||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES by ELISABETH BRITT & MICHAEL RIORDAN |||
“Washington State Ferries should stop outsourcing management of island terminals ”
Originally reported by Seattle Times
Unlike other terminals in the Washington State Ferries system, those in the San Juan Islands are operated by private, for-profit companies under contract with WSF. This has led to looser standards, sporadic mismanagement, low wages and benefits, and inadequate workplace safety.
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To make the ferry landing safer, I suggest installing surveillance cameras at strategic locations. They would serve as a deterrent and provide evidence in the event of unacceptable behavior.
Times have changed at our ferry landing since my son Phil spent a summer helping Margaret keep the lines moving forty years ago. Back then it was a cool way for a college kid to spend the summer…not any more. This Seattle Times story deserves a read by anyone concerned about our ferry landing and the circumstances which staff must deal with. As hard as it is to imagine, a recent event occurred where a car driver who was not authorized to board actually pushed a ferry loading attendant down the ramp WIT!!H HER CAR…something usually characterized as vehicular assault…and it wasn’t a tourist !! Looks like there may be some local impacts from our national and global trend away from a “rules-based order”.
That’s a wonderful idea, Fran. Given all the threats voiced and incidents that have occurred and could occur, I am flabbergasted that neither WSF nor the Orcas Island terminal agents have thought to install, maintain and operate a series of security cameras at key points around the landing. It’s just another indicative example of their lack of care for the welfare of the poor landing staffers.
For over two years, I worked at the Orcas Island Ferry Terminal, coordinating vehicle boarding from the upper booth and ensuring the safe flow of traffic onto Washington State Ferries. It’s a job that demands vigilance, patience, and a deep respect for public safety. But what happens when the systems meant to protect workers fail to respond?
I was assaulted twice by vehicles while on duty—both incidents involved customers aggressively lane-cutting and forcing their way onto the vessel.
The first event occurred on February 6, 2025, when a driver in a white car came directly at me in the lot, by passing reservation holders, grazing my body as they sped down the hill toward the ferry. I asked the vessel to turn the driver away. But they did not. I reported the incident immediately to the terminal agent by text, and later to a deputy sheriff, who asked what outcome I hoped to achieve. I requested that the individual be trespassed. The bosun even provided the license plate number. But no follow-up ever occurred.
The second incident happened on July 14, 2025. My first day working the ramp. A driver pushed me down the ramp with her van to force her way onto the vessel. She didn’t have a reservation, nor did she possess a priority medical boarding pass. Yet she felt entitled to physically threaten me to get on the boat. Despite the physical nature of the assault and the clear violation of boarding protocol, the vessel allowed her to board.
I didn’t report this second incident right away. Instead, I wrote a letter to the editor, asking the community for compassion and awareness. In response, the new terminal agent presented me with a social media policy stating that I was not allowed to discuss safety violations with anyone but him. The message was clear: silence, not safety, was the priority. I did file a report with a deputy sheriff, after an attorney verified that I had the right to report the event.
But the Prosecuting Attorney later declined to pursue charges. The reason I was given? I wasn’t issued a flagger card by my employer. That technicality became the barrier between justice and silence. I ultimately resigned. I couldn’t risk a third incident.
This isn’t just about me. It’s about the broader culture of safety—or lack thereof—at public transportation terminals. When frontline workers are left vulnerable, when reports are dismissed or buried, and when basic safety certifications and training are withheld, it sends a clear message: your safety is negotiable.
We are your neighbors. Members of your community. We show up to work in the rain, in the cold, and on Christmas day; even in the chaos of summer traffic—not just to keep things moving, but to keep people safe. That safety must extend to us, too.
I’m sharing this not to assign blame, but to advocate for change. Workers deserve to be protected. Assaults—whether by vehicle or otherwise—should never be normalized or ignored. If you’ve experienced something similar, I encourage you to speak up. And if you’re able to improve safety standards, please do.
Because no one should have to choose between doing their job and staying alive.
“Looks like there may be some local impacts from our national and global trend away from a “rules-based order”.”
I agree that changes need to be made, and though I’m not a big advocate of warrantless surveillance, I also think that security cameras at the landing and on the ferries are a no-brainer. That being said, I had to laugh at Fred’s attempt to make this into a political statement by stating, “Looks like there may be some local impacts from our national and global trend away from a “rules-based order.”
Fred, though you’d have to ask the lady involved in the assault on our ferry worker (which was/is absolutely inexcusable), whether she was politically motivated or not, your comment begs an observation at what has been happening “before this administration” under the U.S. led policy that has taken us away from the system of United Nations order, to the newer construct of U.S. based rules based order.
One has to wonder, how come it’s always poor, resource rich countries inhabited by dark-skinned peoples that suffer under the U.S. led, NATO backed, rules-based order system.
