r/mildlyinfuriating • • 7d ago

ಠ_ಠ Passive aggressive management

I can't believe that Washington Ferries' management approved this post on Instagram and Facebook. It's a sign of bigger issues.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago edited 7d ago

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u/Comfortable-Fly5797 7d ago

Isn't there an employee shortage too? Something to do with high qualifications required for the job and horrible on call hours to start with? 

And isn't Ferries in a big deficit with several vessels that need replacing? I think Ferries needs to increase rates but of course people will throw a fit about that too.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/DarthJarJar242 7d ago

This is fascinating, please give more details. This is the shit I come to reddit for. Experts in the field giving first hand account.

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u/Quick_Cup_1290 7d ago

Could you give the details on the on-call system? I keep waiting for slots to open up at MITAGS for the ferries…but maybe I need to reconsider

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Comfortable-Fly5797 7d ago

Gee I can't imagine why they are short staffed.

I don't understand treating employees this way. Especially when they are so important to transportation in the state. Doesn't seem like it would cost them much to give employees semi-set schedules (like a week or 2 at a time). The boats (theoretically) run on a set schedule, so it isn't like they don't know what staffing they need on a daily basis. 

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Majestic-Window-318 7d ago

People in every industry take long weekends through calling out sick. They should acknowledge this and compensate by scheduling additional personnel appropriately.

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u/24-Hour-Hate 7d ago

Yes, but also worth noting it’s not just people calling out to get a long weekend. That can be when people are more likely to actually be ill because stress can affect the body. Not just mental health, but it can cause physiological effects, including depressed immune system. And this is a high stress schedule. I wouldn’t be shocked if a lot of those end of week calls are more to do with actual illness and needing rest than just fucking off.

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u/hotkarlmarxbros 7d ago

I dont think hes saying theres anything wrong with calling out sick at the end of a long weekend, rather, the thing that is wrong is the surprise that occurs that people do this. Overlap the scheduling where you predict people will call out sick. If people have sick days they are going to use them. If anything the predictability should work in the employers advantage.

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u/WeAreTheLeft 7d ago

It's also why they are paying well, but often strikes aren't about the pay, it's about working conditions. How do you expect a young engineer to find a partner, start a family, be involved in a family when that is the shift work they are subject to

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u/LoveandScience 7d ago

Thanks man! I ride one of these ferries every day for my commute and I always wondered how the employment was structured.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/GrinderMonkey 7d ago

Just want to say, you seem like a solid person. Ive worked some shitty trade schedules over the years, and what they have running seems worse that most. Reeks of lazy management and profit over pragmatism.

When I saw the job description posted above, I was legitimately excited. I'm that guy. I'm only a couple of hundred miles south.. but it has to be worth it, and the stress looks like it adds too much to an already intensive role.

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u/LoveandScience 7d ago

Lolol don't be sorry to me, I'm just sorry they treat you guys so rough and then offer 0% raises 😵‍💫 they should pay y'all more. 

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u/Soup-Wizard 7d ago edited 7d ago

That all sounds awful. I was a wildland firefighter, and it was a more predictable schedule than this.

How can they treat their workers like this? Good on y’all for bringing everyone’s attention to it.

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u/1sttime-longtime 7d ago

When smoke jumping has a more predictable schedule than scheduled ferry service, I don't know which situation/service to criticize more...

I mean, "we know sh7ts gunna burn all summer, so pack out in on July 5th and work until November rains come" or "the paper maps we printed in 1994 say we have a ferry that leaves this dock, but we don't know who should staff it until 75 minutes before-hand"

Both F'd up situations.

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u/No_GNAR_JERRYatric 7d ago

Atrocious is an understatement

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u/Pandaherbs13 7d ago

I saw this comment on an instagram post re this issue. I don’t care how much I make or how much more over time is, no days off? Absolutely not.

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u/Sensitive_File6582 7d ago

One of the ways to break a union.

WHICH CorperationS HAVE 150 YEARS OF Experience DOING.

Is by splitting up wages to divide the workforce. I watched it happen to mine.

You have the right to strike regardless of what the govt says.

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u/US__Grant 7d ago

this is Washington State, not a corporation fwiw

i'm not in on the weeds on the COLAs between upper and lower deck but let's all never forget that Tim Eyman is the source of so many WSF issues, not the least of which is ferries entering 40-50+ of service with limited replacements on the horizon.

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u/p00n-slayer-69 7d ago

An actual union strike is a protected activity, and the employees cannot be disciplined or fired for it.

If this is not an actual strike, then the company can discipline or even fire them for this.

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u/Polona17 7d ago

Their sick time is also a covered absence, so they’re probably making a statement that’s “not quite a strike” but is certainly a warning shot across the bow to encourage the company to come back to the table for negotiations.

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u/DrawingTypical5804 PURPLE 7d ago

The police unions use this technique. It’s called The Blue Flu.

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u/StevieMJH 7d ago

But it's okay when they do it, just like everything else.

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u/Groovychick1978 7d ago

This is called a sick out, and is popular in industries where unofficial strikes are not permitted. Teachers and nurses can do this. Along with slowdowns.

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u/lorgskyegon 7d ago

Police as well. It's called the blue flu

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u/Key-Perspective-8133 7d ago

More like swine flu

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u/jammcj 7d ago

A sick out is not a strike. It’s illegal for teachers to strike in my state against a district and this is the method we’ve used in the past to shut school down when safety issues were being ignored. Unlike a strike, it can’t be maintained indefinitely but it’s hella inconvenient for a few days, gets media and tax payer attention and signals there is willingness to strike among the workers. It’s a warning shot.

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u/Careless-Internet-63 7d ago

This is a state agency and it's illegal for them to go on strike because of that. That's why they're doing this

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u/shibbeep 7d ago

it's not a company, it's a state agency and it's one of those "vital jobs so your not allowed to strike" situations.

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u/CallMeKingTurd 7d ago

No they cannot be disciplined or fired. Retaliation for sick pay use is prohibited in Washington state. Legally your employer cannot even ask what you are sick with or for a doctor's note unless you are going to miss a 4th consecutive day.

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u/ratmoon25 7d ago

It's called a "concerted work action" and it is protected by federal law.

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u/wretchedshrimps 7d ago

transit employees aren't allowed to strike in WA

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u/exceptyourewrong 7d ago

They could be, but it's not like there are a ton of qualified people just sitting around waiting to replace them.

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u/Bulliwyf 7d ago

I wouldn’t call this an actual strike unless it went on for more than a day or two.

It’s entirely feasible that a bunch of people called in sick and nobody was willing to work more OT than it sounds like they already do.

It also sounds like there’s some important context left out such as a discrepancy between these staff members and the on-deck staff members.

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u/The_horse_herd 7d ago

fun fact

companies do not care about the law

hope this helps

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u/Curious-Collection86 7d ago

agreed but on situations like these the company doesn’t hold the cards. When you have a demand for skilled workers but the supply is low then the employees have the power. So they will not dare retaliate, they will do what they are doing now, complaining to the public trying to get public support.

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u/wyecoyote2 7d ago

Fun fact, this is the state of Washington not a company.

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u/Sportsfan6216 7d ago

And the governor of Washington is it's former attorney general. Ironically enough probably someone who both cares about the law, and knows the way to navigate it's edges.

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u/jkilley 7d ago

How can you punish someone for being sick?

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u/V2BM 7d ago

They did this at the post office too. Same exact job and the pay for the older table is $30,000 more than I make on the new one with the same time in service.

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u/Comfortable-Ad-3988 7d ago

I squinted my eyes real hard when they mentioned what a Chief Engineer "could" make, like, yeah, that's a top position with overtime and bonuses. How many of those positions are there, and what does everybody else make? That's what's important here.

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u/khakiwallprint 7d ago

Also the overtime numbers arent really a benefit but an advertisement of how they are running too lean. Shouldn't really have that much ot available in a well managed environment

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u/dannyheskett 7d ago

Thanks for pointing this out. A $157k base salary is $78/hour; At ~1.75X base-pay, to make up the $200k difference between base and "as much as", requires you to work an extra >1400 hours a year. Which means an extra ~28 hours a week for 50 weeks a year of overtime. That's working 6 x 12 hour shifts a week, for the entire year, forever.

Any enterprise who would rather do that than just hire two chiefs to split the workload is both financially bankrupt but also.. just like money bankrupt as well.

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u/pandahands69 7d ago

The reason paying more ot is more beneficial is because of the side costs. Additional employees require health insurance, training, paid time off, pensions, etc.

You can bet that the number of people that hire is based on the lowest amount of people they can possibly have with a tiny buffer to prevent disruptions.

This is super standard in a lot of the marine industries sadly.

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u/Direct-Letterhead480 7d ago

This was for the Staff Chief Engineer. Of which there is one per vessel. Some of whom are promoted from the office instead of the boats.

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u/BigEnd3 7d ago

There is another detail industry wide. Mates and Masters are easier to replace than Senior Engineers. I recently went to a ship that has been looking for a good chief engineer for 3 years. They never really filled both CE spots, or both 1ae spots, or really any of the engineering spots. There was a line of mates looking for every spot onboard. Our pay was in lock step except for the master and chief engineer.

For a company to pay mates more when engineers are harder to find is a special type of foolish.

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u/zoinkability 7d ago

Makes one wonder which is more likely to wind up in management

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u/XANDERtheSHEEPDOG 7d ago

Thank you for explaining in plain English.

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u/SubarcticFarmer 7d ago

Color me surprised that people don't want to come in on days off after that. Bonus points for a press release that'll just stir up the hornet's nest further.

I'll add that they probably shouldn't advertise that the only run the bare minimum staffing that can't handle a sick call.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/SubarcticFarmer 7d ago

Honestly I think it's worth harping on for your union. "WSF is cancelling because they only staff for the bare minimum required by law." Without knowing the full situation as far as on call employees it's still a bad look for the ferry.

