Peace & Justice

Opinion

On June 22, 2009, “Respecting the Just Right of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Health Care and Unions” was released by a Coalition consisting of the AFL-CIO, SEIU International, Catholic Health Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The National association of Catholic School Teachers, a national union representing teachers in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, takes issue with the members of the Bishops’ Conference because of their negligence in the application of Catholic social teaching when their fellow bishops are involved, especially in regard to employees most directly under the bishops’ control, in particular, Catholic school teachers.

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced a new step forward for workers at Catholic health facilities: a set of principles to ensure that workers have a fair process to bargain for a better life.

In “Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Health Care and Unions,” the USCCB, in cooperation with Catholic health care providers and the union movement, has laid out guidelines for Catholic health care ministries across the country.

The document means that labor unions and Catholic leaders have reached an agreement designed to end years of bitter hostilities that often surrounded union efforts to organize workers at Catholic hospitals.

"The central actors in these dramas have to be the workers themselves, that's what we feel is the strength of the document," said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, D.C., who helped lead the discussions.

The accord, announced Monday, seeks to apply Catholic teachings that recognize the right of workers to "freely and fairly" decide whether to join a union.

The new guidelines cover seven principles for employers when workers seek a union:

Respect;

The U.S. food supply is controlled now by a handful of corporations that put profit ahead of food safety, the livelihood of farmers, the safety of workers and the environment, according to a new documentary, “Food, Inc.” The film investigates the unintended consequences and hidden costs of our current system of producing food.

Wealth & Responsibility

OAKDALE, MINN. -- Jill Manthe takes her notebook from her top desk drawer. “I budget,” she said, listing the checks she writes each month from her modest disability income -- rent, medications, electricity, car insurance, cell phone, computer and cable service.

Asked whether she pays for a high-speed Internet connection, she replies matter of factly: “I have plenty of time; I don’t need high-speed.” Manthe recently moved into an attractive one-bedroom unit of Oak Terrace Apartments, a low-income complex in this northeastern suburb of St. Paul.

Manthe is one of millions of older Americans who have had to adjust their living conditions as Wall Street has tumbled, home values have fallen and the nation’s economic meltdown has heightened vulnerability across American society.

Senior citizens seem particularly shortchanged by the global recession. Many have seen their 401(k) funds decimated. The value of their homes has dropped markedly as well. Overall U.S. home prices fell 19 percent between January 2008 and January 2009, with the worst hit cities being Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco, all down more than 30 percent.