| dbo:abstract
|
- The 1949 Calvary Cemetery strike was a labor strike involving gravediggers and other workers at the Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York City. The strike began on January 13 and ended on March 12, The strike began on January 13 after labor negotiations between the trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral (the administrators of the cemetery, which was owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York) and members of the United Cemetery Workers Union Local 293 reached an impasse. The union had been pushing for a reduction in their workweek from 48 hours Monday through Saturday to 40 hours Monday through Friday at the same weekly pay, which the trustees countered with slight pay increases and no changes in hours. As a result, about 250 workers at Calvary went on strike, garnering support from left-leaning Catholic groups and activists including the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, the Catholic Worker newspaper, and activists John C. Cort, Dorothy Day, and Peter Maurin. However, church officials took a hardline stance against the union, and this was especially true of the noted anti-communist Cardinal Francis Spellman, then-archbishop of the archdiocese. Spellman attempted to break the strike by employing red-baiting tactics against the local union's parent union, the Congress of Industrial Organizations-affiliated Food, Tobacco, Agricultural, and Allied Workers. In late February, Spellman offered the strikers an 8% raise if they returned to work without union affiliation, but the strikers rejected this offer. With important Catholic events approaching, on March 2, Spellman brought in 100 students from St. Joseph's Seminary to act as strikebreakers. Shortly thereafter, the strikers changed their union affiliation to an American Federation of Labor-affiliated union and agreed to return to work on March 12. In the end, the strikers received an 8.3% wage increase, though without a change to their schedules. (en)
|
| rdfs:comment
|
- The 1949 Calvary Cemetery strike was a labor strike involving gravediggers and other workers at the Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York City. The strike began on January 13 and ended on March 12, The strike began on January 13 after labor negotiations between the trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral (the administrators of the cemetery, which was owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York) and members of the United Cemetery Workers Union Local 293 reached an impasse. The union had been pushing for a reduction in their workweek from 48 hours Monday through Saturday to 40 hours Monday through Friday at the same weekly pay, which the trustees countered with slight pay increases and no changes in hours. As a result, about 250 workers at Calvary went on strike, garnering support from le (en)
|
.jpg?width=300)
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}