continue at Star TribuneAfter 50 years, the Twin Cities archdiocese plans to withdraw recognition of the union at its publication the Catholic Spirit.
"It's unfortunate the archbishop [John Nienstedt] has chosen to treat these dedicated workers this way by taking away their collective bargaining rights," said Mike Bucsko, executive officer of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union, which represents Spirit employees. "It really conflicts with teachings of the church and the papal encyclicals, especially some of the writings of Pope John Paul II ... which address the value of labor organizations and collective bargaining in the workplace and unions."
About three or four of the 14 union members will lose their jobs when the Spirit staff is combined with the archdiocesan communications office.
The archdiocese released a news statement Friday announcing that the changes are meant to "more fully coordinate and expand all of the archdiocese's print, electronic, online and video communications efforts."
A report to the Spirit's board of directors in May said the paper, "as currently configured, may not be financially sustainable beyond June 2012." Options included changing the Spirit from a paper to a digital media outlet or reducing its current biweekly publication cycle to cut expenses. For now, the Spirit will continue on its biweekly publication schedule, said archdiocese spokesman Jim Accurso.
ht Ray
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