- Edward M. Strait
Infobox Person
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name = Edward M. Strait
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birth_date = June 23, 1930
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occupation = labor leader
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nationality = American
website =Edward M. Strait (born
June 23 ,1930 ) was an American labor leader, known for having been President of the Amalgamated Council of Greyhound Local Unions, representing more than 9,300 employees, [Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 1990, p. 6] and head of the Amalgmated Transit Union's bargaining unit during the strike beginning March 2, 1990, and ending in April 1993. [The Financial Times, London, (May 8, 1990), p. 26] As Council President, Strait discussed the terms of all possible negotiations with the 16 local union presidents. [ The Oregonian, (May 16, 1991), p. 14D] Believing the company was motivated by a preconceived desire to bust the union, Strait explained that "they negotiated us into a strike. I think this has been planned. The company wants to get rid of the union." [Facts on File World News Digest, (June 8, 1990), P. 422 F3] [USA Today, (June 6, 1990), p. 1B]Initial strike negotiations were stalled by acts of violence. [New York Times, (April 4, 1990), p. 19A] While Greyhound
CEO Fred Currey argued that "no American worth his salt negotiates with terrorists," Strait responded that management's failure to negotiate amounted to "putting the negotiations back into the hands of terrorists." [Los Angeles Times, (April 8, 1990), p. 34A] Shortly after Currey declared "victory" and called the strike "irrelevent," [The Globe and Mail (Canada), (May 8, 1990)] Greyhound was forced to declare bankruptcy in June, 1990, which Strait predicted in a debate with Executive Vice President and Chief NegotiatorAnthony Lannie on Jim Lehrer'sNewsHour . [The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, (March 5, 1990)]After Greyhound declared bankruptcy, Strait was primarily concerned with obtaining seniority rehiring for the striking workers, explaining "They promised these scabs jobs. They just don't want to negotiate seniority. If you have a dollar amount, but no seniority, you don't have a job. Without seniority you don't have anything." [Chicago Tribune, (June 9, 1991), p. C4]
Prior to the 1990 strike, Strait was active in the 1983 Greyhound strike as president of Amalgmated Transit Union Local 1098 in Washington, DC. [The Washington Post, (November 24, 1983), p. 4B] His initial involvement with Greyhound began when he began driving buses in the 1960s. [The Capital, (Annapolis, MD), (May 13, 1990), p. 16]
As a labor leader, Strait was a witness at the
United States Senate Subcommittee on Labor Management Relations hearing for a bill designed to strengthen protections for striking workers. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, (June 14, 1990), p. 1C]Notes
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