10 June 1973: Gravediggers strike expands
From On This Day in Working Class History by Working Class History
June 10, 2026 · 1 min
About this episode
This episode discusses the expansion of a gravediggers strike in New York on June 10, 1973, and its outcomes.
On this day, 10 June 1973, a strike of gravediggers at three cemeteries in the New York metropolitan area was expanded to include 44 others. On June 21, the courts ordered strikers to return to work, which they ignored. The president of the striking Local 365 of the Cemetery Workers and Greens Attendants union was subsequently found guilty of contempt of court, jailed and fined. Eventually, after 27 days of strike action, the employers from Jewish, Roman Catholic and nonsectarian cemeteries, collectively agreed most of the workers' demands, including annual wage increases of $12 per week for the next three years, and an employer-funded pension scheme. During the dispute some bodies were buried by relatives and friends of the deceased, but a backlog of at least 1,400 unburied bodies remained. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8213/NY-gravediggers-strike-grows Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon . If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory . See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the…
Topics covered
- labor history
- strikes
- workers' rights
- cemetery workers
- wage increases
- pension schemes
Keywords
- gravediggers
- strike
- New York
- wage increase
- pension
- labor dispute
- 1973
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Local 365 of the Cemetery Workers and Greens Attendants union
Places: New York metropolitan area
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