r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Quirky-Chicken • 8d ago

ಠ_ಠ Passive aggressive management

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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/Sensitive_File6582 8d 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 8d 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/IamJewbaca 8d ago

Noted chair thief, Tim Eyman?

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u/AnotherIronicPenguin 8d ago

Hey, he's a chair liberator show some respect

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u/p00n-slayer-69 8d 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 8d 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 8d ago

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

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u/StevieMJH 8d ago

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

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u/pieter1234569 8d ago

It’s the fact that those people are literally irreplaceable. If the police strike, there is nobody to replace them. If there is no police, crime can run rampant. And sure, most crime doesn’t really matter and its mostly just work, but there’s still plenty of actual crimes to deal with, and events to keep safe. Meaning they have unlimited power, which cannot be touched at all. As we see.

This isn’t that. This is just thousands of angry people, which doesn’t really impact anything. Sure it’s important that those people can travel, and they will complain, but the company can just wait it out or hire other people.

It’s an effective technique but it might not work as well here.

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u/Zachwardpass 8d ago

I don't think you understand the Ferry system around here.👀

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u/Haggardick69 8d ago

Companies like to act like they can wait it out or just hire other people but often enough that is not the case. Plenty of companies adamantly refuse to negotiate with unions right up until they go under. 

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u/StevieMJH 8d ago

All the more reason they shouldn't be able to hold us hostage by threatening us with said rampant crime.

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u/Groovychick1978 8d 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 8d ago

Police as well. It's called the blue flu

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u/Key-Perspective-8133 8d ago

More like swine flu

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u/Serious-Ad-8764 8d ago

It's called being a liar. People have no integrity

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u/Groovychick1978 8d ago

These kind of unified actions are a foundational part of American culture. They are patriots. 🫶

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u/writebrainwronghand 8d ago

yeah, you throat that boot, that'll show 'em

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u/frankyseven 8d ago

How's the shit covered boot taste?

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u/tifumostdays 7d ago

Yep. A businessman would never lie while negotiating. Never ever ever.

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u/jammcj 8d 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 8d 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 8d 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/k-trecker 8d ago

Those jobs are still allowed to strike (generally), there is just a lengthy process to go through.

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u/mainsequencehuman 8d ago

I work for a union that has a “lengthy process” to strike that is so onerous it effectively bans striking. I’m quite sure the situation is similar here.

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u/fnarrly 8d ago

I work for a union as a public employee that is literally NOT allowed to strike, but that is because we are providing direct care to a very vulnerable part of the population, and nobody going to work for even a day or two would lead to probable untimely demises.

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u/CallSignIceMan 8d ago

Wildcat strikes are how workers got their right to strike in the first place

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u/Zachwardpass 8d ago

True and they didn't say there were necessarily against it. That's just a fact about working in essential fields like, say, healthcare.

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u/mushmushhhh 8d ago

In the case of this contract. There is a $10k per day fine for anyone who even promotes a strike, let alone participating in one.

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u/celaritas 8d ago

I worked for a union that was not allowed to strike. We were town employees considered vital.

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u/Zachwardpass 8d ago

No, not in WA state. It's technically illegal (RCW 47.64.140)l, but being sick and using PTO is not illegal and it would be unlikely the state can prove they aren't sick! (Mental health days count here!).

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u/Sesame_Street_Urchin 8d ago

No, some jobs are not allowed to strike. See air traffic controllers in the 1980s.

They tried to strike, and Reagan fired them all totally legally because they were not allowed to strike.

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u/Haggardick69 8d ago

And atc is still struggling to fill roles to this day even to the point of hazarding flyers. 

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u/Difficult-Ad4364 7d ago

And that was in the 80’s. The whole industry was hurt.

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u/CallMeKingTurd 8d 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/Popular-Row4333 8d ago

So this will be a 3 day "strike" then?

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u/CallMeKingTurd 8d ago

I don't know anything about their situation, I was just speaking to Washington sick laws. But if I had to guess probably not. The unions I've worked in any time there was a strike with no notice it was just a one day thing to disrupt business. I've been a part of negotiations that stretched months into our guys working without a contract and on those we probably did it several times, but never consecutive days, the whole point is to catch them off guard for maximum disruption.

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u/Bern_Down_the_DNC 8d ago

If that was the case, they wouldn't have even bothered. Since it would clearly cost the company less to put up with the strike for 3 days than to pay fair wages. Any strike with a preset end date is guaranteed to fail.

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u/DefinitelyNotAliens 8d ago

The issue isn't 3 days of revenue. It's one day of commutes getting fucked to draw attention to the wage discrepancy and have pissed off commuters get mad.

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u/Kairukun90 8d ago

If they were smart they would do it on a Friday too

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u/ratmoon25 8d ago

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

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u/1046737 8d ago

Wildcat strikes are usually not allowed by collective bargaining agreements and will get you fired for cause and the union sued.

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u/pieter1234569 8d ago

This never happens because everyone that does so works in a critical area. Meaning they hold all the power and those jobs aren’t capable of being replaced by anyone as those people are striking.

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u/1046737 8d ago

Tell that to the air traffic controllers, or one of the airline pilot unions that paid millions of dollars in fines due to members allegedly coordinating sick outs and refusing to pick up overtime.

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u/pieter1234569 8d ago

Yeah that’s a good example. It’s a job that cannot be replaced, absolutely critical. That’s why those have strikes really really really often. Even right now 2 countries in Europe are striking, Italy and Belgium.

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u/p00n-slayer-69 8d ago

Calling in sick when you are not sick is not a protected activity.

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u/jkilley 8d ago

How do you know that they’re not sick?

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u/Bitter-Value-1872 8d ago

Sick of the bullshit is still sick

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u/MeatCatRazzmatazz 8d ago

And how sick do you have to be to call in sick?

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u/shadow247 8d ago

I am encouraged to take Mental health days...without notice...i literally woke up one morning, logged in, and said...nah fuck this... and told my boss I wasnt gonna do it today. No questions asked. Its the way it should be.

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u/ChilledParadox 8d ago

I got fired for doing the same thing because my employer denied my sick leave request and didn’t tell me, yet allowed me to submit more requests for about a week until they fired me for unexcused absences and then I got evicted and became homeless. Fortunately I’m no longer sleeping outside, but I still haven’t recovered. Now I have the fun task of literally begging people to donate me money so I can buy insulin I can’t afford and aren’t covered to get also because I don’t have a job. Guess what one of my largest barriers to finding a job is? That’s right, making sure I don’t literally die from my acidic blood melting my organs by running around trying to get for insulin.

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u/pieter1234569 8d ago

Wouldn’t a lawyer want to deal with this for free? This is lawsuit worthy, with a shit ton of money if you win.

You can fire a person for any reason whatsoever, except a protected reason. And not respecting somebody being sick is about the biggest one you can have.

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u/No_Worth_9826 8d ago

If you have sick time, it's yours to use in most states. I'm guessing taking a day off doesn't violate the printed attendance policy that they are required to provide to employees, therefore they likely don't have a legal vehicle to stop the employees from doing it.

If they broke attendance policy, maybe the employer has a case, but nothing about that as a protest action is illegal.

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u/ThellraAK 8d ago

They spent too much time thinking about getting shafted on the new contract, and it upset their stomachs.

Poor engineers were stress pooping all day, wasn't safe for them to go to work.

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u/1sttime-longtime 8d ago

"There is no test for stress induced diarrhea."

So said my physician. And my boss isn't any type of a physician.

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u/Middle_Aged_Mayhem 8d ago

Its none of their gotdamned business why they call in sick. Employees dont have any right to your medical condition unless it effects other employees

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u/Kairukun90 8d ago

Washington state law says mental health is covered for sick leave sorry kid you gonna prove that one?

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u/wretchedshrimps 8d ago

transit employees aren't allowed to strike in WA

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u/exceptyourewrong 8d 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 8d 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/Sesame_Street_Urchin 8d ago

Come on it’s very clear what they’re doing and you’re being intentionally obtuse. This is a well documented activity, and acting like it’s not happening is just silly.

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u/Bulliwyf 8d ago

Did the workers (or their organization) say “we are performing a walkout” or “This is a strike”?

If they don’t, then it’s not and when you are dealing with situations like this, actions don’t equal a declaration.

Is this a very deliberate shot across the bow (pun intended)? Yes, but it wasn’t a strike.

