{"id":988489,"date":"2026-08-08T07:26:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/988489\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:26:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:26:44","slug":"nyc-ferry-workers-unionize-with-transport-workers-union-in-pursuit-of-better-wages-stronger-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/988489\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Ferry workers unionize with Transport Workers Union in pursuit of better wages, stronger benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"NYC\t\t\t<\/p>\n

An NYC Ferry departs Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan on July 6, 2022.<\/p>\n

Photo by Kevin Duggan<\/p>\n

A group of New York City Ferry<\/a> workers on Thursday evening voted unanimously to join the Transport Workers Union (TWU).\n<\/p>\n

The unit consists of 65 NYC Ferry technicians and welders, 61 of whom voted to unionize, with zero votes against. The workers are fighting for higher pay and stronger benefits, according to TWU.\n<\/p>\n

TWU represents 160,000 workers across several modes of transportation. That includes roughly 40,000 New York City Transit workers who are members of the union\u2019s Local 100. Those transit workers are currently engaged in tense negotiations<\/a> with the MTA over a new contract after their last one expired in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are growing our ranks at the New York City Ferry with this latest organizing victory, as technicians and welders can see the day-in-day-out fight we bring on all fronts and want to be a part of it,\u201d TWU President John Samuelsen said in a statement. \u201cWe will now begin work on a critical first contract to bring big gains for NYC Ferry workers, just like we have for decades with NYC Subways, trains, buses, planes, and bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The union has not yet determined whether the ferry workers would be part of Local 100 or another chapter.\n<\/p>\n

The newly unionized workers mostly operate out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They are employed by Hornblower Group<\/a>, the company that the city\u2019s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has contracted to run the NYC Ferry system since its 2017 launch.<\/p>\n

\u201cNYCEDC supports the decision by NYC Ferry engineering employees to elect representation by the Transport Workers Union (TWU),\u201d EDC spokesperson Seth Schuster said in a statement. \u201cNYCEDC is committed to supporting the workers who deliver safe and reliable NYC Ferry service for millions of riders each year, and will ensure that our operator, Hornblower Group, delivers on that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ferry system mostly operates along the East River, moving New Yorkers between Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. It also has routes connecting to Manhattan\u2019s west side, Staten Island, and the Rockaway peninsula.<\/p>\n

Hornblower Group, in a statement sent by its attorneys, said that it \u201crecognize[s] and respect[s] the right of our New York City crew to organize.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the results of this week\u2019s election, we will work with all relevant parties to reach a fair collective bargaining agreement that best serves all parties and ensures we continue to provide New Yorkers with safe, reliable, affordable, and efficient public transportation,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

However, Samuelsen said the TWU is not stopping with the ferry technicians and welders.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a blockbuster development for us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have our foot in the door and plan on organizing the rest of the ferry workers and will work with our union allies to ensure all are represented.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An NYC Ferry departs Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan on July 6, 2022. Photo by Kevin Duggan A…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":988490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,89548,396403,396404,98662,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,76330,31145,24672,396405,47666,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-988489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-economic-development-corporation","tag-ferry-workers-unionize","tag-hornblower-group","tag-john-samuelsen","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-ferry","tag-nyc-transit","tag-pm-newsletter","tag-transport-workers-union-twu","tag-twu-local-100","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117058706203175026","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=988489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/988490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=988489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=988489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=988489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}