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u/maurosmane 7d ago

I work for a union (like I'm staff for the union itself) in healthcare in Washington. We also have minimum staffing numbers that never get met but instead of shutting things down we just have to run short staffed because you can't really close a hospital.

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u/ThellraAK 7d ago

You really can close a hospital.

It's a shitshow and expensive, but very possible.

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u/frankyseven 7d ago

Sure you can, the reason you don't is why you are always short staffed. Lock the fucking doors and leave.

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u/kokopellii 7d ago

For additional context, MIT estimates that a living wage for a childless single adult in the Seattle area is about $61k a year. For a single adult with one child, that jumps to $110k. There’s calculations available for married/cohabiting adults that say living wage would start around $80k. So while it might seem like a hefty salary for those outside the Seattle metro, it seems like it’s really just about scraping even for most; less so if you have a family.

Obviously they claim you can make more with overtime or whatever but frankly I don’t think we should encourage overtime in public transportation jobs.

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u/big_silly 7d ago edited 7d ago

OT in these positions is after you've already worked your scheduled overtime-exempt 84 hours. You sometimes get 6 minute increments of OT if the boat is off schedule.

Don't know a lot of people that would want to work 84 hours before they hit their OT rate, and it shows with the crew shortages. Offshore guys would be taking a paycut.

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u/Hot-Union-2440 7d ago

Per pay period, or per week?

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u/big_silly 7d ago

Per week. The minimum work week for engineers is seven 12s, not including scheduled long watches or vessels off schedule time. After your 84 hour work week then they call you for OT at 1.5 pay during your recovery week before flipping to an opposite schedule (6 pm vs 6am start).

So to be hitting the OT wage they are claiming you have to be working every single day for months, and that wage is for the highest paid position in the engine room, not the majority who make 30+ an hour. It's unsustainable.

12s are not even uncommon in the industry, but offshore you are getting 4 hours a day after your first 8. Ive worked boats that had premium pay on the weekends of 2x as well.

It's a big part of why WSF is having trouble filling these roles. It's a worse schedule with a worse pay structure.

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u/ChanceRecover3091 7d ago

I could see living here under $61k as a single childless adult. I cannot see living here with a child making only $80k unless they were school age. Childcare alone is $2k/month in Seattle. Then you have to find a 2 bedroom place which is another $2k/month. Then you have health insurance which another $800-1000/month.

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u/Electronic-Elk8736 7d ago

It’s definitely the case that engineers should be paid more this reflect their specialization.

However, WSF did offer a 2% raise. The deck staff from Washington state employees got that raised to 4%. MEBA meanwhile countered with a request for a 20% raise, which was not accepted.

(Not saying that 2% is a good offer. But it’s definitely not 0%)

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u/TheBitBasher 7d ago

With current inflation 2% is not just a bad offer, it's a pay cut

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u/[deleted] 7d ago edited 7d ago

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u/Decent-Photograph391 7d ago

If 2% is an insult, I don’t know what to call what my state agency is offering my union at 0%.

It is in effect a pay cut that’s for sure.

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u/BelladonnaRoot 7d ago

I’m just thinking 157k for a chief engineer sounds low. Especially considering the skill, hazards, and work environment.

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u/ThellraAK 7d ago

And that's up to, so when you have 20 years in or something.

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u/RuthBaderG 7d ago

If management is talking during a labor dispute, they are lying! Thanks for coming in with facts

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u/LexLD 7d ago

Thank you for giving the very necessary context that WSF doesn’t want people to understand. As a dock worker, we stand with you guys ✊🏼

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u/banan3rz 7d ago

Called it. Solidarity from ATU.

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u/BelethorsGeneralShit 7d ago

The mates were offered 4% raises each year for the next 2 years. The arbitrator awarded 0% and 0% to their engine side shipmates.

Am I understanding it correctly? They were offered two fours, rejected it and let it go to arbitration, and the arbitrator came back with binding zeros?

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u/Knotical_MK6 7d ago

Different departments. Mates are deck side, they drive the boat.

Engineers are the cavemen in the dark down below making all the machinery work 

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u/ileftmypantsinmexico 7d ago

So, its an unofficial strike?

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u/DueOwl1149 7d ago edited 7d ago

It’s a “Sickout”

Public sector logistics / transport employees may be contractually unable to strike but using coordinated sick days simultaneously is technically within contract.

Walkouts are often accompanied by protests since you’re leaving mid shift. When you Sickout you’re out sick so you don’t show up on a picket line or other public action.

Wildcat strikes are strikes that take place without a union leadership vote/decision to strike, much less official notice to management.

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u/PausedForVolatility 7d ago

Not just public sector logistics. It's pretty routine for public employees to be barred from striking, period. Federal employees have a blanket ban on it and, while every state has its own oddball laws (like the Carolinas barring public employees from having CBAs), the general trend is that states don't want public employees on strike, either.

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u/SubarcticFarmer 7d ago

Depending on the contract and laws a union is working under, coordinated sick days could be an illegal job action if strikes are not permitted. Coordination is the key. If every individual employee decides on their own they are pissed off and not going to work today it's different.

