image_size nationality birth_date article_title occupation
150px american june 23 , 1930 edward m. strait
 labor leader
edward m. strait

edward m. strait -lrb- born june 23 , 1930 -rrb- was an american labor leader , known for having been president of the amalgamated council of greyhound local unions , representing more than 9,300 employees , and head of the amalgamated transit union 's bargaining unit during the strike beginning march 2 , 1990 , and ending in april 1993 .
as council president , strait discussed the terms of all possible negotiations with the 16 local union presidents .
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 . ''
initial strike negotiations were stalled by acts of violence .
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 . ''
shortly after currey declared `` victory '' and called the strike `` irrelevant , '' greyhound was forced to declare bankruptcy in june , 1990 , which strait predicted in a debate with executive vice president and chief negotiator anthony lannie on jim lehrer 's newshour .
after greyhound declared bankruptcy , strait was primarily concerned with obtaining seniority rehiring for the striking workers , explaining `` they promised these scabs jobs .
they just do n't want to negotiate seniority .
if you have a dollar amount , but no seniority , you do n't have a job .
without seniority you do n't have anything . ''
prior to the 1990 strike , strait was active in the 1983 greyhound strike as president of amalgamated transit union local 1098 in washington , dc .
his initial involvement with greyhound began when he began driving buses in the 1960s .
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 .
