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Boston’s Labor Priest: A Short Biograpy
Joseph J. Fahey
Edward F. Boyle, S.J. has a sense of urgency about his ministry
as a labor priest that many a young cleric would envy. After thirty eight years “on the job” with the
Archdiocese of Boston’s Labor Guild, Fr. Ed (as he is affectionately known)
believes his vocation to work for social justice is needed even more today than
it was years ago. He is deeply
concerned that “the labor market climate in almost all sectors continues to deteriorate”
and that the gap between worker and manager, between rich and poor, threatens
the very moral foundation of our society.
In a recent address to the Executive Board of the Labor
Guild Ed Boyle stated that “our economic system” has lost its “moral compass”
through the exploitation of worker and consumer in our society. True to his and the Guild’s philosophy, however,
Ed stated that he believed that “the only valid opposition to this ongoing
situation must be a moral one grounded in God and God’s will.” Ed spoke with passion and conviction and every
Board member in the room responded with strong support. As Ed and the Board discussed solutions to these
problems, I thought of earlier conversations we had about the unusual journey that
led to his joining the ranks of the famed Jesuit labor priests and to his
ministry as Chaplain of the Labor Guild.
SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL
FORMATION
Ed Boyle did not take the standard path to the priesthood
that many followed back in the 1950’s: Catholic grammar and high school
followed by seminary and ordination. Ed
attended public schools in Belmont, MA before attending Dartmouth College on an
R.O.T.C. scholarship. After he received
his A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth he served as a U.S. Navy officer for three
years. He then received an M.B.A. and,
after that, took a position in finance with Seatrain Lines in New York City. As Ed pursued his life of worldly success,
however, he realized something was missing; something was wrong. He came to realize that he “was going down
the wrong path at 100 miles an hour” by pursuing a life in which “money and
winning is everything.”
During this period Ed attended Mass at the St. Ignatius
Loyola parish in Manhattan where, for the first time, he met Jesuit priests. He was inspired by these men to seek a
deeper, more spiritual rationale for his existence. After attending several Jesuit retreats Ed surprised many by
deciding to become a priest and his life changed dramatically when be entered
the Jesuit Novitiate in 1958. He left
the world of finance and success for the milieu of simplicity and
spirituality. He particularly
appreciated being exposed to “the whole new world of the lives of the
saints.”
Ed gives a great deal of credit for his ministry to the
rigorous Jesuit training in spirituality and the intellectual life. When asked for specific examples of teachers
and courses that opened his eyes to social justice issues, Ed credits a course
in “Social Ethics” taught by William Drummond, S.J. In this course and at other places in his seminary training Ed
studied the great social encyclicals that serve as a blueprint for a just and
peaceful society. He also encountered
the pioneering work in social justice of John A. Ryan, George Higgins, Jack
Egan, and the Jesuits Phil Carey, Leo Brown, and Phil Land. He was inspired by the witness to the
corporal and spiritual works of mercy that he saw in Dorothy Day and the
Catholic Worker.
In the course of his studies in philosophy and theology at
Weston Seminary Ed benefited greatly from speakers who shared the spiritual and
moral basis for their work in the world.
Ed was particularly inspired by people such as Marie Augusta Neal,
S.N.D., the future Senator Pat Moynihan, and the great civil rights priest from
New Orleans, Lou Toomey, S.J. A
frequent visitor to Weston was Mort Gavin S.J. who served as Chaplain to the
Archdiocese of Boston’s Labor Guild.
Seminarian Ed Boyle was particularly attracted to Fr. Gavin’s ministry
and he began to spend time helping out at the Labor Guild. Following his ordination in 1969, Fr. Ed taught
at BC High for a year and then formally began his ministry at the Labor Guild
in 1970. He was strongly attracted to
the Guild’s mission to promote the “dignity of the individual person/worker as
the cornerstone of a just economic system” through “democratic trade unionism”
and collective bargaining.
Sensing the need for more formal education, Ed pursued a
master’s degree in labor studies at the University of Massachusetts. A course he took in “Labor Economics”
particularly helped him to understand the stark difference between an economic
system that begins with people and one that begins with profit. “If you start with people then your goal is
to serve humanity, and if you start with profit your goal is to maximize money”
he told me. This “simple” insight, he
reflected, is the basis for Catholic teaching on economics and is foundational
to the 1986 U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Economics. Ed is particularly fond of the quotation, “Economic
decisions have human consequences and moral content; they help or hurt people,
strengthen or weaken family life, advance or diminish the quality of justice in
our land.”
There are four distinct but interrelated foundations for Ed
Boyle’s ministry: the experience of those who are physically and spiritually
poor; the philosophy of natural law; the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures; and
Catholic Social Teaching. The starting
point for Ed Boyle’s ministry is his concern about the physical and spiritual
needs of all he deals with: workers, managers, arbitrators, lawyers, academics,
and politicians. Because of his
commitment to natural law, Ed believes that people of every faith and
conviction can reason together and work in solidarity to secure a society based
on eternal moral principles. God’s call
to salvation through the work of justice (especially as found in Isaiah 61 and
Luke 4) serves as the scriptural building block of his ministry. The final foundation for Ed Boyle’s ministry
is Catholic Social Teaching. Although
there is a long commitment to justice for workers in Christian history, Ed is
particularly inspired by the now lengthy social doctrine of the Church that
began in 1891with Leo XIII’s Rerum
Novarum – “The Condition of Labor.”
