Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Labor - Management Relations 371

Exercise 12.2: Teachers at New York City Catholic Schools

Strike

In anticipation of Pope Benedict XVI ’ s arrival in the United States in fall

2007, approximately 350 teachers at Roman Catholic schools from New York

City and its northern suburbs went on strike. The teachers are members of

the Lay Faculty Association, which represents about 450 teachers at ten

schools. The teachers were demonstrating not against the Pope but

against low wages, small pensions, and proposed health care premiums

that were too expensive. The church teaches economic and social justice,

and the teachers saw this as an opportunity to illustrate that this New York

diocese does not provide salaries and benefi ts consistent with what the

Pope is preaching. The teachers earn about $ 44,000 a year, about $ 25,000

below their public school counterparts.

Questions

1. In your opinion, do you think schoolteachers in general should be
   allowed to strike over wages and benefi ts? Explain your answer.


2. Should teachers employed by a diocese have a right to strike? Does the
   employer make a difference? Explain your answer.

Source : Buckley (2008).