Catholic Higher Education
According to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, America is home to more than 200 Catholic institutions of higher education serving nearly one million students. Most were established and largely staffed by religious orders, and served primarily Catholic students. Today’s Catholic universities, however, employ faculty and staff — and enroll students — of all faith backgrounds.
Catholic social teaching defends the right of all workers to form unions and bargain collectively, but different categories of university employees have different legal status under American labor law. Some categories of employees, such as custodians, cafeteria workers and many clerical employees — enjoy all the protections of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Tenured faculty, on the other hand, are considered management employees; although they can and sometimes do form unions, the Labor Board will not protect them from retaliation if they do so.
In recent years adjunct faculty in colleges across the United States — who have been assigned increasing amounts of the college teaching load — have sought to organize in unions. A growing number of Catholic colleges have recognized unions of adjunct instructors, but a handful are refusing to recognize the unions their adjuncts have chosen and invoking first amendment religious freedoms to seek exemption from the Labor Board’s jurisdiction. Whatever one thinks of the merits of their legal case, Church teaching is perfectly clear on workers’ right to form unions and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice. One would expect that an institution with a strong commitment to its Catholic identity would recognize and bargain with the union chosen by their employees WHETHER OR NOT the NLRB has jurisdiction. The position these schools have adopted — we are TOO CATHOLIC to be subject to US Labor Law but NOT CATHOLIC ENOUGH to adhere to honor Catholic social teaching on principle alone — arguably courts scandal. (For a detailed treatment, see Which Side are We On? in America Magazine.) Schools marked with an asterisk* have some union-represented employees but are challenging the rights of others to organize and bargain collectively.
In addition to bargaining directly with unions of their employees, a number of Catholic universities have taken important steps to vindicate the rights of workers employed by their contractors and suppliers. Some have adopted contracting policies that insist firms providing janitorial or food services pay workers a living wage and honor their workers’ right to organize. Others have adopted fair labor codes for suppliers of college-branded garments and gear. In many cases universities have been aided in their discernment on these matters by vigorous student action.
Below find a list of Catholic Colleges and Universities whose direct or indirect (contract) employees have union representation, and a list of Catholic Colleges participating in the Workers’ Rights Consortium, a joint effort to monitor labor conditions in overseas plants producing products bearing the college name or logo.
Catholic Higher Education Institutions with Collective Bargaining
California
Archdiocese of San Francisco
University of San Francisco, San Francisco CA
- Faculty, AFT Local 4269
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 2
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles CA
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 11
Diocese of Oakland
St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga CA
- Non-Tenured Faculty, SEIU 1021
- Food Service, UNITEHERE Local 2850
Diocese of Sacramento
Notre Dame de Namur, Belmont CA
- Non-Tenured Faculty, SEIU 1021
- Food Service, UNITEHERE Local 2850
Colorado
Archdiocese of Denver
Regis University, Denver CO
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 23
Connecticut
Diocese of Bridgeport
Fairfield University, Fairfield CT
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 217
- Faculty, AAUP
District of Columbia
Archdiocese of Washington
Catholic University of America, Washington DC
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 23
Georgetown University, Washington DC
- Adjunct faculty, SEIU 500
- University Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 23
- Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, UNITE HERE Local 23
- Bulldog Tavern, , UNITE HERE Local 23
Trinity Washington University, Washington DC
- Adjunct Faculty, SEIU Local 500
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 23
Florida
Diocese of St. Petersburg
St. Leo University, St. Leo FL
- Faculty, AFT/NEA United Faculty of Florida St. Leo
Illinois
Archdiocese of Chicago
Dominican University, River Forest IL
- Food Service, UNITEHERE Local 1
DePaul University, Chicago IL
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 1
Loyola University Chicago
- Adjunct Faculty, SEIU Local 73
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 1
St. Xavier University*
- Tenured Faculty, Independent Union
Indiana
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Marian University, Indianapolis IN
- Operations/Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 23
Massachusetts
Archdiocese of Boston
Laboure College, Milton MA
- Faculty, NEA-Massachusetts Teachers’ Association
Michigan
Archdiocese of Detroit
University of Detroit, Mercy
- Faculty, NEA/Michigan Education Association
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 24
Minnesota
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul MN
- Trades/Maintenance, IBT Local 120
Missouri
Archdiocese of St. Louis
St. Louis University, St. Louis MO
- Adjunct Faculty, SEIU Local 1
- Food Service UNITE HERE Local 23
New Jersey
Archdiocese of Newark
Felician Unviersity, Lodi NJ
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
St. Peter’s University, Jersey City NJ
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
Seton Hall University, South Orange NJ
- Staff, OPEIU Local 153
New York
Archdiocese of New York
College of Mount Saint Vincent, NY
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
Dominican College, Blauvelt NY
- Food Service, UNITEHERE Local 100
Fordham University
- Office and Clerical, OPEIU 153
- Maintenance/Trades/Food Service, IBT 810
- Adjunct Faculty, SEIU Local 200
Manhattan College, New York NY*
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
Marymount Manhattan College, New York NY*
- Staff, AFT 7942
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
Diocese of Brooklyn
St. Francis College, Brooklyn NY
- Adjunct Faculty, AFT 7965
St. John’s University, Queens NY
- Faculty, AAUP
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
Diocese of Buffalo
D’Youville College, Buffalo NY
- Faculty, AAUP
- Maintenance, SEIU 200
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Molloy College, Rockville Center NY
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 100
Diocese of Syracuse
LeMoyne College, Syracuse NY
- Adjunct Faculty, AFT 7967
Pennsylvania
Diocese of Pittsburgh
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh PA*
- Police/Security Guards, IBT
Diocese of Scranton
University of Scranton, Scranton PA
- Faculty, AAUP
Rhode Island
Diocese of Providence
Providence College, Providence RI
- Food Service, UNITE HERE New England Joint Board
Texas
Diocese of Austin
St. Edward’s University, Austin TX
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 23
Vermont
Diocese of Burlington
St. Michaels College, Colchester VT
- Adjunct Faculty, SEIU 200
- Maintenance, AFSCME Local 1343
Washington
Archdiocese of Seattle
Seattle University, Seattle WA*
- Food Service, UNITE HERE Local 8
Fair Trade Goods and Garments
The following Catholic colleges and universities are reported as members of the Workers’ Rights Consortium, which inspects and certifies fair labor practices by vendors of college logo goods and garments:
· Aquinas College
· Bellarmine University
· Boston College
· The College of the Holy Cross
· Duquesne University
· Fordham University
· Georgeotwn University
· Gonzaga University
· John Carroll University
· Loyola University of Chicago
· St. John’s University
· Saint Louis University
· Saint Mary’s College
· University of Notre Dame
· Villanova University
· Xavier University