By Robert Abruzzese

The pope was in but school was out today for students at 10 Roman Catholic high schools in
New York City and the surrounding suburbs as teachers struck for a new contract.

The two sides have been trying to hammer out a new contract since August and the teachers were taking advantage of the pope’s arrival to get their point across.

“Our struggle has to do with economic justice,” said Anthony Cusimano, a guidance counselor at Cardinal Hayes high school in the Bronx.  “The message we’re trying to get out there is that we need help and we wanted to deliver a message to the pope that we need help in fighting for a fair and just contract.”

Even though they timed the strike to coincide with the pope’s first visit to the U.S. the teachers said they were not disrespecting him.

“I think that you can’t stop and say that because somebody of great value is coming to our community that we should stop dealing with the problems that are occurring in that community,” said Johanna Schnitz, a first year teacher at Cathedral high school in Manhattan.  “I think that this is exactly the time to do it because we want to point out the great injustices that are occurring.”

The two sides cannot reach an agreement as the teachers seek a three-year contract with a $60,000 top salary.  The current top salary is $52,000, but the New York Archdiocese is standing firm on their current four-year contract offer which includes a three percent raise in the first year. The archdiocese considers the offer generous.

“We have made an offer to the union,” said Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling.  “That preserves the first three years of the contract offered in November, but adds a fourth year that gives the teachers what they had identified as their top priority and gives the archdiocese what we identified as our top priority.”

The archdiocese settled another dispute with the larger teachers union last week.  The terms of that four-year contract included a three percent raise the first year, and a four percent raise each of the following three years.  They will also have to pay 10 percent of their health insurance plan, as opposed to anywhere from 5.9 to 7.6 percent.

The LTA rebuffed this deal.  They have made a counteroffer, but the New York Archdiocese contends it is too busy with the pope’s arrival to meet with them.

“They’re saying that they offered a generous contract and they did not,” said Cusimano.  “If it was fair it would not have been rejected overwhelmingly.  They have a history of giving teachers as little as is necessary to get them to go back to work.  That is why today our average salary is $43,000.”

Many of the teachers blame a corporate mentality on their inability to get raises.

“One of the issues the Catholic Church deals with is social justice,” said Cardinal Hayes high school teacher Ed Webster.  “Justice for the worker, but then in practice that is not the case.  The teachers are not treated fairly.  It’s a corporate mentality and they want to keep us down as much as possible.  It seems like it is almost a game to see how little they can get away with giving the teachers.”

The four schools that closed early on Tuesday were Maria Regina, Cardinal Spellman, and Cardinal Hayes high schools in the Bronx and Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie.  Six other schools which closed completely: Monsignor Farrell and Moore high schools, both on Staten Island; Cathedral High School in Manhattan; Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains: John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers; and John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen.