Bay Area ferry strike makes Marin County commuters scramble

Thousands of Bay Area commuters had to find other ways to travel between Marin County and San Francisco on Friday as Golden Gate Ferry captains and their deckhands went on strike.

The one-day strike, announced in advance by a union representing the captains, was affecting commuters who would normally travel from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal to the San Francisco Giants’ game at AT&T Park, according to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. The Giants are scheduled to play the San Diego Padres at 7:15 p.m.

“This cancellation of service is the direct result of an announcement by the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Assn. which represents our ferry captains,” the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District said in a statement. “The strike leaves us without staff to operate our vehicles.”

The captains make an average $83,000 a year, KPIX-TV reported.

A coalition of unions at the district, including the ferry captains union, has been negotiating for a new labor agreement for several months. Increased health insurance costs are the primary sticking point, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The ferry captains union said on Twitter that the strike was called to highlight the district’s “lack of good faith in talks & lame contract offer.”

There are about 9,000 daily commuter trips on the ferries and about 1,400 trips to and from the baseball field on game days, the Chronicle reported.

The transportation district said passengers who bought Giants ferry tickets for Friday would have their money refunded. Service was expected to resume Saturday, when the Giants and Padres play at 1:05 p.m.

Also on Friday, a dozen bus drivers for the Golden Gate Transit District “called in sick at the last moment,” forcing delays for commuters headed to San Francisco from Mill Valley, Santa Rosa and Novato, the Chronicle reported. A spokeswoman for the highway and transportation district, which has 260 drivers, said the number of sick calls was more than normal.

Ray Messier, president and business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1575, which represents the drivers, told the newspaper that there was “no sick-out in connection to the ferry thing.” He told the Chronicle that drivers were dropping off passengers at a distance from the Larkspur ferry stop to avoid crossing a picket line.

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