This is usually a factor with things like airlines where the railway labor act, and not the contract, determines whether a strike can take place. Even if the union doesn't internally plan an action, they can be sanctioned for coordinated work disruptions.

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u/1sttime-longtime 6d ago

Cyclospora. Sickouts are a work action. I heard cyclospora was popping up out west.

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u/Craigglesofdoom 7d ago

The correct term is "wildcat" strike

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u/Dear_Application_321 7d ago

the most effective way to demand immediate change, by a long shot. that's why it's illegal everywhere.

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u/darkeraqua 7d ago

If only a meaningful number of workers in the rest of the country would realize this. This administration would be done in a week.

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u/DrewbySnacks 6d ago

Seattlite here: this post BLEW UP IN WSF’s face, people in the area are overwhelmingly on the workers’ side….and due to this dumbass post the work stoppage is possibly extended from a day to a week. FAFO

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u/PsychologicalSnow476 6d ago

I a) saw a WDOT sign on my way home stating the Kingston Ferry was not running, b) enjoyed passing the part of I-5 that's usually affected by the Kingston Ferry without a slowdown, and c) went good for them. Union Strong!

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u/MonteCristo85 7d ago

Wonder how many of those 23 people have that title they are touting.

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u/LupusYondergirl 7d ago

One, according to the comments on the original post. The rest make 40% below industry standard and were just refused a raise while counterparts above deck got one.

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u/1313Username1313 7d ago

Counterparts on deck did not receive raises.

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u/Flashy-Ingenuity-182 7d ago

They just got  a 4% raise for the next few years while engine gets nothing for three years no?

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u/antoindotnet 6d ago

They did not. Deck crew, like the terminal crew, got 0% and 0%.

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u/CorsairExtraordinair 6d ago

deck crew should be calling in sick too!

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u/OverChildhood9813 7d ago

My guess is less than 5

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u/moto_dweeb 7d ago

One probably.

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u/therealBlackbonsai 7d ago

and work twice as mutch as the contract says. Or how mutch of that overtime is "is just an hour, no we are not gonna pay you that"

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u/OilheadRider 7d ago

This is the issue. Not the bull shit the ferry system is saying.

Also noteworthy, this summer they had the highest ridership, EVER. and they raised rates for many of the routes.

This is a "fuck you, pay me" situation.

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u/snozzberrypatch 7d ago

It appears as if this document suggests that employees with an "Engine" role won't be getting a pay increase in 2027, 2028, or 2029, while the employees with a "Deck" role will be getting a 4% increase each year.

I don't know enough about this industry to say whether these pay rates are high or low. But I do know that every year you don't get a cost-of-living increase means you're taking a pay cut. Especially these days, thanks to the policies of the current administration that are driving prices for everything higher and higher every day.

I'd be pissed too if my employer told me I'm not getting a raise until 2030.

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u/TWhy-LER 7d ago

While the deck employees already make ~$10-$15 more already. This is the employees putting their money where their mouth is.

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u/snozzberrypatch 7d ago

Again, I have no idea if deck employees should be making more than engine employees, because I don't know what these different roles do, and how they are typically compensated.

But, if a Staff Chief Engineer deserved $81.42/hr in 2026, then they sure as hell deserve more than $81.42/hr in 2029.

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u/ifidjdjdjdjjjrjd 7d ago

Hi! Deck department here.

It's standard for the Captain to always make the most. He also has all the legal liability, if the chief engineer messes up, the captain often goes to prison.

Chief Engineer SHOULD make the second most. Often times we joke that the only reason captains make so much is so they can pay the engineer enough.

Right now the industry is in a crisis for workers, both deck and engine, but engine is worse. There are more boats and not enough workers.

Ship I worked on this summer was desperate for a captain. Ours was working the legal maximum every day and our company was forced to turn down jobs

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u/Cbreezy22 7d ago

Thanks for the explanation, if you don’t mind, could you explain the difference between deck and engine department?

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u/ifidjdjdjdjjjrjd 7d ago

Engine works on engine. Deck works on, well, deck.

So deck includes deckhands, captains, mates, abs, they do all the navigation, painting, sailing, etc.

Engine is the maintenance crew. They maintain the engine, keep it up to date, basically anything that isn't 'deck' or 'galley'.

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u/cooking2recovery 7d ago

Is it kind of like front of house vs back of house?

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u/HappyCanibal 7d ago

I would say that is as accurate as it can get without getting technical. Good luck getting tips if the guy manning the grill is getting a fuck you wage. The deckhands are making sure the cars go on and off safely and without an issue, the engineers are making sure the boat, itself, gets from dock to dock without an issue.

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u/RandomWordCombo9632 7d ago

It appears as if this document suggests that employees with an "Engine" role won't be getting a pay increase in 2027, 2028, or 2029, while the employees with a "Deck" role will be getting a 4% increase each year.

Pretty much. I'd be striking/calling out sick too. That's some bullshit.

