Greyhound Bus Drivers Strike as Talks Fail
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — About 9,000 union employees of Greyhound Lines went on strike early today after a marathon negotiations failed to produce a new contract agreement with the nation’s largest intercity bus line.
Picket lines went up just after midnight outside Greyhound terminals across the country. Drivers were told to abandon their buses at the nearest terminal.
A federal mediator had joined the negotiations in Scottsdale late Thursday in an attempt to avert a walkout, while Greyhound Lines Inc. worked to ensure that no passengers would be stranded by a strike over drivers’ wages.
Greyhound says it serves 9,500 U.S. communities and is the only public intercity transportation in about 9,000.
The company this week stopped selling tickets to destinations it could not reach by midnight, a Greyhound spokesman said. Union spokesman Jeffrey nelson said working drivers would continue to their next stop at that time, then join picket lines.
Even if the drivers walked out, Greyhound said, it would operate a limited schedule Friday and had plans to be back to full operation by the end of the month.
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