Crewmen Protest Loss of Jobs on Catalina Ship

As hundreds of school-age campers were boarding a Catalina Island-bound vessel Wednesday morning, they were greeted by about 50 union boatmen protesting hiring practices on board.

Many of the union demonstrators were former crew members of the boat, now operated by Catalina Classic Cruises, which bought the vessel from a firm that shut down in November.

Catalina Classic, however, has refused to rehire any of the members of the marine division of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union.

“We’re just trying to pressure these guys to hire some of the old crew workers back,” said union spokesman Stefan Mueller-Dombois. “The new company said they would use the same people, the same boats, and the same runs. But they haven’t hired a single one of our people.”

Catalina Classic Vice President Thomas Neilsen denied having made such promises. “We’ve never even talked to the union,” he said.

Tom Hoysgaard, who worked the route for 18 years, said the new company’s hiring policy “doesn’t make sense.”

“If you were going to transport up to 600 kids across rough waters, wouldn’t you hire the folks who know the route?” he said. “But they’ve shut us out. It’s hurting our families, and it’s a big risk to take for the families of the campers.”

Union officials said the company has been operating without a required permit from the state Public Utilities Commission.

Neilsen said that his firm has applied for the permit but that the union is protesting the application. In the meantime, Catalina Classic is operating under an agreement with another company, Catalina Express, which does have a permit.

Neilsen said his firm has no plans to hire union crewmen. “For one thing, we have our own crew of seven, and a captain with 15 years’ experience,” he said.

Still, Neilsen said the company may not be able to survive the union’s pressure tactics.

“If we can’t get a PUC permit of our own, I’m not sure how long we can stay in business,” he said. “Then, too, if the customers believe what the union is saying, it could affect us.”

The union’s message drew mixed responses among parents who had to wend their way through picketers in front of San Pedro’s Catalina terminal at Berth 95 chanting, “Hire us now.”

Phyllis Horning, who chaperoned 15 Westchester fifth-graders onto the boat, conceded that “after reading the union literature, I’d like to learn a little more about the experience of the crew on the boat we’re getting on.”

“I’ve never heard of a boat going to Catalina crashing or killing anyone,” said Debbie McAfee, who was accompanying a group of students. “So I’m OK about sending my kid.”