Elevator outage on Northern Adventure highlights accessibility gaps for disabled passengers

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PRINCE RUPERT – Passengers with disabilities have been forced to crawl up stairs or pay others to carry them aboard BC Ferries’ Northern Adventure, which has been operating without a functioning elevator for nearly 10 weeks.

The vessel came out of refit and resumed service February 22 but with the elevator non-operational. The elevator was briefly returned to operation on April 26 but failed again within 24 hours. BC Ferries has not completed repairs due to challenges sourcing parts for the European-made lift.

“This is a clear human rights failure,” said Eric McNeely, president of the BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union. “This shouldn’t be happening in 2025. Delays sourcing a part are not an excuse. When people’s dignity and safety are on the line, you find a solution fast.”

Front-line ferry workers are facing daily tension and conflict as travelers requiring assistance are left without safe or dignified ways to reach upper decks.

The Northern Adventure serves remote coastal communities and for many passengers, it’s their only route to medical care, family and essential services. The union is calling for urgent repairs, immediate accommodations for passengers requiring assistance and a plan to prevent future failures.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Rachel Garrick | Communications Officer | 604-561-3703 | rachelgarrick@bcfmwu.com

The BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union represents more than 4,500 ferry and marine workers across British Columbia. From deckhands and terminal workers to engineers and stewards, we keep the coast moving.

B.C.’s ferry workers urge federal candidates to prioritize marine transportation

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VANCOUVER— The BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union (BCFMWU) is calling on federal candidates to commit to stronger investment in B.C.’s ferry system, as part of a push to make marine transportation a priority in the 2025 federal election.

The union has released an election advocacy kit to help members raise key issues with candidates in their communities—from aging vessels to chronic underfunding and a lack of worker input on safety.

“Our ferries are lifelines for coastal communities, but they’re underfunded, increasingly unreliable and in serious need of federal attention,” said Eric McNeely, president. “We’re asking candidates to treat our ferries the same way they treat highways and public transit—essential infrastructure that deserves long-term investment.”

While BC Ferries carries more than 21 million passengers and an estimated $8 billion in cargo each year, it receives about $35 million annually in federal support—compared to $380 million in operating funds for VIA Rail and almost $130 million for Marine Atlantic.

“Our members keep the system running every day, and they know what’s needed to keep it safe,” McNeely said. “We’re calling for fair funding, stronger safety measures, and a real voice for workers.”

The BCFMWU represents more than 4,500 ferry and marine workers across the province. The full election kit is available here.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Rachel Garrick | Communications Officer | BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union | 604-561-3703 | rachelgarrick@bcfmwu.com

The BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union represents more than 4,500 ferry and marine workers across British Columbia. From deckhands and terminal workers to engineers and stewards, we keep the coast moving.

BC Ferries on track for record summer as union claims vessel maintenance is rushed

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Gregor Craigie spoke with Eric McNeely, thePresident of the BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union.

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BC Ferries considers a 30 percent fare hike

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BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union president Eric McNeely talks to Gloria Macarenko about the impact on workers of major fare hikes over the next three years.

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‘Functionally broken:’ union boss sounds off on sour relationship with BC Ferries

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NANAIMO — Claiming BC Ferries is ignoring a contractually enshrined overtime provision, the union president representing 4,000 employees says an ongoing conflict is compounding already low morale.

Eric McNeely, president of the BC Ferry and Marine Workers Union, issued a memo to its members last week, stating their grievance has been denied by the employer.

While overtime compensation is being adhered to, McNeely said their entitled Premium Overtime Rate of additional benefits, including a pay boost, is no longer being provided.

“People will be less likely to accept overtime or stay for that extra long day and that could have an impact on the reliability or frequency of sailings. I think that is where the public has an interest,” McNeely told NanaimoNewsNOW.

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BC Ferries’ Labour Relations at ‘All-Time Low’, Says Union

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Low employee morale and a bitter dispute over overtime pay are adding to the challenges for BC Ferries, says the head of the union representing workers at the publicly owned company.

