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State to close lucrative loophole for ferry workers

March 8, 2010 @ 2:30 pm (Updated: 4:00 pm - 3/8/10 )

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MyNorthwest.com

A deckhand working for Washington State Ferries had a yearly salary of $60,000, but he ended up getting $73,000 in travel expenses last year.

That kind of money is possible because of loopholes with a particular union which the Washington State legislature is now looking to close.

In a live interview on KIRO Radio's Dori Monson show, Washington State Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond said when the ferry system came under state control years ago a lot of maritime union practices came along as well.

One of those practices was baseball-style arbitration in which pay and other compensation are resolved not by negotiation, but by an arbiter who sides with one party or the other.

In 2005 the Inlandboatmen's Union won an arbitration session allowing them to send out their relief workers by seniority, not by location.

"So now by seniority employees who are relief workers can select which runs they service," Hammond said, "and when they do that they get travel time and mileage."

On Friday, the state House passed a bill that would give the governor a stronger hand in negotiating worker benefits. The aim is to move ferry worker benefits closer to what other state employee union contracts provide.

Two days earlier, the Senate acted on another bill that goes further. That bill aims directly at the ferry worker perk that provides free ferry passage even after their employment ends.

Washington State Ferries paid nearly $6.4 million in reimbursements to 700 of its 1,700 workers last year.

The deckhand who received the $72,950 in travel reimbursements isn't alone. Twenty-five other employees collected more than $30,000 apiece.

Hammond said there have been times where it's necessary to send a relief worker to a specific run or dock to keep the ferries running, "That I do think is in the state's interest, but where we have come up against this arbitrated decision we have finally said 'this isn't working for us' and the legislature is helping us now."

© 2010 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Comments (19)


  • Add A Comment

  • wonderfullone wrote...
    And if we don't raise taxes
    March 8, 2010 3:18 pm
    babies will die.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CJN wrote...
    Dorie Monson should shut up
    March 8, 2010 3:22 pm
    I believe his contract and salary is negotiated exactly the same way.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rimshot wrote...
    But Dori is
    March 8, 2010 4:16 pm
    all about the love. I love the Dori Monson Show.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Derrol_o wrote...
    CJN
    March 8, 2010 4:19 pm
    So you're saying someone like Dori shouldn't call out the state when they waste taxpayer money like this while spending this state into oblivion? He should just shut up and be ok with this guy getting his $79K perk. Yea right.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    gov grinchy loves the unions
    March 8, 2010 4:24 pm
    cause they bribe her like the indians do
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wonderfullone wrote...
    CJN
    March 8, 2010 4:58 pm
    You mean between crooks and cronies? Why would you support such an organization with your comment? Or are you just that completely stupid?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • PhotoLos wrote...
    who pays Dori's salary??
    March 8, 2010 6:02 pm
    I dont think we pay Dori's salary...unlike ferry workers.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • NavyDad6 wrote...
    The Unions need to be Busted!
    March 8, 2010 6:47 pm
    This is one example of outrageous money that the State wastes on Unions. We need to bust these criminal organizations up and have their jobs bid on by contracted non-union personnel. I guarantee it would be far cheaper.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mmedeast wrote...
    CJN
    March 8, 2010 9:10 pm
    You obviously know nothing about either contract then. I doubt Dori gets paid mileage to go to work on a daily basis even if he is filling for someone who is sick. He may get mileage for events (maybe). Second, I doubt he starts getting paid for his time from the time he gets in his car in the morning, until the time he gets out of his car at night. The ferry worker does. One other problem with your point is that Dori works for a private entity. If they decided to sign a contract they negotiated with Dori that actually had that type of stuff in there, that would be there problem. Further, that contract would only apply to Dori, not all of the personalities Bonneville employees either on the air or off.The ferry worker works for the state, the contract negotiated is for anyone who works for the state at that specific level (so there could be 1 guy, or there could be 100). Further we are the state. We pay this salary. So We are paying for the ferry worker to drive to and from where ever he is needed at .55 a mile. And on top of that we are paying him from the time he gets in his car in the morning until the time he gets home at night. May not be his fault, may be the fault of the crappy negotiators who originally agreed to this back in the 40's, but then again I doubt they had this in mind at the time. This part of the contract goes back until that time by the way.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SoundDesigner wrote...
    Two Points.
    March 8, 2010 9:50 pm
    One: The union won this in arbitration. So whatever the other side put foreword must have been pretty rotten. I've sat through this kind of arbitration and from what I've seen if you make the most reasonable offer you will come out on top. Two: While I do not know this contract per se, I do know these guys do a very complicated job that require skills. This is not a job that anybody could do after a year or two of on the job training. These guys have decades of experience often after years of training in the Navy or Coast Guard. I do not want the lowest paid worker doing any jobs where many peoples lives are at stake. I want a well paid workforce where people aren't worrying if their power is getting shut off at home while I'm riding on their boat. You can get a cheaper kidney transplant in China or India but nobody here would go there and get one of their own free will.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }