Editorial
The foodless ferries

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Washington State Ferries and their passengers are going through a painful transition — with the latest pang being the possible end of galley service, at least temporarily.

Something, or more likely, several things have to give to keep food service on the ferries — but the state should not veer from its path of making the ferry system pay more of its own operating costs.

The state's current contractor, Sodexho, wants out of the business, saying there's not enough money in it. And not one vendor bid on the newly configured galley-service contract. Sodexho declined to bid and told the state it would continue the service after Dec. 31 only if the state paid $250,000. Currently, Sodexho pays the state about 10.5 percent of concessions.

The squeeze on the ferry budget is symptomatic of the vise on all of state finances, a result of a severe economic downturn and voters' affinity for tax-cutting measures and disdain for new taxes. The ferry system lost funding when voters approved Initiative 695 and missed out when they rejected Referendum 51 last year.

State budget writers directed the ferry system to pay for 90 percent of its operations by 2008. Last year, the system paid about 69 percent. This year, ferry system chief Mike Thorne had hoped the ratio would top 70 percent — with 5 percent operating cuts, including cutting passenger-only service; a 5-percent fare increase; and revenue increases from advertising and a newfangled configuration for concessions on and off the boat.

But that was before the ferry system received no bids from contractors to provide galley service. Ferry officials say vendors told them they were concerned about union issues and that the contracts, including a 10-year term, weren't flexible. The Inland Boatmen's Union of the Pacific, which represents the 130 galley employees who will be laid off Dec. 31, unfortunately filed an unfair labor practice charge against the ferry system for not requiring the new vendor to continue the union contract.

Ferry officials assume the jobs will continue to be union positions and hope the contractor and the union can work out flexibility so workers can be on the job when they're needed and not paid for hours when boats aren't running. That's reasonable.

Something has to give — but not the goal of the ferry system to become more financially independent.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company