The Staten Island Ferry has been plagued by a staff shortage that came to a head this week, kicking off a war between the ferry union and Mayor Adams, who continues to blame city workers for their own unhappiness. bridgetgillard writes
Photo: Julia Nikhinson/AP/Shutterstock There is no better boat ride in New York City than the one provided by the Staten Island Ferry. It’s free, you get a gorgeous view of the Statue of Liberty without having to go to Ellis Island, and there is beer. Summer is an especially perfect time to relish the feeling of stepping onto that giant orange pleasure cruise.
Much more important than its role as my ideal second-date location, however, is the vital one the ferry plays as a commuter service, carrying thousands of people who travel between Manhattan and Staten Island every day for reasons other than sunset happy hour.
THE CITY reports that the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, the union representing ferry staff, blames cancellations on staffing issues related to a longstanding labor dispute. Workers are being held to a union contract that expired in 2010 . Under that contract, the Department of Transportation pays ferry captains $20,000 less a year than the state average.
On Wednesday, when the city announced it had cut back ferry service to just once an hour because so many workers had not shown up, Adams implied that ferry employees were participating in some kind of sick-out or labor action. “To the workers who did not come in today: If you are not sick, New Yorkers need you to come to work,” Adams said at a press conference.
Implying workers are simply choosing not to do their jobs now seems to be Adams’s stock response to staffing issues and labor fights. This is also how he responded to the city’s limited pool hours due to the shortage of lifeguards earlier this summer.
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