Published: November 1, 1996

Catholic Teachers Organize

When Robin Heimos compares notes with public school educators, she's often glad she teaches in a Roman Catholic school. Her school seems safer, she has the freedom to teach her own curriculum, and she senses that she gets more support from her students' parents.

But when it comes to pay, the 4th grade teacher at the St. Francis of Assisi School in suburban St. Louis feels differently. Base salaries in the St. Louis Archdiocese's elementary parochial schools are about 45 percent lower than those in the city's public school district.

To help close that pay gap, Heimos has been working since last spring to get something most public school teachers take for granted: a union. In early October, a group of some 300 Catholic elementary school teachers adopted a constitution and elected Heimos their president. Now the union is seeking recognition from the...