SEATTLE — On a foggy day in the Puget Sound region, you can often hear the distinctive regional sound of a ferry horn. But on this foggy day in West Seattle, drivers and passengers heard the voice of a dockworker named Tiffany. “Sorry, no boats today,” she could be heard saying over and over again to drivers near Fauntleroy. “See you tomorrow”. That’s because of what the Washington state ferry system described as a massive breakdown. WSF said 23 engine room employees called in sick Monday morning. The agency said it searched for qualified humanitarian workers to fill the vacant positions, but all employees qualified to fill them declined. At one point, the agency said 13 of its 18 operational vessels were out of service.RELATED | Crew calls cause major disruption to Washington ferry service, 72% not in operation. By Monday afternoon, some service had returned, but the FSM travel bulletin still listed Seattle-Bainbridge, Edmonds-Kingston, and Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth as out of service due to crew shortages. Mukilteo-Clinton and Seattle-Bremerton were operating with only one boat, and the FSM warned of an estimated two-hour wait for drivers leaving Mukilteo. In the San Juan Islands, the FSM said the Chelan and Yakima were expected to resume limited overnight service. The Samish’s remaining voyages after the 5:35 pm departure from Anacortes were cancelled. The WSF said the firm was continuing to try to fill vacant positions and would provide updates as conditions changed. MEBA Secretary-Treasurer Roland “Rex” Rexha, who met with Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday, told KOMO News that the union did not organize a job action. “The union took no action today,” Rexha said. “This is not a coordinated effort by any means.” Rexha said the ferry system has become too reliant on overtime to cover the shortage of marine engineers, a problem he said began before Ferguson took office. He said one member had worked more than 1,800 hours of overtime last year, while union members collectively logged more than 100,000 hours of overtime to cover staffing shortages. “One person leaving sick shouldn’t shut down the service people depend on, and neither should 23,” Rexha said. Ferguson said he met with local and national MEBA leaders Monday morning and heard concerns about staffing. The governor said he remained committed to improving staffing levels but criticized the effect of the cancellations on passengers. “Causing significant harm and inconvenience to the people of Washington state is not the way to address those problems,” Ferguson said. “I was very direct in our meeting: my expectation is that all ships on each route will be fully operational by the first ship leaving tomorrow morning.” Rexha said he agreed with the goal, but stopped short of guaranteeing that the system would be fully restored. “We want the boats to work,” he said. “We want them to move on time. We want them to move safely. I think we all have the same goals here.” When asked if he expected all routes to be operational by Tuesday morning, Rexha said, “I hope so, and I plan to. We plan for everything to work the way it’s supposed to.” The dispute also exposed a stark division over wages and working conditions. In its social media posts on Monday, WSF highlighted the compensation of chief staff engineers, saying they have a base salary of $157,000 and can earn more than $350,000 a year with overtime, along with sick leave, vacation and retirement benefits. Rexha called the message “passive-aggressive” and said it omitted required qualifications of engineers. He said chief engineers can spend 15 years working to earn the position and hold U.S. Coast Guard licenses. He also argued that ferry management has not adequately completed a prevailing wage survey required by state law and that comparable sailors earn more elsewhere in the industry. “We want to be partners in this. We want to find a solution,” Rexha said. “Ultimately, our goal is to make sure the ferries run on time and safely.” The FSM said ferries cannot operate without the required positions in the engine room being filled. Passengers can check the agency’s online travel alerts and real-time map before heading to a terminal.
