Archdiocese Schedules Gravedigger Union Vote

The Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese, which broke off contract negotiations Monday with the union approved by gravediggers at 10 church-run cemeteries, announced Tuesday that an accounting firm will conduct an election Feb. 9 to decide if the 140 cemetery workers still want union representation.

However, Dave Werlin, an organizer with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, called the new election a “sham.”

The union has charged that petitions signed by 97 cemetery workers favoring a new election were distributed by cemetery supervisors. An archdiocese official said that the petitions were initiated and circulated by the workers.