BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

‘Green Line’s Labor Problems’

While Green Bus Lines of Jamaica, New York was known in the industry to have had a ‘sweetheart’ relationship with its collective bargaining agents through the years, not all was as tranquil as it seemed in the very beginning.

The company was incorporated in 1925 in an effort to amalgamate the many independent owner/operators in Manhattan who, at the time, faced a challenging existence in the wake of massive attempts by the up and coming ‘Omnibus Corporation’ to eliminate them.

However, unlike the neighboring ‘Newark Independents’ who experienced the same torment by Public Service Coordinated of New Jersey but continued as owner operators of their own equipment after uniting, Green Line opted to buy the routes and buses of their acquisitions paying the owners in stock worth what they invested.

These ‘stockholders’ then became the backbone of the operation both behind the wheel and in management roles.

It was only after the company lost their Manhattan franchises in trade for what were to become lucrative routes in southern Queens in the early thirties that expansion began to deplete stockholder availability behind the wheel which led to the need to hire additional drivers.

By 1936, the ‘hired’ help had proliferated to the point that Amalgamated Local 1179 of Jamaica took note and organized the labor force at the company.

While the stockholders could not join the union, they did enjoy both the medical and pension benefits the contracts offered, and had ‘seniority’ preference over employees at pick time regardless of date of hire.

This, coupled with the fact that no employee was ever elevated to a management role, was a bone of contention that led to a walk out in October of 1939 (the first in the company’s history).

Wage and vacation points were resolved almost immediately, but the seniority question stalled negotiations, and eventually police had to be called in to restore order after angry strikers began to retaliate by defacing equipment.

The dispute finally wound up in State Supreme Court where a decision granted the company the right to treat stockholders differently then its hired employees.

By the early 1960’s, the complexion of the company began to change in that most of the stockholders had already retired giving employees more of an opportunity to rise within the ranks and peace prevailed (for a while anyway!).

Mr. Linsky – Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[GBL Rebel]

[Q65A]

Wow, I never realized how rough that strike was.
Did the other Cooper properties have similar labor situations?
Years back, I always looked at GBL as having a progressive fleet (as compared to QTC, which seemed to me to behave a lot like a conservative street railway). It seemed as if they had the latest buses (at least on the Q60, which was the GBL route most visible to me at the time).
Unlike QTC, GBL seemed to have embraced the RTS when it first came out.

[GBL Rebel]

[Mr. Linsky]

I don't know whether the other Cooper properties encountered the same violence but it has to be remembered that Green Line was with a different union than all the others and usually continued to operate while everyone else was out.

Mr. Cooper's pet lines were the Q10 (Lefferts Boulevard) and Q60 (Queens Boulevard) and those lines inparticular always showcased the latest equipment.

For whatever reasons, Queens Transit seemed to gravitate away from the other PBL's equipment wise in that they never ran Macks, and were late comers to the GM party.

Then again, North Shore Bus Company (that I'm trying to work up some kine of history on) was also a maverick in that sense with their early Twins, Flxibles and even a couple of Reos! (I guess it's different strokes for different Folks!).

What can I tell you?

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[Mr RT]

Mr. Salsberg was always looking for a bargin.

[Mr. Linsky]