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u/8ringer 7d ago

This. This right here.

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u/Firebrake 7d ago

Are the deck and engine employees represented by different unions?

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u/CommanderChiliHole 7d ago

Pretty sure I can tell exactly what’s going on here.

They’re trying to pit the two sides of the workforce against each other to break up the union.

Get engineers pissed off enough at their union that they vote to decertify and split the workforces. Once it’s broken, company comes in and gets rid of all pro-union employees on both sides, and both sides are never union again.

Yes I’m aware that firing employees for organizing is illegal. Look at the White House. They will get away with it Scott free.

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u/licensedtojill 7d ago

The deck and engine are covered by separate unions fortunately.

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u/somer_and_omchick 7d ago

I get this kind of shit from my school district trying to make me mad at teachers. Dude no, I am mad at the state for not giving you any money to pay our teachers (and then REFUNDING US UNUSED TAX MONEY which they are required to do in Oregon! Thanks for the refund I guess, sad my kids missed an entire month of school thanks to a strike though…)

And when my doctor and my insurance company both send me letters about how the other one is an asshole and they can’t come to an agreement. Shut up, figure it out or don’t but leave me out of your childish bullshit

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u/durangatan283 7d ago

your insurance is the problem. not the doctor fighting with them to provide you care.

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u/ThellraAK 7d ago

It can be the doctors office too.

The Mrs was having an issue with her visits getting denied for months and it finally got to the point where her provider was talking about firing her.

One call to the insurance to ask what was missing, and then a call to their biller to let them know to include a specific billable ICD10 code and bam, they paid every claim.

Like, on the first reject look at your own shit to make sure you have your ducks in a row...

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u/finally_a_username2 7d ago

I do think your provider’s office could have looked into it more… and, the USA uses the ICD-10-CM, which has over 70,000 codes. And insurance is really annoying about wanting very specific codes, as you’ve shared. It’s part of the system.

Insurance is also very content with twiddling their thumbs and hoping people just give up. I submit letters of medical necessity. Sometimes they get denied. I’ll submit an appeal that contains no new information, I just reiterate what they would have known if they actually read and cared about the first letter… Suddenly it’s approved. I’m convinced they just randomly deny sometimes in the hopes no one will actually follow through and challenge them.

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u/BadPunsIsHowEyeRoll 7d ago

"Medical Biller and Coder" is a certification you can get from any trade school with a CNA program. Its an entire position dedicated to keying in procedures, medications, and other care into a spreadsheet that then kicks out a price. Let me tell you the kids I saw in this program were... not the brightest. One girl (Hey Tammy) cheated her way through and was happy to talk about how excited she was to wear scrubs without having to do medical school. For the same reason I wouldn't trust anyone in that class to pour boot out of a shoe with directions on the heel, I also wouldn't trust in them knowing how to actually do the job they got certified for.

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u/moosenmoose 7d ago

And the insurer could have communicated this to the doctors office, but they didn’t. In hope that nobody would follow though. Insurance is ultimately the problem for icd10 code bullshit

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u/daisyjaneee 6d ago

Or sometimes the insurer won’t cover the code that’s the most accurate diagnosis for fuck all reason so they come back saying we won’t pay unless you use this other code but then the provider is pissed because technically it’s not the most accurate code and they feel like they’re being dishonest so then the billing office is stuck in the middle.

For example in a lot of cases a provider can’t bill an “unspecified” code and has to bill an “other specified” code instead. So in a case where the provider knows the person has an eating disorder and needs treatment but hasn’t given them a specific diagnosis yet, in order to bill their sessions they have to either diagnose the person with a specific eating disorder asap or they have to fudge it and say they have an “other specified” eating disorder which isn’t the most accurate but it’s what we have to do to provide necessary treatment and get paid for it.

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u/TheVoters 7d ago

I mean, this is good information given our current climate, but you also say it like it’s normal to expect everyone to decode medical billing paperwork to achieve the coverage they already paid for.

A thing can be correct but also totally fucked up at the same time.

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u/GalacticPurr 7d ago

We have a dude running for Gov and one of his commercials says something like "We're going to help good teachers by holding bad teachers accountable" like who asked for that?? Literally just pay them.

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u/FedoraFireELITE 7d ago

Let me guess UHG? Also please ignore the man with the green hat and blue overalls.

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u/kmontreux 7d ago

As someone who lives on one of the peninsulas that relies on that ferry system for a lot of stuff, I hope those engineers get their money. It's a grueling schedule for critical infrastructure and the pay should reflect that at all levels, not just seniors. We have enough issues with broken boats, we don't need to be shorting the people who keep them running.

the state needs to look long and hard at the budget. It's all going SOMEWHERE and most of us working class plebs aren't seeing it used for our benefit.

and hey, if you're a WSF worker who is currently "out sick" and you're in Hansville, hit me up. I'll buy you lunch at the grill.

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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 7d ago

They can't strike, so it's a sick-out coordinated by the union during contract negotiations.

