<\/a>John Vercessi, left, and Dave Bell man the picket line for the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific at the Alaska Marine Highway System’s Auke Bay Terminal on Tuesday, July 30, 2019. Vercessi works as a seaman on the MV LeConte and Bell is a relief boatswain. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Top of mind for the union was health care. Several IBU members interviewed by the Empire over the course of the strike cited health care coverage as a primary concern.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Under previous offers made to the union by the state, workers would be made to cover their own health care costs while they were not “dispatched,” or assigned to a vessel.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“If you don’t get dispatched you don’t get health care,” Arnold said. “Sometimes things happen with dispatch and you don’t go out,” he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Lapses in health care coverage were causing members to have to pay out-of-pocket costs for health services, including prescription medication.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Arnold said the union made some concessions in terms of pay in order to reach the agreement over health care coverage. The union accepted no retroactive pay increases for the last three years while they were negotiating with the state. Ferry workers will receive a 1.5 percent increase in 2020 and another 1.5 percent increase the following year. The union’s contract was negotiated for three years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Another win for the union was upfront compensation for accommodations when workers are called to Juneau to work. Certain vessels don’t have crew quarters, and when assigned to those ships for days at a time crew members must stay in a hotel or other off-board accommodation. Under previous arrangements, crew members had to pay their own money up-front for a hotel or other place to stay.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
In tourist-heavy towns like Juneau, that can mean having to shell out over a thousand dollars just to go to work. Workers would be reimbursed, but that process could take several weeks, potentially leaving workers in financial straights.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Arnold said he wanted to thank the community for all their support and for being patient with the stoppage in service.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The strike left locals and travelers stranded and businesses wondering about their stocks. Some travelers found themselves without any means of transporting their vehicles, save for private barge, which is expensive.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t