Negotiations this past week between Greyhound management and the Union bargaining committee have been productive. We do not have a deal yet, but for the first time since some of us drivers started organizing a campaign nearly 20 years ago to put an end to unpaid work time at Greyhound, we have had serious discussions with the company about eventually achieving that goal.
On the face of it, it doesn’t sound that complicated: Just pay us for all the time we’re at work. But – as you know – it is not that easy. So we’ve been trying to come up with a fair way of getting from where we are to where we need to be that is within what is economically possible.
This week the Union is holding discussions with labor economists who are experts at evaluating the benefits of contract improvements to workers. We’re looking at all kinds of scenarios to quantify the effects of various proposals on regular run drivers and extraboard drivers. Mechanics and service workers deserve higher pay as well, and, fortunately, their wages are easier to quantify.
I’ll report back on our findings and our next steps as soon as there is something solid to report.