Strike Cuts Passenger Ferry Runs to Catalina as Season Hits Its Peak

Passenger ferry service between Santa Catalina Island and the mainland was sharply curtailed Saturday as a result of a strike by crewmen and officers against the Catalina Cruises division of the San Francisco-based Crowley Maritime Corp.

Sam Sacco, a spokesman for Crowley, said eight of the line’s 12 runs from San Pedro and Long Beach to the popular island resort were canceled as a result of the walkout at 7 p.m. Friday by members of the Inland Boatmen’s Union. Each of the line’s 145-foot boats carries up to 700 passengers.

Sacco said that remaining service by Catalina Cruises and full service by its principal competitor, Catalina Express, meant that “no one was getting stranded.”

At Full Capacity

Catalina Express reported Saturday that it was running at full capacity, carrying about 1,200 passengers to and from the island during the day.

And hotels and restaurants reported mixed effects from the strike, which comes at the peak of the summer season.

“This is really killing us,” said Wayne Griffin, owner of the Upstairs Place restaurant. “We can seat 100 for lunch, but we only had 44 people. It’s really hurting.”

But Larry Buster, manager of the Villa Portofino, said his restaurant was filled to capacity Saturday night. “We’re totally sold out,” Buster said. “The whole town is jumping. I don’t see any effect whatsoever.”

“Thank God, we’re not seeing any effect so far, but there is a dangerous potential,” Beverly Black, who works at the 12-room Catalina Lodge, said. “Business has not been good this summer anyway, and this just makes things worse.”

Robert Ketchum, a Catalina Cruises captain who is a member of the union’s negotiating team, said the union membership voted for the walkout Thursday night to protest pay cuts demanded by the company.

Ketchum and Sacco said the latest offer by the company was for a 15% reduction in wages, with additional cuts in overtime pay. Wages currently run between $14.33 and $17.11 an hour, according to the company.

‘Costs Have Escalated’

While declining comment on the profitability of his company’s operations, Sacco said that “costs have escalated” during the current year and Catalina Cruises is facing increasingly stiff competition from Catalina Express.

Ketchum said that although he believes Catalina Cruises is still enjoying substantial profits, his union would be willing to accept a wage freeze and make some concessions on overtime.

“There’s a lot of union-busting going on these days,” he explained. “I guess it’s a sign of the times.”

The union’s three-year contract with Catalina Cruises expired in January, and negotiations on a new contract have continued sporadically since then.