Talks Break Down in Greyhound Strike

Talks between Greyhound and its striking drivers abruptly broke down Sunday when company officials accused union leaders of failing to negotiate and committing new violence.

“The union is stonewalling on the contract,” Greyhound Executive Vice President Anthony Lannie said in a statement. “They had nothing new for us today (Sunday) or yesterday while stepping up the violence.”

Lannie charged that violence continued Saturday even while the two sides were meeting for the first time since 6,300 drivers and an estimated 3,000 other Greyhound workers walked out March 2 over wages, job security and grievance procedures.

In Washington, Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for the Amalgamated Council of Greyhound Local Unions, called Lannie’s statement “the desperate words from a desperate man. We clearly condemn violence and anything we can do to discourage our members we are doing so.”

The union presented a new proposal Saturday, but the company said it was unacceptable, and the talks broke off Sunday after only about an hour.

Greyhound operates the only nationwide intercity bus service, and the strike has stranded many smaller communities for which buses are the only public transportation.

During the walkout, Greyhound says, there have been at least 14 shooting attacks on Greyhound buses, 46 bomb threats and numerous other incidents of vandalism or threats.

Lannie charged that there were six new incidents of violence after the talks began Saturday, including two in Fayetteville, N.C., in which union members allegedly assaulted non-striking drivers.

Despite the trading of charges, federal mediator Paul F. Stuckenschneider said he was not giving up.

“The issues remaining are serious and they are many, and it’s not unusual at this stage of negotiations for both sides to remain very firm in their position,” he said in a statement.

Union President Edward M. Strait said that Greyhound never came to the bargaining table in good faith, and “refused to make any compromises, any concessions, from their previous unacceptable proposals.”

Greyhound says it has been operating roughly one-third of its buses with replacement and non-striking drivers. The company says about 400 union drivers are at work, joining 1,000 permanent replacements. The union says fewer than 100 of its drivers have crossed the picket lines.