TRANSPORTATION: Aggrieved at The Wheel
"Leave the driving to us" has long been the slogan of Greyhound Lines, which carried 22 million passengers across America's roads and highways in 1989. But last week a strike by 6,300 Greyhound drivers halted most service on the only nationwide bus company that is still in operation in the U.S., stranding passengers at terminals from Boston to Bakersfield, Calif.
The strike began at 12:01 a.m. last Friday following the collapse of talks over a new three-year wage contract. The drivers took a 22% pay cut in 1987 when Greyhound officers acquired the company in a leveraged buyout and slashed costs to restore profits. Drivers now earn an average of $24,700 a year and are eager to recoup lost income. Negotiators for the Amalgamated Transit Union rejected a Greyhound proposal that would boost driver salaries $1,350 a year.
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