Ferry workers in Washington State have voted to accept a new contract. The contract includes a 3% pay cut for the next two years, as well as cuts in pay for overtime and travel time. The concessions are expected to save around $10 million a year. Ferry workers have also forfeited $18.3 million in raises over the last two years. The agreement comes after a study last year said that ferry-workers were overcompensated in relation to other state workers. Union leaders say that they understand the pressure that the state is under, and that they would rather negotiate the issues than have them unilaterally imposed. The state agency that controls the ferries, Washington State Ferries said that they appreciated the unions' willingness to negotiate and work with them.
See "Ferry workers' ratify contract with pay cut", Ed Friedrich, The Seattle Times, March 31, 2011