San Francisco, California, USA (Thursday, August 27, 2015, Gaudium Press) A new labor agreement between the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the union representing teachers at the four archdiocesan high schools states that Catholic teachings must remain paramount in the classroom and that teachers are accountable for personal conduct that could negatively affect their ability to serve the Catholic mission.
| Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Photo Shawn |
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, thanked the teachers for their hard work towards reaching the agreement that allowed to ratify the contracts and for their concern for their special mission in Catholic education.
Marin Catholic High School president Tim Navone said the agreement brings the focus back on teaching.
“I am most excited that our teachers are going to be able to be fully focused without distraction on what they are going to do best, and that is teaching,” he told Catholic San Francisco Aug. 20. “As an administrator my hope and goal is that they will have the sole focus of educating of our students.”
Navone added that he is “filled with a lot of gratitude for those on all sides. The union executive committee really worked hard.”
Ted DeSaulnier, a religion teacher at Archbishop Riordan High School and a member of the executive committee of Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers Local 2240, said he felt relieved to settle a disagreement he described as “one of those perfect storms.”
Societal issues of religious freedom and equal rights clashed but in the end both sides strived to reach an agreement, with the union offering the final language that forged a tentative deal in July, he said.
The agreement, ratified in a narrow 90-80 decision by union members Aug. 19, includes a five-paragraph preamble section on the purpose of Catholic education and expectations for teachers to support the mission. “All lay teachers covered by the agreement “shall conduct themselves at all times during the performance of those duties in a manner in keeping with the standards of the church,” the preamble states.
Source Rick DelVecchio/ADSF