On Sunday, October 8th at 9:00am, maritime workers and other trade unionists picketed the Hornblower Yachts operation at Pier 33 in San Francisco. Photos | Video They planned to return at 4am on Monday to picket the boats that ferried people to Alcatraz for the Indigenous People's Day commemoration. With the support of the Bush administration, the US Parks Service is seeking to bust unionized maritime workers in San Francisco.

On September 25th, Alcatraz Cruises, part of the anti-union Hornblower Yachts, took over the contract to run the Alcatraz ferry service using non-union crews for the first time since the service began in the early 70's. The unions representing the captains, deckhands, mechanics, ticket sellers and collectors, the Inlandboatmens Union-ILWU (IBU) and the Masters Mates and Pilots (MMP), have been negotiating in good faith with Hornblower owner Terry Macrae for several weeks following months of mostly unsuccessful legal actions. At issue is whether the captains or "senior" deckhands, who comprise half the workers, can be union members. Hornblower insists there will be no union hiring hall or organizing of other Hornblower workers. The company wants all health and welfare and pension contributions go into its substandard plans rather that the union's solid defined benefits plan.

Hornblower was reportedly awarded this contract by Bush-appointed bureaucrats in the National Park Service in part of the heightened assault being waged against workers in industries that have been privatized. Labor organizers are concerned that with the growth of the "Hornblower empire," non-union operations will spread throughout the maritime industry. They say, "The only way to fight this onslaught is through united actions of maritime workers in defense of the Alcatraz workers and against this viciously anti-union employer." The Alcatraz workers are calling for pickets and direct action to demand union recognition and the hiring of all displaced ferry workers. They say, "San Francisco became a union town during the militant 1934 maritime workers strike right here on the Embarcadero. Let¹s keep it union."

Past coverage | Transport Workers Solidarity Committee | MM&P website | MM&P in California | Inland Boatmen's Union