Detroit, Mich., Aug 18, 2005 / 22:00 pm
On Wednesday, the Michigan Court of Appeals announced their decision that a group of teachers from suburban Detroit’s Brother Rice Catholic High School could not vote to join a state teacher’s union.
The three member panel court said that it would not grant the Michigan Employment Relations Commission jurisdiction over teachers in the state’s parochial schools.
Namely, they noted a 1979 Supreme Court decision which said that government infringement into the labor issues of parochial schools would cause "substantial First Amendment concerns."
Likewise, board members of the all-boys school argued that the school’s religious freedom would be violated by allowing teachers a collective bargaining election.