From the Associated Press
After months of “tough” negotiations, a tentative agreement in the next ferry workers contract has been reached, saving the state $10 million annually, Gov. Chris Gregoire and a union leader said Friday, March 4.
Details were sparse on the agreement, but Gregoire and labor representative Tim Saffle of the Masters Mates and Pilots union say they hope to have the contract ratified by ferry workers in the next month.
The tentative agreement is likely to include wage cuts, similar to the 3 percent salary reduction other state workers have agreed to, amounting to about $3.4 million savings annually.
….The ferry system also came under scrutiny this year after a report by the Seattle news channel King 5 that showed some ferry workers collecting high salaries from the practice of paying workers for their time and mileage traveling to and from a shift.
Saffle said that those provisions in the contract have been “addressed.”
…..Earlier this year, Gregoire proposed transforming the ferry system from a fully state-funded operation to one controlled and paid-for by ferry-using counties with some state money. That proposal went nowhere after key lawmakers disagreed.To read the full article, go to seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/gregoireferries
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