Travelers from around the world heading to San Francisco this summer may be a little disappointed as they may not be able to visit America’s most notorious prison.
The union representing workers at the company that operates the only ferry to Alcatraz Island authorized the strike on Tuesday. According to the Alcatraz Workers Alliance, 91 percent of voters voted “yes.”
The union says their hope is to pressure Alcatraz City Cruises to negotiate in good faith before the weather gets warmer and tourists arrive in San Francisco.
Alcatraz Workers United, which officially recognized as a union in October 2022, is still struggling to secure its first contract. “If we don’t make some progress during this busy season, we’re going to see more layoffs and more stagnation,” said Robert Estrada, national president of the Inland Boat Workers Union. “This company will have less and less desire to fulfill this contract.”
The union did not say how many of the 94 workers in the bargaining unit voted to strike, but Estrada said the number was “an overwhelming majority.”
Alcatraz City Cruises is part of Hornblower Group and City Experiences, which also operates ferries to the Statue of Liberty. City Experiences did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
On Sunday, about 50 Alcatraz Cruises employees and organizers gathered at Pier 33. Photo: Yujie Zhou. Photographed on April 16, 2023.
“Alcatraz Cruises has been negotiating in bad faith with the union for two years, with 36 meetings,” said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose district includes Pier 33, where the Alcatraz ferry docks. “They’re not taking this seriously.”
Mr. Peskin was an avid supporter of the union, participating on multiple information picket lines and delivering postcards in person to Hornblower’s headquarters in support of workers (at which time the CEO was unable to meet him). could not).
“What this strike vote means is that people are saying, ‘Hey, we’re angry,’ we want to unite and we’re ready to fight,” said Evan McLaughlin, an organizer with the International Longshore Warehouse Union. “Alcatraz Cruises depends on these workers and they just want to feel respected.”
The company refuses to pay workers negotiating hours, “which is the norm for other employers in the Gulf,” Estrada said. “All the management in the company are paid and have set hours. The lawyers have set hours. And everyone else has set hours except for these workers.”
The unions have yet to draw up detailed plans for the strike as they expect the first economic measures to be presented by management on Thursday.
Alcatraz City Cruises is licensed by the National Park Service to be the sole provider of ferries to Alcatraz. If a strike does occur, Peskin said, trips to Alcatraz will be curtailed if Alcatraz Her Cruises cannot find qualified staff and crew members. And if you can’t do that, “there are plenty of places at Fisherman’s Wharf where tourists can spend their money and have a good time.”
“It’s time for Alcatraz Cruises to finish negotiations and stop fooling around,” he continued. “It’s a lucrative business. And they are incredibly dedicated and professional workers. It’s time they get a fair contract.”
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