ATU Local 1700 has fought Greyhound’s move into separate and unequal service for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans ever since they started down that long-discredited road. Back then, the company said, the market for intercity service was changing from middle class Americans to Hispanic immigrants, so it created bus lines with Latin “flavor,” which insultingly used non-union drivers and decrepit equipment.
Now management is beginning to see more attractive business opportunities by using the Greyhound brand. The company offered to return certain Americanos routes to Greyhound – but only if Local 1700 would agree to an enormous pay cut for bilingual drivers.
Local 1700 President Bruce Hamilton pointed out that most employers pay bilingual workers a bonus for being able to provide superior customer service, but Greyhound is treating bilingual drivers as if they are a liability.
“We knew the company had forced Crucero and Americanos drivers to take a bad contract after they joined the Machinists Union,” Hamilton said. “Now we know just how bad it is.”
Hamilton told Greyhound that Local 1700 would welcome a return of Americanos routes from Dallas and Houston to San Antonio, but only at non-discriminatory wages. “The company wants Latino workers to pay for its mistakes,” he said, “but we will not allow Greyhound to pit one group of drivers against another, and we will never be fooled into joining their race to the bottom.”
Hamilton accused Greyhound of using low wages at Crucero and Americanos to create second-class drivers and provide second-class service for minority riders. “Segmenting is nothing more than segregation warmed over. It’s bad policy for employees and bad for the pubic we serve.”