If you normally take the Sausalito or Larkspur ferry to San Francisco, you'll need another way to get there.
The ferry service in Marin will be shut down Tuesday morning as part of an organized strike action. Golden Gate Bridge union workers and organizers are not pleased with negotiation efforts around the medical benefits for the workers. Workers say that they will strike Tuesday morning, leaving passengers who ride from Larkspur and Sausalito with no boats in operation.
There is a message to commuters being played on the ferry's loud speaker to warn them of the service disruption scheduled for Tuesday.
Golden Gate Transit officials say that they are ready for a wide range of possible demonstrations and they've tried to negotiate with the unions in good faith, but it is the unions who have changed their position time and time again. Most commuters with whom we spoke support the strike action.
"Sometimes you've got to squawk to make a difference," said ferry commuter Bruce King.
"The inconvenience isn't a big deal to me, I'll find another way to get to the city and just carry on," said ferry commuter Michael McCandless.
"It is an inconvenience and I think it's been really challenging and I put the onus back on the union leaders. They have not been clear in what they're doing. I think all of you know and the public knows, if you look at anything on the Internet, they've been all over the map," said Golden Gate Bridge District spokesperson Mary Currie.
The union's deal expired in June. The coalition represents 14 unions and 380 workers. According to Golden Gate Transit officials, as many as 5,500 to 6,000 people per-day, ride the ferry system.
Now to give you an idea of how many commuters at the Larkspur location will be affected, we looked at the numbers. There are seven ferries that depart from the Larkspur ferry terminal before 11 a.m. and according to the gate agent, the 7:10 ferry alone transports anywhere between 315-375 people each morning.
The shutdown at the Larkspur location will have a direct affect on as many as 500-600 commuters.
Officials tell ABC7 News that they plan to restore service by mid-afternoon.
