I talked to some of the people holding signs in front of the St. Paul Cathedral this morning in support of the workers of THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT. It seems Archbishop Niendstedt has decided that the workers of the The Catholic Spirit newspaper are no longer worthy of union representation. They have been represented by the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union since 1965. Their flyer states that when “the current contract expires on June 30, the work and some of the workers of The Catholic Spirit will move to a non-unionized work place within a new communications department of the archdiocese, while others will lose their jobs. ” I was told employees have to make a decision tomorrow without knowing any details of their future status.
I have long admired the social justice work done by members of the Catholic Church. Is this action really consistent with the social justice teachings of the church?