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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 23, 1990                   TAG: 9005230076
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

GREYHOUND DRIVERS OFFER TO RETAKE WHEEL

Striking Greyhound drivers offered to return to work Tuesday in a legal maneuver that could make the company liable for $10 million a month in back pay.

Greyhound called the offer "part of the game" in the 3-month-old strike and said it did not expect to rehire striking union drivers immediately.

The union's offer stems from a ruling last week by the chief investigator for the National Labor Relations Board, who authorized the filing of unfair labor practice charges against Greyhound. If upheld, the charges would mean Greyhound would have to give union members back their jobs, with seniority over strikebreakers and possibly back pay. Tuesday's offer will start the legal clock ticking on back-pay calculations.

Greyhound has said it will appeal the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, a position that could tie up the dispute for years.

Since most of the company's 6,300 union drivers walked out March 2, the company has hired about 3,000 replacement drivers to operate reduced services.

Greyhound, which lost $56 million in the first quarter of 1990, said Monday it has asked holders of $225 million of its junk bonds to sell them back at steep discounts to keep the company out of bankruptcy court.

by CNB