Archdiocese Dismayed by Ruling on Union

Roman Catholic officials in Los Angeles expressed “surprise and dismay” Wednesday over a panel ruling that allows 140 cemetery workers in the archdiocese to unionize. But Archbishop Roger M. Mahony will cooperate with union officers to work out the next step, the archdiocese chancellor said.

“We will sit down and talk with the union in good faith,” Msgr. Stephen E. Blaire said at a news conference. But he added that the archdiocese will not rehire three cemetery workers who were fired during the union organizing effort “because their behavior was unacceptable.”

An often acrimonious struggle between the usually pro-union Mahony and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union was apparently resolved Tuesday when a three-person arbitration panel voted 2 to 1 to uphold a disputed election on the union question. On Feb. 8, the workers voted 66 to 62 to join the union.