OLYMPIA – Majority Leader Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle) released the following statement regarding today’s ferry service disruption:
“Ferries are a vital, integral part of our transportation system in Washington state. Thousands of Washingtonians, including Vashon-Maury Islanders, have been impacted by today’s service disruptions.
“When ferries are out of service, it hurts everyone. Many Washingtonians missed school, work, medical appointments, and other important commitments due to today’s ferry cancellations. That should be unacceptable to all of us, no matter the cause. I am committed to working in the 2027 session to see that disruptions of this magnitude never happen again.
“Per WSDOT, 13 of our 18 ferries were unable to run due to unexpected staff vacancies in the engine rooms. Because the employees qualified to fill these vacancies declined to fill in, those ferries could not be put in service.
“Regardless of the reason for these outages, the Legislature must work to ensure that our ferries have the staffing they need to run safely and consistently. RCW 47.64.140 prohibits strikes by ferry system employees because of how vital ferries are to our communities. The Legislature has a duty to ensure that the spirit and letter of the law can be upheld so that these types of service disruptions don’t impact Washington families again.”
