Golden Gate Ferry strike called for Friday
SAN FRANCISCO>> Union leaders announced Thursday morning Golden Gate Ferry workers will strike Friday, shutting down service from Larkspur and Corte Madera into San Francisco.
Thirteen unions comprising the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition — about 450 employees — have been working without a contract since July 1 and have been in negotiations with the district since April. Talks on Monday failed to yield an agreement and now, citing unfair labor practices based on "bad faith bargaining," a strike on Friday has been called, union officials announced at an 11 a.m. press conference at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
Golden Gate ferries carry more than 7,000 people on weekdays. Service to the Giants game also will be affected, officials said.
The union does represent some bus service employees, but not drivers. Amalgamated Transit Union 1575 officials said Golden Gate Transit bus service would be mostly unaffected by a strike.
The organization will honor a ferry strike by not crossing picket lines at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. That means riders of Route 97 and ferry feeder buses will be dropped outside of the terminal. But with a strike, there will likely be few bus riders to the terminal. There is no bus service to the Sausalito and San Francisco ferry terminals.
The bridge district — which operates Golden Gate ferries — issued a press release Wednesday afternoon that read in part: "A strike would be extremely disruptive to the public. The district believes that a strike can be avoided and hopes that the coalition returns to the bargaining table so that the parties can continue negotiations."
The Golden Gate Bridge district has proposed a three-year contract that would increase wages 9 percent over that period, but also increase the cost of employees' health care premiums. The union is seeking a 4 percent raise for each year of the three-year contract with no increases in health care premiums.
Address/Location
Central Marin Police
250 Doherty Dr
Larkspur, CA 94939
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 415-927-5150
Theo Mainaris
[email protected]
415-927-5150