Ferry captains

AN ACT Relating to Washington state ferries captains; and 1
amending RCW 47.64.340. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 47.64.340 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 16 s 8 are each 4
amended to read as follows: 5
(1) The captain of a Washington state ferry vessel, also known as 6
the master of a vessel or the commanding officer, is the ultimate 7
authority on, ((manager of,)) and has responsibility for , the entire 8
vessel and its Washington state ferries personnel while it is ((in 9
service)) under their command . The captain's responsibilities 10
include, but are not limited to: 11
(a) Ensuring the safe navigation of the vessel and its crew and 12
passengers; 13
(b) Following all applicable international, federal, and state 14
laws and regulations, and agency policies ((and regulations));15
(c) ((Supervising)) Directing crew in performance, operations, 16
training, security, and environmental protection; 17
(d) Overseeing all aspects of vessel operations;18
(e) Ensuring that the vessel operations and its Washington state 19
ferries personnel satisfy performance expectations set forth by the 20
department; and 21
S-0031.3
SENATE BILL 5059
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Liias, Wellman, Stanford, Chapman, Krishnadasan,
Lovelett, Nobles, and Salomon
Prefiled 12/16/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Transportation.
p. 1 SB 5059
(f) ((Managing)) Coordinating vessel arrivals and departures, as 1
well as all other vessel operations while the vessel is in 2
((service)) their command. 3
(((3) [(2)] Effective July 1, 2013, the public employment 4
relations commission shall sever from the masters, mates, and pilots 5
bargaining unit all captains. By August 31, 2011, if a majority of 6
the captains in the masters, mates, and pilots bargaining unit 7
indicate by vote that they desire to be included in a newly formed 8
captains-only bargaining unit, the public employment relations 9
commission shall certify a captains-only bargaining unit, to be 10
effective July 1, 2013. For the vote described in this subsection, a 11
union seeking to represent captains does not have to demonstrate a 12
showing of interest to be included on a ballot. Notwithstanding the 13
results of a vote, captains shall remain a part of the masters, 14
mates, and pilots bargaining unit through June 30, 2013.15
(4) [(3)] If a new captains-only bargaining unit is created, the 16
employer and the exclusive bargaining representative for the 17
captains-only bargaining unit must negotiate a collective bargaining 18
agreement exclusive to the captains-only bargaining unit. 19
(5) [(4)])) (2) By August 31, 2025, if a majority of the captains 20
in the masters and pilots bargaining unit indicate by vote that they 21
desire to be included in the combined masters, mates, and pilots 22
bargaining unit, the public employees relations commission shall 23
certify a combined masters, mates, and pilots bargaining unit, to be 24
effective July 1, 2026.25
(3) Beginning with negotiations covering the ((2013-2015)) 26
2027-2029 biennium, if the condition described in subsection (2) of 27
this section is satisfied, then the employer and the exclusive 28
bargaining representative of the ((captains-only)) masters, mates, 29
and pilots bargaining unit must negotiate collective bargaining 30
agreements that are consistent with this section. Otherwise, the 31
employer and the exclusive bargaining representative of the captains-32
only bargaining unit must negotiate collective bargaining agreements 33
that are consistent with this section.34
(((6) [(5)] A collective bargaining agreement may not contain any 35
provision that extends the term of an existing collective bargaining 36
agreement or applicability of items incompatible with this section in 37
an existing collective bargaining agreement.))38
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p. 2 SB 5059