To require bargaining over past practices in ferry employees collective bargaining. The bill allows the ferry system management and employee organizations to meet at reasonable times to negotiate wages, hours, working conditions, insurance and health care benefits, any changes in the past practices of ferry system management that are related to any of these subjects, and other matters mutually agreed upon.   Official Text and Analysis.

To delete the requirement for negotiations over changes in ferry system management past practices and, instead, requires the ferry system management and the ferry employees to negotiate over the practice of including preferential hiring and successor clauses in Requests for Proposals for contracts to operate vessel galley services.

By Representative Cooper, prime sponsor; and Gordon Baxter, Dave Freiboth, and Victoria Crumrine, Inlandboatmen's Union; who testified that for many years, clauses requiring preferential hiring of previous galley workers and the application of previous terms and conditions of employment to these workers have been included in Requests for Proposals issued to solicit food service contractors. The Marine Employees' Commission found that failing to bargain about this practice was an unfair labor practice. Essentially, the WSF has turned its back on 130 galley workers who have worked for years on the ferries. This bill puts in statute what the MEC has required the WSF to do. The issue should not be left to the whim of a judge.

By Mike Thorne, Washington State Ferries, who testified that to become a past practice, the practice must occur over time and the parties must have an agreement. This bill goes beyond the galley service issue and addresses all practices within the WSF management discretion. Although the WSF is appealing the Marine Employees' Commission decision, the Washington State Ferries did not ask the court for a stay and has complied with the decision in the new food service contractor Request for Proposals.

To change things so the substitute bill deletes the requirement for negotiations over changes in ferry system management past practices and, instead, requires the ferry system management and the ferry employees to negotiate over the practice of including preferential hiring and successor clauses in Requests for Proposals for contracts to operate vessel galley services. The substitute passed in committee on February 5, 2004.

And passed in committee on February 9, 2004.

But the bill did not pass the Senate by the cutoff date so it is a “dead bill” and will not be considered further.