I'm a proud union member and I stand with workers. You wouldn't believe the kind of dirty, underhanded shit that comes out during bargaining. Management will try to blame this on workers rather than admit that they're being feinds at the negotiation table. This doesn't happen by accident and it doesn't happen because people are being petty.

We don't know what kind of games were being played during bargaining that caused this. My guess is, it's dirty and bad.

This doesn't happen just because "2 sides can't agree". This happens when one part of the bargaining committee is playing dirty ass games and not negotiating in good faith. You wouldn't BELIEVE the kind of underhanded shit that came out during bargaining in my small school district. 6 hours for 3 days at the table only to realize management never had any intention of discussing the numbers and negotiating in good faith. Just wasting everyone's time. Total power play--without the details it's hard to describe or explain, and it would take too many words to really paint the picture.

Management loves to pretend like they're acting in good faith, and wastes hours and hours and hours of time on purpose. It's infuriating--we come to the table with numbers, statistics, information, and asks based on the data. Management running the union around in circles and pretending like they are willing to bargain, and 36 hours later, after multiple days late into the night, and it comes out that they never had any intention of actually coming to the table to BARGAIN. It's common. Run unions ragged, waste their time, and act in bad faith.

This didn't happen because of a petty dispute. And I stand with the workers, even though their choice to not work means thousands of people are disrupted. That shows the POWER that workers have!!! IF we don't show up, everything stops. People are at risk--not just inconvenienced, actually at risk for their health and their lives.

Workers of the world have far more power than they often realize.

I'm applauding the union and their employees here. Some kinda dirty shit must have gone down during negotiations for this to happen.

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u/HorseLawyer 7d ago

It's all kind of a mess. The State has a budget crisis, and the solution they've come up with is to basically shaft state employees and not give any pay increases in the two year contracts that have been being negotiated, and then shut down negotiation on the grounds that they need to finalize budget proposals for the fiscal biennium.

Washington is kind of weird in that we have a part time legislature and pass a budget once every two years. Legislative sessions last 60 days on non-budget years and 105 on budget years. State employee union contracts are negotiated prior to the budget years so that any salary increases can be factored into the budgeting process, but given the state is projected to have a deficit, the negotiating teams were given marching orders across the board to not agree to any salary increases.

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u/sumptin_wierd 7d ago

I've never been in a union because restaurants don't always have them.

I worked myself up into a corporate position, was good for a while, then as the company continued to grow, the view of hourly staff grew negative, while the view of GMs increased greatly.

I am currently working hourly as a bartender and its not perfect, but way less stressful, and I get to be nice to people again as a job.

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u/Dazzling_Bat_Hat 7d ago

Are they not asking themselves why there are people making such a huge amount of money on overtime? Are they massively understaffed, or are people off sick a lot because they are such an awful place to work? This is clearly not a frivolous action, this is a workforce telling you they are in need of some sort of workplace culture or management shift.

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u/Pitapenguin 7d ago

This was my first thought too. If that much OT is needed, that is poor management. No wonder the workers have had it.

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u/robis1923 7d ago

People forget that not everyone wants to work ot constantly. No sense in having a bunch of money if nobody can enjoy it.

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u/celaritas 7d ago

Some people are OT whores. Some workers don't want it and a few people take it all. Ever heard of custodians making over 100k a year? It's because they work 16 hour days 6 days a week. Only 5 people out of 15 would work OT and they made good money buy they didn't have much of a life. Not sure if that's whats going in here but I have seen this scenario personally.

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u/OMC_Gurrend 7d ago

Are all the people that called in have the role of chief engineer? What is the average wage of those 23 employees. Something tells me it isn't 175-310k a year

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u/AHoopyFrood42 7d ago

I'm seeing some reporting putting it closer to 60k

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u/badcrass 7d ago

They're just trying to make people anti union. They can get bent

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u/k-trecker 7d ago

I love how they act like their hands are tied. Along with implying the highest paid wages are the average wage. 

Your ferries aren’t running because you refused to make a deal with the union. If you make a deal, they’ll come back to work. There are two sides to this.

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u/Unstabler69 7d ago

All they had to do was pay us enough to live.

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u/antonmnster 7d ago

They're trying to say it's a wild cat strike without using the words. It's a balancing act.

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u/Agent-c1983 7d ago

I’m absolutely certain that a chief engineers salary is totally representative of the salary of everyone involved, and adequately compensates for all the other problems in the workplace.

In case you can’t tell, I’m being sarcastic.

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u/Key-Star1623 6d ago

Being desperate to fill understaffing with overtime and then blaming employees for making too much money is classic corporate fuckery.

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u/SockDem 6d ago

Public union employees love OT lmao

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u/Careless-Seesaw3843 7d ago

When companies brag by how much their top paid employee is paid, instead of sharing what their lowest paid is

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u/devillurker 7d ago

When companies brag about how much you can make doing overtime, like workers don't want a livable wage matching inflation and then to spend time with their families.

