Cemetery class action leader dies days before lock-out ends

[Omaha Steve]

http://thesuburban.com/content.jsp?sid=99418428985632478520127455006&ctid=1000029&cnid=1012772

By Anna Bratulic, The Suburban

Gino Mucci will be laid to rest alongside his wife at Notre Dame des Neiges sooner than expected.

The 93-year-old widower, whose wife Maria died in May, launched a class action suit against the cemetery back in July on behalf of mourning families caught in the middle of a drawn-out labour dispute between management and its 129 unionized staff.


Photo by Martin Chamberland, The Suburban
Cemetery workers went back to work Monday after four-month lockout.


Mucci died on Saturday of a heart attack, two days before gravediggers were scheduled to return to work and resume burials.

“He couldn’t even bury his wife,” said his granddaughter Debora De Thomasis, who served as a spokesperson for the families throughout the labour standoff. “Now we’d like to bury them at the same time, but most probably he will before her.”

De Thomasis says the length of the dispute has taken a toll on family members awaiting closure.

“It proves that some people suffered a lot from all of this. <...> We’re happy that it’s the beginning of the end, but at the same time it’s going to leave a lot of scars. My grandfather was affected by this. I’m not saying is totally about this, but it certainly played a role.”

FULL story at link.