State of Washington
Marine Employees' Commission
-Working
together for uninterrupted ferry operation-
Photo by Stephen
J. Brown, courtesy of Washington State Ferries
--WHAT'S
NEW--
2008 SALARY SURVEY
RESULTS
The final 2008 MEC Survey
results (in Adobe format)
is
now available for your review
in preparation for
adoption at
the
Commission's
July 25, 2008 meeting in Seattle.
Click on this link:
MEC Final 071508.
2009-2015 STRATEGIC PLAN
The Marine Employees'
Commission Strategic Plan has been revised for 2009-2015 and a link has been
added to the "Forms and Info" section of this web site.
DECISION DIGEST IS UPDATED
The Marine Employees'
Commission Decision Digest been revised through June 2008 and a link has been
added to the "Decision Digest" section of this web site.
COMMISSIONER POSITION
The term of the Commissioner position
representing management, currently held by John Sullivan, expired June 15,2007.
If you are interested in applying or nominating someone to this position, please
go to the Governor’s website (http://www.governor.wa.gov)
and click on “Boards and Commissions” for the appropriate forms.
RULES REVIEW
Review
of MEC's rules,
WAC
316-55, Impasse Resolution, has begun. This chapter needs
revision due to 2007 legislative changes. Please send any proposed to changes to
the MEC Office before July 16,
to allow presentation at the July 25, 2008 public meeting.
2007-08
GMAP Performance Results
The Marine Employees'
Commission's GMAP performance results for 2007-08 have been updated and are
available on the GMAP page.
Welcome!
Introducing Us
In 1983, the Washington State Legislature established the Marine Employees' Commission
(MEC) to protect the rights prescribed by Chapter 47.64 of the Revised
Code of Washington (RCW): rights of employers, employees, labor
organizations, and the public. The MEC is to ensure the operation of the ferry
system is not disrupted by labor disputes, by providing the specialized
attention required to resolve the unique and complex labor relations questions
that arise in the operation of the Washington State Ferry (WSF) system. The WSF system operates 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, so disputes need to be resolved quickly.
The WSF system is the nation's largest ferry fleet,
consisting of 28 vessels--24 passenger and vehicle and 5 passenger only. The WSF
system carries 25 million passengers each year (5 million more than Amtrak carries
nationwide) and 11 million vehicles. The WSF system is very important to
transportation, tourism, and the overall economy of the Puget Sound area.
Our Mission
Our mission is to encourage peaceful labor relations between Washington state ferry
system management, state ferry employees and their bargaining representatives,
in order to provide continuous operation of the Washington state ferry system.
Our Purpose
The purpose
of the MEC is to:
The MEC operates under both Chapter 47.64 of the
Revised Code of Washington
(RCW)
and Title 316 of the
Washington Administrative Code
(WAC).
Our Goal
Our goal is to quickly resolve the unique and complex labor
relations questions that rise. Commission members are trained as administrative
law judges and hold formal administrative hearings to resolve in a timely manner
the often complex disputes in which parties allege violations of the
contract or the law. Monthly meetings are held with labor and management, to
provide a neutral forum for on-going labor relations dialogue.
The Commissioners participate in other collective bargaining roles as well,
including the provision of a biennial salary survey to be used by labor and
management during contract negotiations.
The labor unions under MEC jurisdiction are:
