appreciation goes out to John Patrick, Texas AFL-CIO president who retired in December. Brother John was a good friend of the Catholic Labor Network and really put his faith into action through his work, leading the state labor federation this year in a spirited resistance to Governor Abbot’s “show me your papers” law targeting […]