Washington State Ferries still face lingering disruptions after 23 engineers call out sick

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is dealing with lingering disruptions Tuesday after 23 engine-room employees called in sick Monday, leaving 13 of the system’s 18 vessels out of service and stranding thousands of passengers across Puget Sound.

The state said qualified employees who could have filled the vacant positions declined to report for duty. The resulting crew shortage forced cancellations and reduced service on several major routes Monday.

Service is closer to normal Tuesday, but problems remain.

The Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is operating with two boats instead of three because the Kitsap remains out of service due to a crew shortage. WSF also canceled the 4:45 a.m. sailing from Bainbridge Island and the 5:30 a.m. sailing from Seattle because of a lack of qualified crew.

For the Mukilteo-Clinton route, the 5:05 and 6 a.m. sailings from Clinton and the 5:35 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. sailings from Mukilteo were canceled. Regular service was expected to resume after those cancellations.

And for the Edmonds-Kingston routes, the 5:30 and 7 a.m. sailings from Kingston and the 6:15 a.m. and 7:55 a.m. sailings from Edmonds were canceled. Regular service is expected to resume after those cancellations.

WSF said it expects more normal service across the system Tuesday but warns customers to check for route-specific changes because schedules remain subject to crew and vessel availability.

Vashon Island felt the impact

The disruption was particularly severe for Vashon Island, where the ferry shutdown affected deliveries, medical care, and businesses.

UPS, FedEx, and Amazon shipments were halted Monday, according to residents and businesses affected by the service disruption.

At Vashon Pharmacy, pharmacists had to find a friend’s personal boat to get enough workers to the island. Not everyone could make it in, however, and the pharmacy canceled vaccinations for shingles, COVID-19, and the flu.

“If there’s no pharmacist on duty, the pharmacy can’t open. So, we were fortunate to get a ride here today. But if the boats are continuing to be down, then it’s hard,” said Chris, a pharmacy employee. “It’s hard because there’s not enough staff too. Like even if a pharmacist is here, there’s no staff, so we can’t really do much. Like we have to cancel all of the vaccine appointments today.”

The ferry disruption also affected patients trying to reach medical appointments. A tipster told KIRO Newsradio that a patient who needed critical pancreatic cancer treatment at Fred Hutch missed an appointment because of the ferry shutdown.

At Engels Repair and Towing, a 75-year-old family business on Vashon, a spare set of keys helped keep the shop open.

Paul Engels said he was stuck in Tacoma when the ferries stopped running. Fortunately, a co-worker had his keys and could open the business.

Engels said the shutdown also disrupted parts deliveries from Seattle, leaving workers without some of the parts they needed for jobs.

He said his family business has dealt with ferry disruptions before.

“It happens over the years with delays with the boats, or boats being shut down, or boats being broken down. So, you just kind of roll with it. It’ll get back to normalcy soon enough,” Engels said.

Labor dispute behind the disruption

The 23 employees who called out are members of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, which represents WSF engine-room workers. Work stoppages by ferry employees are prohibited under state law.

The engineers are negotiating over wages and other working conditions. The union has sought a 20% pay increase, citing concerns about compensation, staffing, and heavy reliance on overtime. A union survey earlier this year found more than 60% of members surveyed said they were somewhat or very likely to retire or leave the ferry system for another job.

The union told The Seattle Times it was not aware of a coordinated sick-out. The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association has also said it did not organize or assist the callouts. Washington State Ferries said chief engineers have a base salary of $157,000 and can earn more than $350,000 with overtime, while emphasizing that engine-room employees are essential to safe ferry operations.

Governor Bob Ferguson became involved Monday, saying he met with ferry officials and called for the system to return to full service. He said thousands of Washington residents were being affected by the disruption.

The dispute comes as WSF continues to struggle with staffing and reliability across its aging fleet. Monday’s disruption demonstrated how quickly a relatively small number of unavailable workers can bring a large portion of the system to a standstill.

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