 In early 1990, the drivers'contract from 1987 expired at the end of its three-year term. In March, the ATU began its strike against Greyhound. The 1990 drivers' strike was similar in its bitterness to the strike of 1983, with violence against both strikers and their replacement workers. One striker in California was killed by a Greyhound bus driven by a strikebreaker, and a shot was fired at a Greyhound bus. During the strike by its 6,300 drivers, Greyhound idled much of its fleet of 3,949 buses and cancelled 80 % of its routes. At the same time, Greyhound was having to contend with the rise of low-cost airlines like Southwest Airlines, which further reduced the market for long-distance inter-city bus transportation. Without the financial strength provided in the past by a parent company, the strike's lower revenues and higher costs for security and labor-law penalties caused Greyhound to file for bankruptcy in June 1990. The strike would not be settled for 38 months under terms favorable to Greyhound. While the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had awarded damages for unfair labor practices to the strikers, this liability was discharged during bankruptcy reorganization.
