Archdiocese Fires 3 Active in Organizing Gravediggers

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles fired three gravediggers in the last 48 hours and a union charged that it was part of a campaign by the church to thwart union organizing efforts at the archdiocese’s 10 cemeteries.

A spokesman for the archdiocese confirmed that the three men had been discharged--one on Thursday and two on Friday--but he denied that the workers had been fired for union activities.

‘I Have Done Nothing Wrong’

On Thursday, Juan Trevino, who has worked as an archdiocese gravedigger for 2 1/2 years, was fired from his position at Resurrection Cemetery in South San Gabriel. On Friday, Jose Aranda, a gravedigger for 12 years, and Zacarias Gonzalez, a gravedigger for 27 years, were fired from their jobs at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.

“I think I was fired because I was active in the union,” said Gonzalez, 61, speaking through an interpreter at the offices of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. “I have done nothing wrong.

“I want to know what is the motive. I’ve been working there so many years. If I did something wrong, I want them to prove it.”

Cristina Vasquez, the chief organizer for the union, said each of the men had been active in the union organizing campaign that started more than a year ago. Trevino has served as a spokesman at several rallies.

All three men were given written notices telling them “you are being discharged for conduct that is inconsistent with the work and mission of the sacred ministry of Catholic cemeteries,” according to both Vasquez and Bill Rivera, spokesman for the archdiocese.

Firings Defended

“That means conduct considered harassment or coercion, threatening or intimidating toward other employees” during the course of the union organizing campaign at the cemeteries, Rivera said. “But they weren’t fired for union activities,” he said. “They were fired for specific reasons.”

Rivera added: “I know the union will say they were fired for union activity. I should point out that several employees who were just as active in support of the union have not been fired and several have been promoted.”

However, David Rosenfeld, a lawyer representing the union, said suits challenging the firings would be filed under a section of the California Labor Code that bars the firing of a worker for union activities.

Vasquez said the firings “are reprisals they’re taking against poor people” for supporting the union. In February, the gravediggers voted 66 to 62 in favor of union representation. But Archbishop Roger M. Mahony, who has opposed unionization of the workers, soon announced that he felt workers had been intimidated and challenged the results. A special three-member panel will consider his objections at a hearing in Los Angeles from April 24 to 26.