The marine engineers who keep the largest ferry system in the United States running gathered for a press conference to press the state to close a pay gap they say is at the root of the service's troubles. They argued that the shortage of crews driving delays and canceled sailings will not ease until engineers are paid competitively, and they framed the issue as one that affects communities, taxpayers and tourists alike who depend on the fleet across Puget Sound.
At the center of their complaint is the size of the gap. The engineers said their experienced marine engineers' wages lag about 20 percent behind their deck counterparts, even though both groups are treated as of equal value in the eyes of the Coast Guard. They described their members as feeling overworked and underappreciated, and said surveys they released give a sense of how widespread that frustration has become among the workforce.
The workers traced the current strain back to the last round of bargaining. They said that in the 2024 contract negotiations the state failed to address the number one issue driving the workforce shortages and causing unreliable ferry service, and that the problem has not gone away since. Without a closing of the wage gap between engineers and their deck colleagues, they warned, the system will keep seeing delays and missed sailings through the summer.
The timing of the action was deliberate, coming as Seattle hosts World Cup matches that are drawing large numbers of visitors who rely on the boats. The engineers noted that Washington State Ferries had assured the public the system would have 20 boats available, with two extra vessels on standby and additional crews if a boat goes out of service. In reality, they said, the system can barely staff 18 vessels on any given day.
They also tied the pay dispute to the fleet's future. The state is spending billions of dollars on new ferries, but the workers cautioned that without more competitive pay there will not be enough licensed crew to operate and repair the new hybrid electric vessels when they come into service. In their telling, the investment in new boats risks being undercut if the people qualified to run and maintain them continue to leave for better wages elsewhere.
A state lawmaker who joined the workers put the issue in a legislative frame. Representative Jake Fey of the 27th District in Tacoma, chair of the House Transportation Committee and prime sponsor of House Bill 1264, said that as committee chair since 2019 he has repeatedly faced the challenge of making sure employees who provide vital service are well compensated. He recalled that it took four or five bills to bring Washington State Patrol troopers up to appropriate wages comparable to other jurisdictions that were drawing employees away.
Fey said he sponsored the bill in 2025 because, even after years of measures to more fully fund staffing and to put more money into recruitment and retention in the ferry department, the gap persisted. He was careful to note the limits of the legislature's role, saying lawmakers did what they could but that it is not their job to actually negotiate the contract. The action unfolded as Washington State Ferries marks its 75th anniversary and promotes itself as reliable and ready to be a major part of moving people around the region during the World Cup.