WASHINGTON (RNS) After years of rancorous disputes at Catholic hospitals, labor leaders and Catholic officials reached an agreement Monday (June 22) on principles for unionizing healthcare workers.

The 16-page “Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Health Care and Unions,” is a result of a three-way, two-year-long dialogue among the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, healthcare workers and union leaders.

“Though they had different perspectives and points of view in many areas, the participants shared the conviction that it is up to workers — not bishops, hospital managers, or union leaders — to decide how they will be represented in the workplace,” said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington who chaired the dialogue.

For decades, the Catholic Church has championed the rights of laborers, but escalating healthcare costs have placed the nation’s more than 600 Catholic hospitals — and their 600,000 employees — in a tough spot.

Monday’s agreement, which is non-binding, offers seven “key principles for appropriate conduct” by employers and union representatives. The principles include providing workers with information from both sides; not pressuring workers about their decisions; allowing workers to vote through a “fair and expeditious process”; and honoring the employees’ decisions regardless of outcome. Finally, the document suggests that a system be created for enforcing these principles during a union organizing drive.

“The foundation for reaching this agreement was mutual respect for the histories of both Catholic healthcare and the labor movement,” said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. “Because of their willingness to engage in dialogue, the bishops and the leaders of Catholic healthcare displayed real courage and leadership and have set an example for all to follow.”