Rules-Based International Order–
“We’re going to take out seven countries in five years starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off Iran.” Gen. Wesley Clark
“What US foreign policy shamelessly amounts to is this: ‘We make the rules so we get to break the rules.'” Norman Solomon
“Currently, two concepts of world order are counterposed: the UN system and the “rules-based” system, correlating closely with multipolarity and unipolarity, the latter meaning U.S. dominance. The U.S. and its allies (or “vassals” or “subimperial states” as they are sometimes called) reject the UN system and demand adherence to the rules-based system. The rest of the world generally supports the UN system and multipolarity.” Noam Chomsky
“The results are also the same. The justifications and narratives are exposed as lies. The cheery prognosis is false. Those on whose behalf we are supposedly fighting are as venal as those we are fighting against.” Chris Hedges
Not getting on an Orcas ferry that a customer expects to make, either with a reservation or standby, can ruin someone’s day. It has mine. It’s not like there is a ferry a half hour later. There is always going to be a small percentage of the public that will get verbally upset or try to get on by some form of line-cutting. If they do get on the ferry, the delay makes departure delayed if the ferry crew has to try to order a vehicle to back off the ferry.
The fundamental problem is lack of sufficient capacity in the mornings and primarily Sunday or after a holiday weekend during afternoons and evenings in the summer. Cameras might show incidents, but finding and prosecuting a driver is time consuming, expensive for taxpayers, and unless there is something really serious such as an injury, the county prosecutor likely isn’t going to pursue a case. The capacity problem is a solvable with ferries of larger vehicle capacity or running five ferries in the summer months (that used to happen before Covid), but the San Juans were designated as tourist routes when the WSF’s did their 20 year plan in 2009, and the objective of tourists routes was full vessels, whereas the lower Sound routes were commuter routes with more considerable my vessel sailings and capacity. The last update of that plan didn’t change that the tourist/commuter silo of thinking at WSF headquarters, although they have prioritized the San Juans after the miserable reliability when they cut back of number of vessels operating to allegedly due to Covid crews who refused to get vaccinations.
Who manages the terminals likely isn’t going to change occasional public bad behavior. It’s not the only WSF terminal that has line cutting and verbal abuse happening, but it does have a smaller staff because there are fewer sailings than on many other routes.
Robert Dashiell’s comment underscores the laxity with which criminal activities are regarded and treated at the Orcas ferry terminal, which is a good part of the reason that my partner Elisabeth Britt finally decided to quit this thankless job. Not only is it poorly paid, given the long hours and risks of body injury involved, but the terminal managers, WSF crews and officials, and local law enforcement take these matters much too lightly here. Yes, criminal activities! Lane jumping is a misdemeanor according to state law and vehicular assault a felony if it results in bodily harm to the affected party.
By contrast, such criminal activities are taken much more seriously at the Anacortes terminal. As I drove up to the ticket booth on Wednesday evening, there was a prominent sign reading in bold, all-caps lettering stating: ASSAULTS ON WASHINGTON STATE EMPLOYEES WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW, CHAPTER 47.60 RCW. Of course, Orcas Island terminal employees are unfortunately NOT “state employees,” so the presumably are not covered by RCW 47.60 and therefore can be abused by ferry customers.
Furthermore, the ferry lanes at Anacortes are surrounded by high chain-link fences, so it would be difficult if not impossible for any such perpetrators to escape law enforcement — at least not in their vehicles. And lo and behold, as I boarded from lane 13, I had to drive around a vehicle at the very front of the lane that had been stopped by two Anacortes police (not State Patrol) officers who were interrogating its driver. WSF Anacortes obviously takes worker safety seriously.
But this is clearly not at all the case on Orcas Island. When Elisabeth complained publicly in a letter to the Orcasonian editor about the July 14 incident, the new Orcas terminal agent did little but present her with a set of social media policies aimed at gagging employees regarding such incidents. With essentially zero experience in the WSF system and its concerns about worker safety, this “manager” was of little help in dealing with her complaint. He seemed much more concerned about the publicity impacts on his nascent company’s “brand.”
WSF officials were of little help, either. The ferry captain permitted the lane-jumping woman illegally driving down the ramp to board the vessel, and nothing has yet to be done (to our knowledge) to restrain her from such further activities. And the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney Amy Vira decided not to do her job and prosecute this individual, largely on limp technicalities.
For nearly a year, I have been urging Elisabeth to quit this risky, ill-paid job and find a position better suited to her strong personal qualifications, which has now happened. This incident was figuratively the “straw that broke the camel’s back” and literally drove her over the edge. The real losers are the good, law-abiding citizens of Orcas Island, who will no longer be able to enjoy her warm personality and caring services when the drive up to the booth.