On this day in labor history, the year was 1990.
That was the day 9,300 workers walked out at Greyhound Bus Lines.
The 1980s devastated Greyhound workers.
First, the industry had been rocked by President Carter’s deregulation of the transportation industry.
Then, a bitter 1983 strike ended in defeat for workers. Concessionary contracts, deep wage cuts and a two-tier system were firmly established by the time contract negotiations started in early 1990.
The Amalgamated Transit Union negotiated terms closer to what was lost over the past decade, but new owners at Greyhound wouldn’t have it.
They claimed $300 million in debt.
The ATU insisted the company had been turning handsome profits.
Pickets went up at depots and garages around the country, while hundreds of scab drivers were hired.
With a week’s worth of training, they were soon operating 10-ton buses unsafely.
Riders complained of replacement drivers falling asleep at the wheel.
The strike soon turned violent and deadly.
There were reports of sniper fire and bomb threats.
Many charged these were fake stories, meant to spike public support for the strike.
Early on, 59-year old Robert Waterhouse was run down by a scab driver while on the picket line in Redding, California.
Waterhouse had 30 years as a driver with the company and had planed his retirement for that summer, when he was killed.
ATU reported many more picket line injuries.
Within a month, the company was operating with 2400 replacement drivers.
The company filed for bankruptcy in June.
After three years, they would finally agree to $22 million in back pay, reinstate hundreds of drivers and raise wages.
But the number of drivers was cut in half. It would take the ATU years to rebuild its strength.
October 3 - Remembering Woody Guthrie
October 2 - Rebuilding in Tough Times
October 1 - The Jerry Level
September 30 - The Elaine, Arkansas Massacre
September 29 - Creating a Standing Army
September 28 - Solidarity on the Docks
September 27 - Wreck of the Old ‘97
September 26 - Disaster on the Job Around the Globe
September 25 - Martyred for the Vote
September 24 - Banned in Canada
September 23 - Dr. Harriet Louise Hardy is Born
September 22 - The First Farm Aid
September 21 - Fighting Just to Maintain Standards
September 20 - The Fight for Equality
September 19 - The End of My Sweet Jennie
September 18 - The Atlanta Compromise
September 17 - Striking in the South
September 16 - NHL Managers Lock Out Players
September 15 - The Invergordon Mutiny
September 14 - The Murder of Ella Mae Wiggins
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