Gravediggers Expand Strike
A strike by gravediggers and groundskeepers expanded Friday to 19 cemeteries on both sides of San Francisco Bay as dissatisfied employees rejected a proposed 2% wage hike.
Representatives for both sides agreed that the strike, which started Thursday, will cause people to search out non-union cemeteries or have bodies stored at funeral homes until the strike is over.
Workers belonging to the Cemetery Workers Union Local 265 are demanding a pay hike of 8% to 10% on their current wage of $100 a day, according to a representative. Last year, the workers accepted a 12-month wage freeze, their attorney said.
The Federal Mediation Service has been assigned to help bring both sides back to the bargaining table, but no new negotiations have been scheduled.
During the last 14 years, there have been three other work stoppages at Bay Area cemeteries.
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