ST. LOUIS — Teachers in five Catholic high schools on Tuesday agreed to a new three-year contract with the Archdiocese of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, averting a strike.
The president of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Archdiocesan Teachers Association said the contract includes “long overdue pay scale improvements†along with protections for seniority and grievance procedures.
Another hotly debated part of the agreement allows teachers to transfer in the event of a school closure, said Kathryn Williams-Heese, a teacher at Bishop DuBourg High School.
Negotiations started in October for the new contract for the union’s 120 teachers at Bishop DuBourg, Cardinal Ritter, Rosati-Kain and St. Mary’s high schools in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and St. Pius X High School in Festus.
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The contract was approved by members at four of the schools, with teachers at Cardinal Ritter scheduled to vote next week after returning from spring break, according to an archdiocesan spokeswoman.
“We thank our teachers for their dedication to the important ministry of Catholic education,†said Lisa Naeger Shea.
The previous contract expired last month, after more than 90% of the 120 teachers in the union voted down the Archdiocese’s last offer, which allowed for some pay raises but struck grievance and seniority protections.
Teachers at Bishop DuBourg, Rosati-Kain and St. Mary’s staged a sickout on March 28, and 100 students from the schools protested in support at the Cathedral Basilica. Protests by the school communities have also been held regularly on the cathedral steps.
The archdiocese gave teachers individual at-will contracts to sign by April 1 before job openings were to be posted. Union leaders indicated a willingness to strike if collective bargaining did not resume. The two sides returned to the bargaining table and came to a tentative agreement on April 7.
Details of the contract approved Tuesday were not released. The previous starting teacher salary was $30,387.
The contract comes as the archdiocese is planning a major reorganization called “All Things New†that could lead to dozens of Catholic school closures in the next few years.
Classes were canceled Monday at Bishop DuBourg, Rosati-Kain and St. Mary's after teachers staged a sickout
Catholic high school teachers began negotiating with Archdiocese of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in October, and they're now poised to strike after their contract expired on March 4.Â
“All Things New†initiative will dramatically change the 178 parishes and 100 schools in the Archdiocese of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.Â
Blythe Bernhard • 314-340-8129 @blythebernhard on Twitter bbernhard@post-dispatch.com
