I’m a member of the Professional Staff Congress — City University of New York (PSC-CUNY) a local union of the American Federation of Teachers. This isn’t an ideological commitment for me; the union extracts dues from my pay regardless of whether I join. If anything, during my years as a corporate attorney I was leery of labor unions, though my limited knowledge of the history of union activity suggests that, like most human activities, unions have done some good and some bad over the years.
PSC-CUNY has been without a collective bargaining agreement for three years. They are now making strike noises. So here is a question for my theology-and-ethics inclined readers: what do I do if the union calls a strike? Under New York’s “Taylor Law,” as I understand it, it’s illegal for public workers (including CUNY faculty) to go on strike. Obviously the New York State government is a Romans 13 authority that I must respect.
But what about the union leadership and the faculty officers in my college? Are they in any sense “authorities” whose contrary instructions about a job action I also must respect? Is a job action the sort of “civil disobedience” that would permit me to disobey the Taylor Law? In this regard, what are the principles of civil disobedience when my individual situation is just fine — I’m satisfied with my own pay, work schedule and benefits — but my “union brothers and sisters” feel aggrieved? Does a law that unequivocally prohibits public workers from exercising the “right” to strike, coupled with hardball negotiating tactics from management, present the kind of systemic injustice that violates God’s higher law?
And, what about the pragmatic side of a strike? If my department supports a strike, and I cross the picket line, my prospects for tenure will be over. In that event, should I accept that consequence and start looking for another job? Or would I be justified in following the union leadership in the strike even if a principal motivation for me individually is to ride out the storm so that I can preserve my hopes of eventually gaining tenure?
Finally, if the union does call a strike, how would I look in a McDonald’s uniform, and would you like fries with that?
4 replies on “Strike Threats”
Lots of tough questions there…Not sure if this touches on all of them, but these are the thoughts that came to mind as I read…
We are blessed to live in a society that allows our people to have a significant input into the legeslative process (albeit through representatives….but anyone that has gone to a church board meeting will recognize the difficulties of having 250 million + people agree on anything…but I digress). Its not perfect and there are times that real injustices occur at which point we must stand up for justice. My guess, though I don’t know the whole situation, is that what the union is receiving hardly what we would term ‘injustice.’ We may not be happy with our pay, we may not be satisfied with our benefits, we might think that we are owed a representative raise each year. All that aside, my guess is that, by and large, the union and the people in it are long way from any real injustice. If they disagree with how the government is handling their compensation, they have the same rights as anyone else in our society to mount a campaign to get some representation that will present their concerns into the legislative process. Its neither the most perfect (nor, certainly, the quickest) solution but, after several hundred years, it still works. Unions were best when they represented a class or group of people who, because of injustice, were unable to be represented by the common representative system. Unfortunately, those days, I believe, for many unions (though perhaps not all) are over. Thus, today, I would question the motives of many unions (and, thus, you will also see my bias in my conclusion).
Based on all that, I would say that your responsibility is to the Taylor law. Of course, its not the provision of my family that’s on the line either, so its easy for me to say…But my guess in reading your blog over the last several months or so is that you have a deep sense of God’s provision. So if God will provide, what is the right action to take?
psst, Romans 13. Unless you get something out of 10 that I don’t. 🙂
Thanks! I edited this in the post, where I had previously stated Romans 10. — ed.
You’ll look fabulous in the uniform. Large fries.
Titus 3 also reminds us to be obedient and subject to rulers and authorities. I don’t believe your union leaders are in the same authority position over you as your employer. Do you?
God’s moral law clearly pre-empts man’s law. There are clearly times when we ought to violate unjust laws. However, is an anti-strike law an unjust law? And, does “PSC-CUNY has been without a collective bargaining agreement for three years” rise to the level of the kind of moral injustice that demands civil disobedience?
From long distance, I would say no. You, however, are on the front row of this dispute. What kind of moral injustice are we talking about?
Also, do you have other avenues of being an advocate for justice in this situation besides walking off your job? Have you exhausted those?
I have been reading Titus over and over recently … we are to adorn the gospel of Christ. If you signed a contract that stated you would teach, then you would be violating your word … which would raise integrity issues. It seems to me the main losers, if you walked out, would be your students.
The moral case would have to be very strong to take such an action … in my opinion, anyway.
By the way, I would leave tenure in God’s hands. If you were to decide to cross the line (against the wishes of your department) because it was morally right to do so, then God will honor that.
By the way, read p 118 in your new Titus commentary : find the heading “Integrity Check Revisited” and start reading.
You may be going through an integrity check shortly.
Re: tenure
This article is a must read :
http://www.nysun.com/article/21296
I would love to see you post a reaction piece to this article. It is right up your alley.