Religious Leaders Appeal to Catholic Health Association

More than 300 people gathered outside a national meeting of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) on Monday, June 18, to call attention to the corporate priorities of Resurrection Health Care, a CHA affiliate.  The demonstrators called on Resurrection to stop its attempts to stifle the efforts of its employees who are seeking to form a union and immediately begin a dialogue with the HEART organizing committee. 

The protest was spearheaded by Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), a nation-wide network of clergy and other people of faith who support workers’ rights.  IWJ participants were joined by Resurrection employees, Chicago area Catholic leaders, and Linda Chavez-Thompson, the Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO.

Kim Bobo, executive director of IWJ, pointed to an open letter signed by 60 Chicago-area priests and women religious calling on the CHA to urge Resurrection to respect the rights of its workers to have a voice on the job.

"These are the workers who care for us when we're sick, who mop the floors, who change the bedpans.  Many of them are paid poverty wages and cannot even afford health care at the hospital at which they work.  We urge the Catholic Health Association to hold Resurrection accountable so they adhere to the basic tenets of Catholic Social Teaching," said Chavez-Thompson. 

Joseph Fahey, professor of religious studies at Manhattan College, added: "I am one of more than 50 Catholic theologians and scholars from around the country who have called on Mr. Toomey and Resurrection to enter into a dialogue with the workers' organizing committee to ensure that workers' rights are protected."

To view the letter signed by over 60 Chicago-area priests and women religious calling on the CHA to urge Resurrection to respect the rights of its workers to have a voice on the job, click here.

To view the open letter of support for Resurrection workers to organize a union by Catholic scholars, click here.