Local 1700 members have taken note of a mean new turn in the company’s dealings with its workers.  The company’s recent launch of terrorist attacks on its unionized workers with its new, illegal background check program and unjust sackings of good employees is clearly intended to divide us and divert our attention from working toward the union’s goals of bettering our jobs and our work lives.  But like other terrorist attacks, these actions have had the opposite effect:  They have unified the Local 1700 membership.

            The company has also begun insisting upon draconian “last chance” agreements as part of grievance settlement offers.  This is another tactic designed to weaken our rights and keep us down. 

            We can be sure that more and worse attacks are on the way as the company has engaged the services of the world’s most notorious union-busting consulting company, Jackson Lewis.  This company pioneered in the field of “union avoidance.”  They conduct workshops for managers on how to bust unions using sophisticated divide and conquer tactics.  We’ve seen the beginning shots across the bow that were undoubtedly the handiwork of their new union-busting consultant. 

            Greyhound is a company that itself has a notorious history of instigating anti-worker terror.  It looks very much like they are beginning again to provoke a big fight.  Now is the time for us to stand up and let the company know that we will not be intimidated into submission.  Now is the time to take an active role in your union.  Attend your membership meetings and help plan our activities to counter the company’s next attack.  Let the company know that they can hire bin Laden himself if that’s how they think they can terrorize us, but even that will not intimidate us.  We will stand together and fight for our rights.