Catholic high school teachers, Archdiocese of 51붚죕 agree to contract, avoid strike

Blythe Bernhard | Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS �� Teachers in five Catholic high schools on Tuesday agreed to a new three-year contract with the Archdiocese of 51붚죕, averting a strike.

The president of the 51붚죕 Archdiocesan Teachers Association said the contract includes �쐋ong 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�셲 120 teachers at Bishop DuBourg, Cardinal Ritter, Rosati-Kain and St. Mary�셲 high schools in 51붚죕 and St. Pius X High School in Festus.

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.

�쏻e 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�셲 last offer, which allowed for some pay raises but struck grievance and seniority protections.

Teachers at Bishop DuBourg, Rosati-Kain and St. Mary�셲 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 �쏛ll Things New�� that could lead to dozens of Catholic school closures in the next few years.