The word “justice” is never far from Ed Boyle’s lips; “Justice is
central to our spirituality” he told me.
THE LABOR GUILD
As I listened to the Board members of the Labor Guild map
out their response to the challenges that affect labor and management, it
was evident
that much of Ed Boyle’s philosophy was shared by all. The Guild has come a long way from its exclusively Catholic roots
to include people of all faiths and convictions. In addition, the Guild now embraces the management or employment
sector as well as professional “neutrals” such as arbitrators, lawyers, and
academics who are work in the field labor relations. These inclusive and collaborative measures are, perhaps, a primary
reason why Boston’s Labor Guild has outlasted the 150 or so Catholic labor
schools that were prominent in the 1940s and 1950s.
When the Guild was begun in 1946 by Cardinal Cushing its
primary function was to educate Catholic workers about their rights and
responsibilities. Today, however, the Guild
offers a wide range of services. These
include:
* School of Industrial Relations (SIR). Like the labor schools of old, the SIR
offers classes for workers and interested others in such diverse areas as labor
law, collective bargaining, steward training, union governance, parliamentary
procedure, public speaking, organizing, and the philosophy of unionism. Hundreds of students benefit each year from
experts and practitioners in labor, management, and arbitration who contribute their
services.
* Cushing Gavin Awards Dinner. This dinner was initiated in 1967 by Mortimer H. Gavin, S.J. then
Chaplain of the Guild. This unique dinner
honors leaders of labor unions, executives from management, and “neutral”
academics, arbitrators, and attorneys who work for justice between workers and
employers. This dinner attracts over
1,000 people annually and is testimony to the Guild’s philosophy of inclusion
and harmony.
* Elections. This
important service conducts impartial elections for union officers, bargaining
representatives, and related issues.
* Seminars. The
Guild offers occasional seminars for management, unions, and bi-partisan
groups.
* Monthly Newsletter.
“Labor Life” is an informative newsletter that highlights local
conferences, gatherings, and features a challenging and inspirational column by
its editor, Ed Boyle.
* Publications and Library. The Guild publishes Robert M. Schwartz’s widely used Your Rights on the Job: A Practical Guide to
Employment Laws in Massachusetts (4th Edition). The library contains over 3,000 books,
journals, and periodicals that are available to labor school students and Guild
members for research and information.
* Gavin Conference Center.
The Labor Guild headquarters in Weymouth, MA serves not only as its work
center but also offers five rooms for negotiations, arbitrations, and other
labor relations meetings.
Because it provides so many vital services to labor and
management in the Boston area and, according to Board members, because of its
unique moral focus on labor/management matters, the Labor Guild continues to
thrive. It numbers over 1,200 members
and counts among its members many labor leaders and some members of management. Perhaps the most amazing fact about the
Guild, however, is that it has essentially been staffed by just two people for
many years. Fr. Ed is, of course, the
principle staff person but he is quick to give a good deal of the credit for
getting so much done to Mary Standley who served the Guild for over 44 years
and who died earlier this year. “She
was truly a remarkable person,” Ed stated, “she made everyone feel like they
were the most important person in the world.”
What does the future hold?
A good deal if the Guild’s 26 member Executive Board has its way. The Board shared with me a draft version of
a “Vision” document that explores three initiatives that are designed to enhance
and solidify its mission. The first
initiative is to become actively involved in the “public arena” through press
and media educational programs. Next is
to explore ways to better serve Boston’s immigrant worker population. The final initiative is perhaps the most far
reaching since it contemplates collaboration with the Greater Boston Interfaith
Organization (GBIO) and Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), a national
organization that has grown rapidly in the past ten years. The draft document states that “Perhaps it
is time for a major interfaith-supported Workers’ Center to be established in
Boston, modeled after similar Centers in other cities that were started with
the help of IWJ and local groups.” Clearly,
the seeds that Mort Gavin and Ed Boyle have planted through the years have born
fruit.
As the Board ended its meeting I asked several members if
they would like to comment on Ed Boyle.
Board President Marty Callaghan of Boston Newspaper Printing Pressmen’s
Union No. 3 summed up the feelings of all when he said, “Fr. Ed is an
inspiration to all of us here at the Guild.
He is the heart and soul of this organization. He works tirelessly to ensure the continued mission of the Guild.
He is truly the pastor of the labor flock in Boston. He counsels us, marries us, baptizes our children and buries us.” Eileen Norton, RN, Director of Organizing at
the Massachusetts Nurses Association and a former Guild student stated that
“Fr. Ed is one in a million! He sees
the whole picture and provides a moral dimension to the dignity of work you
just don’t get in other places.”
Fr. Ed is a man on fire with God’s love for the world. He may be the last of the great Jesuit labor
priests but his work will continue long after he is gone. Ad multos annos!