By Beacon Staff
From Washington State Ferries:
This morning (Oct. 5), 23 engine room employees called in sick. Every employee qualified to fill those positions has declined to fill them and keep the ferries running.
All of the employees calling in sick and declining to fill those vacancies are represented by the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA), which represents engine room employees. The ferries cannot run without these roles being filled.
As a result, 13 of our 18 ferries are not in service. (Editors note: That includes Edmonds/Kingston, which stopped service at about 7:10 a.m.) We understand how disruptive this is to thousands of Washingtonians. We expect our employees to return to work as soon as possible.
The employees who work in the engine room play a vital role in providing WSF’s safe service, which is why Staff Chief Engineers have a base salary of $157,000,and can make more than $350,000 a year with overtime, as well as annual sick and vacation leave and retirement accrual.
All WSF vessels are fully staffed at the start of every service day at U.S. Coast Guard-required levels. When an employee calls in sick, request dispatchers work to fill the position as quickly as possible. When those positions aren’t filled, the boat cannot sail, which is what we’re experiencing today across 13 of the 18 vessels currently in service.
BNSF work on tracks
Meanwhile, WSF announced last week that
BNSF would close the railroad crossing at Main Street and Railroad Avenue in Edmonds for track repairs from 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, through 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7.
The closure would block access to the Edmonds ferry terminal, so service to and from Kingston would be suspended.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here