“The relationship between the employer and the employees, and the employer and the union, is at… an all-time low,” said Eric McNeely, president of the 4,000-member BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union.

McNeely said he doesn’t remember the relationship ever being so strained in the 14 years he has worked for BC Ferries. “I meet with members every time I travel, just about everywhere I go, and they’re struggling and they shouldn’t have to struggle to get the pay that they are owed for doing the work they conducted.”

BC Ferries has had a growing number of cancelled sailings, many of them due to staffing shortages. Ferries can’t sail unless they meet the minimum crew requirements Transport Canada sets. That has meant travellers with and without reservations experiencing long waits, even on weekdays in October when ferry traffic is relatively light.

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Ferry worker union calls for contract to be reopened to hike wages

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B.C. Ferries will see a wave of workers quitting unless it reopens its collective agreement to increase wages as prices rise, says the president of the union representing employees.

At a meeting in Vancouver last week, members were “loud and clear” that they need an increase in wages, said Eric McNeely, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union.

“They are working massive amounts of overtime just to subsidize their income because the wages are too low. It’s not sustainable.”

Pay for some unionized ferry workers is falling behind what they could be earning in other marine-oriented businesses, or from employers outside the marine sector who hire staff with similar skills, he said.

It can be 20 to 40 per cent below other employers, said McNeely. He said he travelled around the fleet to meet with members on board vessels and working on land to discuss wage comparisons.

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BC ferries workers ask for religious exemption from clean-shaven rule

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A union representing marine workers is taking BC Ferries to task over one of the company’s policies regarding facial hair.

Dan Kimmerly, president of the Ships Officers’ Component of the BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union, says three employees are looking for religious exemptions from the policy that men must be clean-shaven

“The members that we’re directly representing in this specific instance right now are from the Sikh community,” Kimmerly said.

All employees are expected to have clean-shaven faces in case they need to wear masks while fighting fires on the vessel, but Kimmerly says the policy differs depending on where in the company employees are located.

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BC Ferries Board ends contract with chief executive Mark Collins

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The departure comes as the ferry system posts frequent sailing-cancellation notices due to crew shortages.

B.C. Ferry Services announced Friday it has ended its contract with Mark Collins, who has served since April 2017 as ­president and chief executive of the company, which operates as B.C. Ferries.

Collins, whose contract had been due to run until 2026, is leaving B.C. Ferries “effective immediately,” a statement from the board said. His departure comes as the system posts frequent sailing-cancellation notices due to crew shortages.

The B.C. Ferry Services board of directors decided to end Collins’ contract, which will entitle him to severance in accordance with the terms of his contract, it said. The amount has not yet been finalized.

“We thank Mr. Collins for his hard work and dedication to B.C. Ferries. We wish him well in all future endeavours,” said board chair Joy MacPhail in a statement. “Like many organizations, B.C. Ferries has faced recent staffing shortages, service interruptions and COVID-related challenges,” she said. “There are no quick fixes to these systemic challenges, but as a board, we believe it is time for renewal, fresh ideas and a renewed commitment to the highest standards of customer service, safety and affordability.”

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Colin Laird and Harry Cameron Memorial Scholarship

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“Western Maritime Institute and the Ferry Workers’ Union are pleased to announce another five-year agreement, sponsoring Ferry Workers who wish to further their careers in the marine industry. The Ferry Workers’ Union and Western Maritime Institutes Colin Laird & Harry Cameron memorial scholarship is part of an ongoing relationship between education and labour to ease the shortage of skilled seafarers within Canada” – BCFMWU Provincial President Eric McNeely

The Western Maritime Institute, www.maritimeed.com, and BCFMWU are proud to offer full scholarships to two (2) successful Union members for the upcoming Deckhand/Bridge Watch Rating Certificate course.  The course will commence January 10, 2022 through March 22, 2022. The scholarship offer includes tuition and all required MED courses.  Both scholarships will be awarded from all applications received by close of business November 1st, 2021.

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