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LMU’s announcement that it will no longer recognize or bargain with our union is incompatible with Catholic social teaching, write 10 current and emeritus Catholic theologians from LMU’s Department of Theological Studies in a letter to campus President Thomas Poon and the board of trustees.
“Our main concern as Catholic theologians is with the claiming of a religious exemption as a Catholic university, foreclosing recognition of unions now and into the future,” the letters says. “Catholic social teaching articulates not simply the rights of workers but their specific right to organize. This originated in Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum.”
The authors later state that the university’s stance “sounds to us more like the anti-union politics and rhetoric of partisan talking points, and less like fidelity to the tradition that founded the university.”
LMU’s administration immorally asserted on Friday, Sept. 12, that it will not recognize or bargain with unionized NTT faculty. That’s despite a federally certified vote of nearly 90% approval to form a union in summer 2024 with SEIU 721. Our unit and LMU have been bargaining for a contract for nearly 10 months.
The authors write that they are concerned about the impact of LMU’s announcement on students and learning: “As Catholic theologians, we are also deeply concerned that when we teach our students that the ‘promotion of justice’ includes the rights of workers, including the right to organize as articulated in Catholic social teaching, they will see our words as insincere posturing. We worry that the families of future students will perceive this hypocrisy and opt not to send their children here. Most of all, as we speak to colleagues and students across our campus, we perceive that those who are most heartbroken by this decision are those who understand and are most committed to LMU’s mission.”
The authors of the letter are John R. Connolly, Professor Emeritus; Cecilia González-Andrieu, Ph.D., Professor and President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States; Rev. James Fredericks, Professor Emeritus; Kim Harris, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Brett C. Hoover, Ph.D., Professor; Michael Horan, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus; Layla A. Karst, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Marie Anne Mayeski, Ph.D., Professor Emerita; Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Ph.D., Professor and T. Chilton Chair of Catholic Theology; and Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier, Ph.D., Professor.
The theologians point out that there was little transparency around the announcement. “The decision to decertify the union was made at the highest levels and in secrecy. One of us was present in a college committee meeting when members of the negotiating team learned of the decision for the first time via the campus-wide email; they were not even informed first as part of the process.”
Toward the end of the letter, the authors reiterate their stance: “We simply want you to know that we do not understand this decision as something that can be reconciled with Catholic teaching on the rights of workers.“