New York City Gravediggers' Strike

Date: April 12, 1973 • Location: New York City, United States

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1973.

About 1,700 gravediggers in New York City began a 12-week strike, causing a delay in the burial of roughly 1,400 bodies in the city.

A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service. Gravediggers have historically often been members of the church, though in modern secular cemeteries, they may be temporary or full-time staff. In many cultures, gravediggers are stigmatized for their association with the dead, which many religions consider unclean. Gravediggers have often been depicted in media, particularly in gothic and crime novels.