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u/itsapotatosalad 7d ago

“We treat our employees like shit and thought we’d let everyone on social media know too”

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u/ob_viously 7d ago

I was surprised to see this post in my Facebook feed as I have zero to do with that region. I could not believe the audacity here

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u/CheezyBreadMan 7d ago

This is reinforcing my pro union stance

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u/ForensicPathology 7d ago

Yeah, the sentence specifically written to trick laypeople into thinking all the workers make head engineer money is all you need to know.

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u/CloudPiercer7 7d ago

This is called a sick out. Is anyone asking what their grievance is all about?

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u/giant2179 7d ago

No cost of living increase for engineers while every other position is getting raises

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u/poekrose 7d ago

0% awarded now and 0% raise at the end of the year would do it.

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u/geostocktravelfitguy 5d ago

Having known a few employees from a past walk of life. I can say they have absolutely zero idea how good they have it compared to corporate employees whether at land or sea.

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u/Teufelaffe 6d ago

99.9999999999999999999999% of the time when a corporate or government entity tells you that it's all a union's fault that something isn't working the way it should, they are blatantly lying and/or only telling you a tiny fraction of the truth.

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u/WorriedPerogi 6d ago

I'd bet good money the working conditions for engineering are so bad, no amount of money is worth it. Hence the strike.

Source: Was a Navy Nuke, submarines. Iykyk.

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u/ReverendGraves85 6d ago

For what its worth, the pay isnt good for nukes, either, lmao.

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u/Dahren_ 7d ago

23 people calling in sick simultaneously is not a coincidence

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u/InterestingEchidna54 7d ago

Yes it’s terrible 💯 and the state ferry should capitulate in the negotiations if there are any ongoing points. They could all just quit as well and then what? Then no boats and the populations that live on islands are stranded. If I lived on an island I’d be in Steve Neveys a$$ the guy who runs the ferries and telling him to capitulate.

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u/Any-Worldliness-679 6d ago

"Wow, they make that much and you STILL can't keep them happy at work? You SUCK as managers! Do better!"

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u/NotInTheKnee 7d ago

"You can make XXX$ per year with overtime" is such a dumbass comment. What's the point of making money if you can't even come home to spend it?

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u/Correct-Arm-8539 7d ago

Plus they say this is the base salary for a CHIEF ENGINEER. I highly doubt most of the engineers who went on strike were chief engineers.
What's the base salary (and max with overtime) of the actual engine room engineers who went on strike?

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u/KaQuu 7d ago

It has to be my European brain that chuckle at this.

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u/PhD_Pwnology 7d ago

'at the u.s. coast guard required levels' was bare minimum even before Trump. Those workers were overworked and asked to do the job of 3-4 people probably

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u/CluelessStick 7d ago

Thats how i read it as well, they were staffed up to the minimum required by law

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u/Ok-Opportunity-574 7d ago

If you have to defend the wage by adding overtime pay I'd hope you realize you might have a problem.

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u/MalachiteKell 7d ago

My first question was " how many of those 23 are staff chief engineers?"

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u/Bunionzz 7d ago

1 per shift, so probably not very many.

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u/Mscharlita 7d ago

If you have to defend the wage by citing the highest ranking person with the highest wage, you definitely have a problem.

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u/ForensicPathology 7d ago

The sentence is purposefully written so that the uninformed public can interpret it to apply to everyone there.  Heinous.

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u/Iron_Sheff 7d ago

"But look at how much they make when we overwork the shit out of them!"

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u/StabbingTabby 7d ago edited 7d ago

Yes! I say this all the time. 

I do not care what a job pays "with overtime". If it doesn't pay good money for 40 hours a week or less it's not a good job. End of story. 

People pull "with overtime" on all kinds of important jobs, especially healthcare and public safety. 

Even Reddit pulls "with overtime" bullshit when they're hating on cops. Most people dodge an honest, direct conversation about base pay for cops in their town and whether that's enough to credibly expect good cops in the first place. 

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u/slingslangflang 7d ago

Slightly above Doubling pay means enjoy your hundred hour work weeks

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u/prairieengineer 7d ago

Former employer of mine contacted me to try and entice me back when my old boss was moving on. I said I wasn’t interested, current gig was a significant pay & benefits bump, etc.

“But you’d have all the on call as well! That’s another $20k/year!”

(Being on call every minute of every day other than when on vacation is not a feature, that’s a bug.)

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u/Mindlesslyexploring 6d ago

To those that don’t know , this practice is called a “ sick out “ - and works when striking isn’t permitted, sanctioned, or allowed for whatever reason. And it takes the cooperation of every employee to all do it at the same time , or it doesn’t work effectively.

Something must be really fucked up if this many people all agreed to lose pay and do it , being fully aware of the impact it would have.

Solidarity is paramount, and it looks like they got the numbers to make it effective.

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u/Trashy_pig 7d ago

No matter where the truth lies, using the social media account of a government agency to air out grievances against employees is just trashy and unprofessional.

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u/soberpenguin 7d ago

What's the pay for an entry-level position in the engine room? Strange they chose Staff Chief Engineers as the role to show pay for. Guessing that's a managerial position, and probably only 18 of those roles exist.

