Employee Councils Discuss Range of Issues at Latest Meeting
 

Numerous issues were discussed at the most recent meeting of the Employee Councils for the Holy Redeemer and Holy Cross regional school systems.

The March 13 session at St. Mary’s Center in Scranton included a presentation by Chris Collins, senior business consultant for Parente/HR Services, the firm that is assisting with the development of a standard compensation plan for teachers as well as support staff.

Participants at the meeting were asked to consult with their peers at their respective schools in order to provide input on the criteria that will be used to determine compensation.

“This is a work in progress. It is an important issue that we must address because we know there are compensation inequities in our schools,” said James Burke, Diocesan human resources director. Those inequities, he explained, occurred over the course of many years when the schools were operated by individual parishes that had varying levels of resources.

Another goal of the March 13 meeting was the beginning of a discussion on the issues that employees think are most important. Participants listed a range of issues, including sick days (annual and accumulated), personal days, bereavement leave, maternity leave, tuition assistance, pension plans, disability insurance, life insurance and job classifications.

Mr. Burke noted that the Diocese put a package of these benefits in place when the restructured school systems took effect last fall. Now, as with the compensation issue, the Employee Council representatives will consult with their peers and return with proposals on the future structure of these benefits.

In addition, the employee representatives asked the Diocese to consider some form of retirement package. The Diocese agreed to explore the possibilities.

The Employee Councils are components of the Employee Relations Program that covers teachers as well as support staff such as aides, administrators, office staff, cafeteria staff and maintenance personnel. The program also involves Wage and Benefit Committees, Health Care Sub-Committees and Grievance Committees for each of the four regional school systems that were established last year in the restructuring of Diocesan Catholic schools.

This program is the format for regular dialogue between the Diocese and school employees. Its implementation is part of the final decision that the Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers (SDACT) will not be recognized as a bargaining agent for teachers.

Nevertheless, SDACT’s leaders have continued to oppose the program. Prior to the March 13 meeting, SDACT President Michael Milz urged teachers to discourage their peers from attending the meeting. After the meeting, he characterized those who did attend as “poor deluded dupes.”

In addition, SDACT’s leaders and some alumni supporters have made the accusation that teachers in some schools have been intimidated by administrators, presumably to discourage support for the union.

Although the Diocese has not received any reports or evidence to support this accusation, a letter was sent to all teachers earlier this week, asking them to inform the Office of Catholic Schools about any such incidents so that the Diocese could “correct immediately any conduct in our schools that might be characterized as intimidating or threatening.”

Ironically, the Diocese has been made aware that some employees who want to participate in the Employee Relations Program have not yet done so because they perceive a negative reaction from some of their peers.

Despite SDACT’s opposition and the reluctance of some employees, most of the schools in the two systems were represented at the March 13 meeting and, according to Mr. Burke, additional schools have joined the program since the initial orientation meeting was held in February.

“We had a very productive meeting and it’s clear that the program is moving forward,” he said.

The next meeting for the Holy Redeemer and Holy Cross systems will be held in early April. A meeting for the St. John Neumann System will also be scheduled for April. The development of the program in the Notre Dame System is in process.