Talks resume, but it’s unclear whether ferry kitchens will reopen.
After nearly a year without food service on the Bainbridge ferry, some belly rumblings have turned into verbal grumblings.
“It’s a consistent frustration,” said frequent rider and Bainbridge Ferry Advisory Commitee member David Groves. “After a year of no service, I wanted to know what was going on.”
Groves has watched the battle between the Inlandboatmen’s Union, which represents galley workers, and Olympic Cascade Services, the Vancouver-based food service company that won contracts for the Bainbridge, Bremerton and Kingston runs.
The sides have wrangled over wages and staffing levels, with negotiations as late as last week failing to produce an agreement.
As the union and Cascade kicked up dust over three of the system’s most popular routes, a small Vashon Island company quietly negotiated a food service contract that union members were happy to sign on to.
Now commuters on the Vashon to Seattle route enjoy soup, sandwiches, salads, fresh-baked pastries, Washington wines and microbrews. Groves wonders why Bainbridge riders still go hungry.
“Why WSF doesn’t light a fire under Cascade is perplexing,” he said. His concern led him to seek contract documents from the state ferries, which he says included a clause allowing WSF to drop Cascade and seek a new bidder for the three runs.
Traci Brewer-Rogstad, WSF assistant director of operations, said that WSF could, if offered better options, “make the call” to drop Cascade. “But in this case,” she said, “we’re not going to make that call.”
WSF spokeswoman Celia Schorr did say, however, that the state’s relations with both the union and Cascade have taken “a new tone.”
“(Washington State Director of Transportation) Doug MacDonald has made clear he wants to encourage the IBU to work as a partner with the concessioner,” she said. “But it’s up to them to work out the details.”
Groves believes pressure from MacDonald and new acting WSF director Mike Anderson, who replaced Mike Thorne in November, have pushed the sides to the table after a long period in which neither would budge.
Dennis Conklin, the union’s regional director, partly confirms Groves’ belief. Conklin, who has headed the IBU’s negotiations with Cascade, said he believes WSF wants the vendor to agree to terms reached between the union and Sound Foods, the concessionaire on the Vashon run.
“The new standard is the Sound Foods contract,” Conklin said. “WSF is saying, ‘if Sound Foods can make it work, why couldn’t the most profitable runs in the system make it?’”
Sound Foods, which has run a bakery and cafe on Vashon Island since 1974, pays union galley workers $13.50 per hour. The union had initially asked for $15, but agreed to cuts, including reductions in benefits and overtime pay.
Bill Dorn, owner of Sound Foods, said he expects his venture on state ferries to turn a profit by May. He’s been pleased with his relationship with the union.
“I couldn’t be happier with the IBU,” he said. “They work extremely hard and are very professional.”
Dorn says other union ferry workers not on Sound Foods’ payroll have gone out of their way to help his small business.
“Even the deckhands have been supportive,” he said. “Sometimes, when we run out of supplies, they’ll run over and pick some up from one of the other (Vashon) ferries.”
Conklin said the union has nearly sealed a deal with the CDX Corporation to provide pizza, hamburgers, Mexican and Asian food on the Mukilteo to Clinton run.
“We’re 95 percent there,” he said after a Wednesday meeting with the Mukilteo business. “We gave them a proposal similar to Sound Foods, and I think we’re nearly done.”
Cascade representatives could not be reached for comment, despite repeated phone calls over a period of several days. President Nove Meyer has said previously that his company’s offer was for twice the industry pay standard.
Last year, concessionaire Sodexho terminated its long-standing contract to provide all state ferries with food service, citing financial losses due to labor costs, declining ridership and a slow economy.
The company’s typical fare – popcorn, hamburgers, clam chowder – also garnered lukewarm responses from riders, who spent an average of 50 cents a trip.
Dorn said his company offers a more upscale, wholesome menu that Vashon riders seem to enjoy. He said the higher rates he’s found riders are willing to pay help offset the $13.50 he pays to workers.
Groves said Bainbridge residents would likely spend as much as Vashon Islanders.
“There’s no way someone couldn’t make a profit on our ferry,” he said. “It’s the biggest run and most people I talk to would rather pay stadium prices for good food than use those vending machines.”
Conklin agrees, saying that the 6.8 million annual riders on the Bainbridge route could easily keep a well-run business in the black.
And many of the route’s former workers are ready to jump aboard. Conklin said that the 75 union workers employed last year by Sodexho on the three big Kitsap runs have found temporary jobs in in the county, but intend to return once an agreement is reached.
WSF wants an end to the negotiations. While the Bremerton, Bainbridge and Kingston ferries continue to sail with locked and gated galleys, the WSF must find ways to generate revenues expected to come from food sales.
This is made especially difficult after recent voter initiatives and tax revenue reductions, Schorr said. After Initiative 695’s cuts to transportation spending and the failure of Referendum 51 – which would have boosted the gas tax to help pay for ferries and other services – WSF began broadening its financial base.
“We realized we couldn’t rely on whatever initiative was on the ballot or the state legislature,” she said. “We had to start looking for ways to generate new sources of revenue. Food will never be a big money maker for WSF, but it enhances the customers’ experience” and could increase “discretionary ridership” – those passengers who could use other transportation options but prefer a cross-sound cruise while sipping wine or slurping chowder.
The IBU and Cascade will meet again late next month. While Groves wonders why WSF doesn’t drop Cascade in favor of another business, Brewer-Rogstad fears dumping one bidder may only spark new troubles with another.
“If we cancel the contract, who knows what’ll be next down the road,” she said. “This last year has been frustrating for everyone, but I expect to see a renewed approach.”