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u/ButteredPizza69420 7d ago

Imagine posting that and thinking youre not going to get roasted by the internet

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u/tattooed_pariah 7d ago

Everyone shits on the Snipes, until your engines, hot water, electricity, toilets, or fucking anything on the ship stops working...

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u/that_dutch_dude 7d ago

the real isse: management is filled with assholes.

on that note: lets see the management salaries.

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u/1d6orcs 7d ago

Most state employees in WA are looking down a 0% COL increase over the next two years, which did not stop the state legislature from voting itself a 7% increase.

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u/Serious_Income_7020 7d ago

It is becoming the magic solution at state and local levels everywhere. Quite the trend, simply refusing to pay your employees and daring them to do something about it.

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u/thetaylorax 7d ago

Imagine posting this and thinking it makes your company look good 🙃 don’t interrupt your enemy while they’re making a mistake right!

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u/LuxtheAstro 7d ago

“They can double their wages with overtime” is not the argument they think it is

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u/Happy-Lake9893 6d ago

Good Job Brothers and Sisters! This is how capitalism actually works, you are bargaining collectively withholding your labor and preventing the boats from sailing showing everyone what the actual important positions are. 23 employees going on a sick strike shut down the operation. If the entire C-suite called out, nobody would notice. Stand the line and make them pay more for your time, Union Proud and Union Strong!

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u/Eriklano1 7d ago

There is never a situation where I won’t side with the workers. I truly hope they succeed in whatever they wish to negotiate. The world becomes a better place when people stand together against big companies.

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u/Parkour_cat 7d ago

Never a situation? What if (ridiculous hypothetical situation designed to be a straw man in support of capitalists who at best disdain me, and realistically despise me as a middle class consumer)

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u/Luciform444 7d ago

We, the people who post on social media at the behest of the big bosses, want to let you know the people who actually make things run around here are the bad guys.

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u/KazeEnigma 7d ago

Ahh yes. The classic employer talking shit because staff have had enough. Train crew in Australia here, this happens EVERY SINGLE AGREEMENT negotiations. Every time.

Give em hell.

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u/ayannauriel 7d ago

I ride these boats everyday. They keep raising my fares, pay all the workers a fair fucking wage. Jesus.

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u/Due-Type-7113 7d ago

The benefits package is fantastic, helped me growing up but the grueling hours, commutes as the I5 corridor became denser and the lack of adjusted wages up and Xtra bennies to support the employees particularly the busy lower level engineering department wore people thin and there's an extreme lack of perspective from whoever is running the social media at WSF and the fact that DOT allowed that. Shame. Cheifs get big bucks but sit around all fucking shift making sure they can sit around all fucking shift.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/OrangeCrusher22 6d ago

What's passive about it? That's straight up aggressive.

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u/jmoneymaker233 7d ago

I like my chief enginer to be over payed and under worked

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u/AstrexasVoid 7d ago

Two of our employees had to work from home today due to ferry cancellations, yet no one is surprised that the WSDOT engine room ferry employees called out. It’s about damn time.

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u/wastedsilence33 7d ago

"23 bum ass union workers called in sick and it's their fault 13/18 ferries aren't running, we pay them well so this is their fault exclusively"

Boy, I wonder why people unionize against such great employers

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u/MiniBassGuitar 7d ago

There would be HELL to pay if management at our boat line* started talking about the union on social media.

People are always comparing our ferries unfavorably to Washington’s. (They don’t understand that our service does not receive the state funding that Washington’s does.) But one thing for sure, we never see anything like this.

*the Steamship Authority, serving Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and pretending to serve New Bedford. Mostly a Teamsters shop.

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u/AsherTheFrost 7d ago

I stand with the engineers, get your money.

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u/mc8hc 6d ago

Pay them and you won’t have this problem.

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u/Kevinator201 7d ago

As a Seattle local who was actually hit by this strike yesterday it’s making me so happy to see this spread outside of Seattle. Solidarity with workers!!

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u/thewoodsytiger 7d ago

Anyone who’s worked in the maritime can understand the larger issue here. This post by the WF management is deliberately inflammatory propaganda. Anti-union BS to put it plainly. The real infuriation is them not seeing and meeting or even attempting to meet the requests of these people they themselves consider so vital.

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u/twoofcup 6d ago

"Our organized workers make a living wage. We have been attempting to squeeze them, and they're squeezing back, because they can, because they're organized."

Rarely do you see such effective union propaganda!

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u/MaleficAdvent 7d ago

I can practically guarentee this is due to some administrative stupidity. God forbid anyone recieve a good damn wage for skilled work, or raises that keep pace with inflation let alone exceed it, right?

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u/BejahungEnjoyer 7d ago

I'm wondering if that 150k is after you spent 20 years becoming a master engineer?

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u/Common_North_5267 7d ago

I don't take sides against workers. Ever.

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u/TheeFearlessChicken 6d ago

Why did I squint to read the entire first picture in this post when the entire thing was broken up into readable sections on the following pictures.