Golden Gate Transit ferry workers on strike Friday

A union representing Golden Gate Transit ferry workers has called a one-day strike for Friday. The work stoppage is expected to shut down all commuter ferry service from Marin County, including the evening ferry to the Giants game, a spokeswoman for the transit district said.

Ferries from Larkspur and Sausalito to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which typically serve 9,000 commuters per day, will be suspended Friday, spokeswoman Priya Clemens said. The 5:45 p.m. ferry to AT&T Park for the Giants-Padres game is also suspended.

Clemens recommended commuters take Golden Gate Transit buses, which are scheduled to operate as normal. The ferries are expected to be back in service starting Saturday, she said.

The Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, which represents captains and other ferry workers, called the strike over an unfair labor practice, said Alex Tonisson, co-chair of the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition, which includes the union.

“The one-day strike will shut down all ferry service between the North Bay and San Francisco,” he said. “This highlights the problems all the coalition unions are having with the district.”

The impasse is over ferry workers’ health care plans and wages, which the union says have not kept up with the cost of living in the Bay Area. The district says its ferry workers are the highest paid of those operating on San Francisco Bay.

“We’re disappointed that the union has made the decision to go on strike while negotiations continue,” Clemens said. “We think we are providing generous wages.”

Another round of negotiations between the district and the union is scheduled for Monday, Clemens said.

You can reach Staff Writer ?Matt Brown at 521-5206 or matt.brown@pressdemocrat.com.