On May 1st, ILWU solidarity supporters joined IBU members working for the Golden Gate Ferry Service who staged a half-day strike that shut down ferry service from Marin to San Francisco. The workers of the Golden Gate Labor Coalition kept pressure on the District by staging several high profile actions during the previous months.
After more than a year of bargaining and 48 negotiating sessions, members of the Inlandboatmen’s Union and 13 other unions reached a preliminary agreement with the Golden Gate Bridge District that will preserve affordable health benefits.
The tentative agreement was described as a victory by Marina Secchitano who directs the IBU’s San Francisco Region. The IBU represents 42 workers at the Golden Gate Bridge District and another 296 workers are represented by 13 other unions; together the unions comprise the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition.
The agreement came after contract campaign activities mobilized workers in a series of escalating actions, culminating in a half-day strike by IBU ferry workers on May 1 that shut down service between Marin County and San Francisco during the morning commute.
The May 1 action generated national news coverage, including the Washington Post. Faced with the possibility of rolling strike actions by members of other unions, the District made significant movement at the bargaining table. A planned Golden Gate Transit bus strike scheduled for May 10th was canceled after the agreement was reached.
“The strategy to keep pressure on the Bridge District through constant actions proved to be very effective,” said IBU President Alan Cote. “Workers sent a clear message that they were united and not backing down until they received a fair contract.”
In the months preceding the May Day strike, workers from the IBU and other unions mobilized to speak at three Golden Gate Bridge District Board of Directors meetings. They also held several high profile demonstrations including:
• A morning commute rally near the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza.
• Picketing of a fancy “Golden Gate 75th Anniversary” event at Fort Mason.
• Protesting outside a California Historical Society event for the GG Bridge.
• Picketing in front of a luxury home owned by the Golden Gate Board President.
Marching along the waterfront and holding a rally in front of AT&T Park. The main sticking point in the dispute had been health care. The Bridge District wanted workers to contribute an 8-percent share of costs, but ultimately backed-off that proposal. The tentative agreement calls for a two-percent pay raise in each of the contract’s three years. In order to help District address a deficit, the Coalition agreed to change the pension formula for new hires, and shift retiree health care into a Medicare supplement plan.
Unions in the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition bargain together on economic issues such as wages, pensions and health care, but reach separate terms on other issues. Negotiations on these “side table” agreements are ongoing. Individual unions could still take additional actions, including strikes, if their side tables are not settled.