Gravediggers' Strike, 1947

ID: 1813 | This file appears in: Lake View Cemetery
Gravediggers' Strike, 1947
A strike by 63 members of the AFL Arborists' and Landscapers' Union at Lake View Cemetery in 1947 lead to the delay in burial of over 100 people that spring and summer. Bodies had to be temporarily stored in Wade Chapel as negotiations with the strikers stalled. Lasting from April until July, the strike finally ended when union members accepted a 4 cent-an-hour wage increase -- 6 cents lower than what they had initially demanded. Picket lines, such as this one on May 23, were a common occurrence during the strike until a Cuyahoga County judge banned them at the beginning of June, citing the cemetery's "sacred obligation to bury the dead." This action cleared the way for Lake View to hire replacement workers.

| Date: 1947 | Source: Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
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Source

Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Date

1947
"Gravediggers' Strike, 1947" appears in: Lake View Cemetery