
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 3, 1990                   TAG: 9004030514
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GREYHOUND: STOP VIOLENCE, NOT TALKS

THE RECENT strike against Pittston Coal Group had its share of the violence long associated with labor disputes in the coalfields. Such actions are always deplorable; but when coal is the commodity at issue, violence is usually confined within a relatively small geographic area. Lives and limbs can be endangered, but efforts to disrupt coal operations do damage to trucks, tires and structures more often than to human beings.

There are different dimensions to the drivers' strike against Greyhound. It is national: The potential for violence ranges from coast to coast. The cargo includes not only boxes and bags but, mainly, people. And while the violence has been directed at certain individuals, the replacement drivers, inevitably it has imperiled other innocent lives. Buses and drivers have been the target of rocks and gunshots.

Some have found their mark; the driver of a Southeastern Trailways bus taking a Greyhound route was critically wounded by a handgun bullet late Saturday. He may lose an arm, but fortunately, no injury resulted from the attack to any of his 46 passengers.

Unions never shoulder responsibility for such actions; the Amalgamated Transit Union has disclaimed it in this strike. And when violence occurs during labor disputes, it may be unfair to blame all of it on unions or their members. The crazies and misfits who lurk on society's fringes are stimulated by others' quarrels and sometimes use them as a cover to act out their own hostilities.

Still, it strains credulity to try viewing the Greyhound violence as mere coincidence or all the work of third parties. Labor organizations cannot control everything their members do, but if they only issue bland statements, they can be seen - both by the general public and by their membership - as condoning illegal actions to bring pressure on management.

If Amalgamated Transit means what it says, it should, at the least, offer a reward of its own to supplement the $100,000 put up by Greyhound for information on strike-related violence. If its members are truly opposed to vio The cargo includes not only boxes and bags but, mainly, people. And while the violence has been directed at certain individuals, the replacement drivers, inevitably it has imperiled other innocent lives. lence and contend that it hurts their cause, they could use their own resources to find out who some of the hurters are, and turn them in to authorities. Such actions would speak a lot louder than words.

Fred G. Currey, chairman of Greyhound, probably was right when he described Saturday night's shooting of the Southeastern Trailways driver as "an open-and-shut case of terrorism." But it is questionable whether he should have halted bargaining until a week has passed without gunfire being aimed at the buses. That can leave not only the buses, their drivers and their cargo but also the talks at the mercy of the aforementioned crazies.

For their kind, it could be a real ego trip to know that they could keep both sides from the bargaining table simply by firing a shot at a passing Greyhound. Keep the talks going. Without them, there can be no settlement. And a settlement is the best way to stop the violence, no matter where it is coming from.

by CNB