Greyhound Sues Union on Strike Violence

WASHINGTON —  Greyhound Lines filed a $30-million civil lawsuit today against union officers representing striking drivers, alleging that violence in the five-week-old strike is an attempt to “disrupt interstate travel by criminal means.”

In a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Fla., Greyhound claimed that unlawful actions by Amalgamated Transit Union and 20 union officers have cost it at least $10 million. The suit seeks actual damages plus court and attorney fees and punitive damages under Florida law.

The Greyhound suit says violent acts pass “far beyond the bounds of legitimate conduct sanctioned by the law and represent clear efforts to disrupt interstate travel by criminal means.”

Greyhound officials said several specific offenses showed a pattern of racketeering activity, including extortion, attempted murder, obstruction of justice, interference with interstate commerce and arson.

Union officials had no immediate comment on the suit, but in the past they have said Greyhound executives were using the violence issue as an excuse for not returning to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract.

Talks between the company and the union have been stalled since March 18, and the company said it won’t return to the bargaining table until a week has gone by without any acts of violence. There have been about 30 shootings and more than 100 bomb threats, the company said.

The union contends that there have been more than 60 incidents of violence against striking drivers. One striker was crushed to death by a bus in Redding, Calif., on March 3.