Union Benefits Almost Open to Canadian Ministers
Clergy members in the United Church of Canada may start signing up for union membership to protect them from everyday and extreme ''clergy abuse,'' pending an announcement by the Canadian Auto Workers Union later today.
Clergy members in the United Church of Canada may start signing up for union membership to protect them from everyday and extreme “clergy abuse,” pending an announcement by the Canadian Auto Workers Union later today.
Since last year, a group of clergy members and their spouses began a campaign to gather the support of at least 60 percent of the United Church ministers in the province of Ontario to form a union. They have until the end of the day to reach their target or the current sign-up drive expires.
According to Rev. David Galton, one of the organizers, there are approximately 1,100 UCC clergy in the province and he is hopeful that the drive will be successful.
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“I don’t really know off-hand how many [clergy members] support us, but the CAW has indicated that the momentum is very positive,” said Galton.
Last year, the UCC – Canada’s largest denomination with some 4,000 pastors in 3,600 congregations – released a survey that found that 60 percent of its ministers experienced “high levels of conflict with their congregation.” The same survey found that 80 percent of clergy feel they have no peer support.
However, top leaders in the denomination have not been supportive of the idea to unionize its members, saying the solution does not lie in the “adversarial approach of the union/management labor relations model.”
"Trade unions can and do work for good in society, but they are not a good fit for United Church clergy," the Rev. Jim Sinclair, general secretary of the General Council of the United Church of Canada, had said with the drive first began last November.
"Unionization of the clergy would fundamentally change the theological understanding of the covenant role of a minister within the United Church of Canada and the character of the relationship with her or his congregation," he said.
Galston, however, disagrees, saying that ministers need unions to receive the protection and support that has been lacking in the church.
“This is a campaign to raise issues that have been silenced for too long,” said Galston, a UCC minister for 21 years. “I got into this campaign because of a relationship I had with a clergy person who was in an abusive situation for 5 years and the court failed to protect the person’s safety.
“I felt that enough was enough.”
According to Galston, “clergy abuse” comes in many forms that range from false accusations of theft to sexual harassment and physical violence.
“There was even a case of rape,” Galston said Friday. “It’s just very sad, and you can’t possibly argue that this goes with the job.”
Should organizers succeed, they would be forming the first official union for clergy members in Ontario. They also have plans to extend such efforts to other provinces.
Even if they are not successful, organizers said they will “keep trying.”
“Our goal has been to reach the goal of 60 percent,” said Galston. “But if we don’t have the number, we’ll re-launch the campaign.”