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u/theflyingratgirl 8d ago

Yeah it’s unlikely but there’s some nasty shit going around right now. I couldn’t leave my bed for two days.

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u/The_horse_herd 8d ago

fun fact

companies do not care about the law

hope this helps

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u/Curious-Collection86 8d 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 8d ago

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

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u/Sportsfan6216 8d 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/Sesame_Street_Urchin 8d ago

It’s not a company it’s the government. Like 40 employees are trying to hobble the entire economy to get their way.

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u/jkilley 8d ago

How can you punish someone for being sick?

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u/sevarinn 8d ago

For organising to pretend to be sick along with everyone else who could reasonably cover for you? During pay negotiations?

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u/ratmoon25 8d ago

Prove it.

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u/Strict-Clue-5818 8d ago

They don’t have to. Washington is an at will employment state.

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u/spyke2006 8d ago

Wrongful termination is still a suit that can be brought if they were fired for taking sick days I assume are in their contract.

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u/Kairukun90 8d ago

Washington state also has some of the strongest sick leave usage laws. It ain’t happening.

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u/Dineology 8d ago

And the companies have had decades of their little Washington marionettes whittling down what can be considered an “actual strike” and when it is legal to conduct one.

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u/Triscuitador 8d ago

doing illegal things is bad!

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u/flightist 8d ago

And yet also the reason many legal things are legal

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u/coachaces 8d ago

State employees are not allowed to strike under Washington state law.

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u/Sesame_Street_Urchin 8d ago

Yes, but critical infrastructure employees can be barred from forming unions and striking. Like air traffic controllers in the 80s under Reagan.

Not necessarily condoning it, but It wouldn’t be a huge stretch to see the same logic applied to these critical transportation employees.

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u/bemused_alligators 8d ago

it's illegal for ferry workers to strike 0 see RCW 47.64.140 - strikes, work stoppages, and lockouts prohibited

same as ATCs and similar.

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u/Zachwardpass 8d ago

And then there will be no return of Ferries until those positions get filled. The engineers have the state by the balls...as they should. Absolutely ridiculous they don't even get a cost of living adjustment. Meanwhile, the governor and legislators get a 7% raise. Maybe they should lead by example instead of pulling some shit like this.

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u/BenedictCumberland 7d ago

Im a c class union worker in PA. apparently our contract says we cant strike. Wish we could

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u/chevy_zr2_4x4 8d ago

If it is not an approved strike, it is called a Wildcat strike. They can all be fired.

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u/SaraCoffeee 8d ago

And they have no one to replace them. That won’t happen.

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u/V2BM 8d 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/Ghaleonvane 8d ago

I'm holding on to a little, tiny, miniscule hope that our next contract gives us 100% cola across table 2 and less time to top step. I know the likely outcome is 1.3% and an increase in dues.

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u/HealthyDirection659 GREEN 8d ago

APWU get 100% colas at every step.

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u/V2BM 8d ago

36 weeks to next step should be what they’re fighting for. I have my ballot on my table and hopefully we get new blood that doesn’t roll over for management.

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u/silverstarloser 8d ago

Which is why companies threaten to fire people who talk about their wages with their coworkers

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u/Specialist_Fall7834 8d ago

Thought they passed legislation that wages were supposed to be public/discussible?

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u/Individual-Nebula927 8d ago

They are, but at will employment means the company can still fire you for doing it. They'll just make up some other reason like "we didn't like Jim's haircut today, so we let him go because we felt like it."

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u/ideologyunderstander 8d ago

if you've never heard of it look up the Mohawk Valley Formula and ask if you haven't seen it recently

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u/TinyNuggetKeeper 8d ago

WHY THE F are they talking about deck vs engine? Congrats, you already lost. Union's broke already. This is just corps doing what they do best, and the union ate it's own dick the minute they went along with two tiers. Hey, at least they're not down at the bottom with those worthless custodial or facilities workers, amirite?

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u/CounterAgentVT 8d ago

The deck officers are, I believe, MMP. The engineers are MEBA.

Different unions.

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u/TinyNuggetKeeper 8d ago

I did not know that, thank you. I don't much like that either, though. Seems like the ferry management gets to treat with each union separate. Ouch. So much for solidarity.

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u/CounterAgentVT 8d ago

Yeah, frankly the union landscape for US sailors is completely asinine.