Striking Greyhound bus drivers have sent letters to state and local government leaders this week asking them to take action and stop the "outrageous danger caused by the Greyhound Co."
But state transportation officials say their hands are tied, and they have referred safety complaints to the federal Department of Transportation or to Texas regulators, where Greyhound is headquartered.In the letter, local union leader LeLand McLing, of the Amalgamated Transit Union, sub-local 1384, charges that Greyhound buses on Utah streets and highways are a safety hazard. "These buses can be either the instruments of great public convenience and good - or the cause of mayhem, death and destruction," the letter said.
The union's assertions are based on the inexperience of replacement drivers and mechanics, which the company hired and trained a few weeks before the March 2 walkout.
In a telephone interview, McLing said a bus hitting a striker, but not injuring him, as it pulled out of the Salt Lake terminal, constituted an attack on picketers.
Officials from both the governor's and Salt Lake City mayor's offices said the letter is under review. Strikers have also contacted the Utah Department But UDOT spokesman Kim Morris said the complaint on the attack was made two hours after the bus left Salt Lake for Oregon, and Utah officials couldn't do anything about it.
"We are interested in the safe operation of these buses, but we can't go out of the realm of our authority," Morris said. He explained that Greyhound is an interstate carrier based in Dallas and regulation is limited to federal and Texas authorities, unless Utah law is broken. But no evidence has been confirmed that Utah laws were broken.
But McLing said that response "shows a complete lackadaisical attitude toward public safety."
Local and national Greyhound officials were unavailable for comment late Friday.
The Utah strike has been relatively tame compared to some states. A striker was crushed to death by a bus in California, and there have been numerous instances of gunfire. Several states have issued restraining orders, and West Virginia has shut down Greyhound in that state.
Company officials have said operations are at 50 percent of normal, and plans are to have full service by the end of March. But McLing says the Salt Lake terminal is served by eight replacement drivers and running about 15 percent of the regular routes.
McLing said union and company officials are meeting with a federal mediator in Washington over the weekend.
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Union complaints
Among the alleged safety violations McLing lists are:
-No pre-trip inspections of operating equipment.
-Buses entering depot with blown-out tires.
-Passengers standing in isles.
-Attacks on picketers.