Solidarity with Carolina, Vermont and TNM&O drivers

“If we were in the other driver’s seat, we would want the same respect and satisfaction of being treated fairly. Seniority always ruled before. Why stop now? Once all is said and done, these operators will be Greyhound drivers and Local 1700 members. Let’s stand together! Let’s stand strong! Let’s make this transition as smooth as possible because it is going to happen.”

-Sandra Frye Chief Shop Steward in Orlando

The news that Greyhound plans to integrate routes previously operated by subsidiaries Carolina Trailways, Vermont Transit, and Texas, New Mexico & Oklahoma Coaches (TNM&O) is good. A merger would add dozens of routes to Greyhound’s skeleton system and bring us new strength.

Overwhelming approval by Local 1700 members would therefore seem likely, but the choice isn’t that easy. The new routes come with the current drivers, and if members approve the referendum, some Carolina, Vermont and TNM&O operators would have more seniority than some Greyhound drivers.

Over the long run, merging work and seniority rosters would benefit the great majority of current and future Local 1700 members. Getting to the long run is the difficult part. It is important to remember that there is no ideal choice being presented to us. It is a choice between merging, which has some negative aspects but leaves us stronger overall, and voting not to merge, which will result in an outcome no one can predict but that is certain to cause long-term division in our ranks, something we cannot afford if we are serious about making real gains in wages and conditions.

The following three pages of this supplement are intended to show exactly how merging the seniority rosters with the work will affect each driver. As you can see, most drivers and most locations will not be affected at all by these mergers, except that as a whole we gain clout.

Locations that have both Greyhound and subsidiary drivers are shown with seniority merged. The jobs that are shown are the current runs being operated by the subsidiary companies in Greyhound run bid format. Carolina brings 57 jobs. Eight jobs are added to Greyhound’s 19 in Charlotte; three to the 13 in Fayetteville; and nine to the 35 in Richmond. Vermont brings 32 jobs, but none work out of any Greyhound locations. TNM&O has 54 jobs. Albuquerque doubles its work, from seven to 14. Amarillo adds 23 jobs to the existing six. Nine jobs are added to Denver’s 19; 11 to the 20 in El Paso; and four to Greyhound’s five jobs in Grand Junction.

Take the new total number of jobs in each location and go down the merged roster to that number and you can see approximately how many drivers in each location should be able to hold regular work in a merged location.

Unity Will Strengthen Local 1700 by Region 2 Vice President, Bill White

Merging the seniority and work of the companies that Greyhound is absorbing is in the long-term best interest of ATU Local 1700. Across Region 2, many Carolina Trailways drivers who currently hold regular runs will only be able to hold the Extra Board because Greyhound drivers will have the seniority to outbid them. Additional jobs create more hold-downs and work for the Extra Board. Some Carolina drivers now hold runs in Norfolk with two years seniority. If Greyhound drivers who work in Richmond and live near Norfolk could go home, that would open up regular runs in Richmond for local drivers who currently cannot hold a run. The same is true for Fayetteville drivers who live closer to Raleigh. If the seniority and work are not merged, Greyhound drivers will most likely never be able to bid on jobs now held by Carolina drivers. There will be cases, for example, of a Greyhound driver with eight years seniority on the Extra Board while a Carolina driver with two years seniority and prior rights on Carolina work holds a good paying regular run. Unity will make Local 1700 stronger, and with that strength we will be able to improve our wages, benefits and working conditions in the next contract.

A Greyhound driver in Richmond with 10 years’ seniority would have seven more possibilities for holding a regular run with the merger. An Albuquerque driver with 10 years could hold one additional job.

Merging the work and seniority rosters is the fairest way to go forward. The alternatives would either be a long, costly dispute when we urgently need to build unity for upcoming organizing, political and bargaining battles, or some form of prior-rights system that would divide the work and our ranks, and reduce the choices for most drivers. As Phoenix Chief Steward Ron Gradozzi put it, “It’s time to get our members together. We don’t need more animosity. We should learn from the past and not let this issue become something that divides us.”

Local 1700 members will gain bargaining strength by linking arms with our brothers and sisters at Carolina, Vermont and TNM&O. The reason we have a union is to raise living standards for all over-the-road bus workers. Unifying our workforces will be the ace in our sleeve the next time we face Greyhound across the bargaining table.