FACTS REGARDING SCHOOL STAFFING
AND UNION REPRESENTATION 

On July 1, personnel in Catholic schools will become employees of the four incorporated regional school systems that are being established to govern the operation of the schools: 

• Holy Cross Regional School System of the Diocese of Scranton, Inc. (Lackawanna/Wayne/Bradford Counties).
• Holy Redeemer Regional School System of the Diocese of Scranton, Inc. (Luzerne County).
• Saint John Neumann Regional School System of the Diocese of Scranton, Inc. (Lycoming County).
• Notre Dame Regional School System of the Diocese of Scranton, Inc. (Monroe County).

Therefore, the Diocese would not be the proper legal entity to grant recognition to any union that would seek to represent school personnel. According to legal counsel, any such union should request recognition from the appropriate regional system through a formal process that consists of the following steps: 

-- A secret ballot election should be conducted in which the employees themselves determine whether or not they wish to be represented by a particular union. This is common labor practice, because a secret ballot reduces or eliminates unfair pressure – from either the employer, the union itself or co-workers – upon the voter. 

-- The secret ballot election should be conducted by a neutral group; for example, an entity such as the American Arbitration Association. 

When the four regional school systems are operational, any effort to organize Catholic school personnel in the Diocese of Scranton should follow the above process. The Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT) was informed in November 2006 that the Diocese would not be the proper legal entity to grant recognition to any union that would seek to represent school personnel. 

Meanwhile, the Diocese has been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with teacher representatives from the schools in Lackawanna, Wayne and Luzerne Counties – including those represented by SDACT –  since last November, and recently began discussions with support staff representatives. 

The next meeting in this dialogue with teacher representatives is being held today (June 7), at St. Joseph Parish Center in Scranton. This is not a negotiating meeting, but rather an information and listening session to address questions and concerns raised by the teachers. 

Since this is a completely new governance model for the schools, and the four regional school systems will not be fully operational until some time after July 1, the teachers need to have some basic information about their employment conditions, including salaries and benefits, during this period of transition leading into the 2007-08 school year, and they also deserve the opportunity to express any concerns.