Catholic University Fighting Attempts To Unionize Because Jesus

Duquesne University for years has been fighting attempts by adjunct professors to unionize, claiming it would violate its freedom of religion. Now, it’s getting ugly.

Since 1878, Duquesne University has been an integral part of Pittsburgh. The Catholic University, which sits on 50 acres, has an enrollment of about 10,300 students and claims a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

Among the faculty, like at most colleges and universities, are adjunct professors. These are non-tenured professors, often part-time, who are guaranteed nothing. They have no benefits, are paid based on how many courses they teach, and increasingly, as at most colleges and universities, adjunct professors are being used in place of tenured professors to save money for the universities – despite the dramatic increases in college tuition nationwide.

One of those adjunct professors was Mary Margaret Vojtko, who spent 25 years of her life teaching French at Duquesne. Toward the end of her life, before Duquesne fired her, she was battling terminal cancer. Her annual income had dropped from less than $25,000 a year to $10,000. She couldn’t afford her medical bills, or even heat, and took a night job just to stay warm. She died penniless and was buried n a cardboard box, according to an article at Inside Higher Ed.

For three years, adjunct professors like Mary Margaret Vojtko have been trying to get Duquesne to allow them to unionize. Duquesne claims doing so violates its religious liberty.

Another article at Inside Higher Ed says Duquesne claims its Roman Catholic identity exempts it from oversight by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

Yet another example of a faith-based entity that claims it is above the law because it is a faith-based entity.

The NLRB recently rejected that claim, and Duquesne is appealing. It’s also threatening to fire two adjunct professors who are leading the attempt to unionize.

In a filing, Duquesne says it “reserves the right not to rehire both professors and replace them with professors willing and/or better able to incorporate Duquesne’s Catholic, Spiritan mission into their courses.”

A former Duquesne adjunct professor now a full-time organizer for a union calls the threat “a standard union-busting technique.”

“Supervisors bully them in various ways not to form a union.” 

Gawker weighed in yesterday, mockingly:

Deuteronomy 24:14 says, “Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy.” Jesus added, in a footnote, “But please do anything to prevent poor and needy hired workers from organizing for their collective good, because the most important thing is maintaining a sufficient budget for the Duquesne men’s basketball team.”

 

This article has been updated for clarity.

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