Bay Area college football fans will soon turn their attention to the "Big Game" rivalry between CAL and Stanford. But the CAL Bears won’t be the only team wearing blue and gold colors, determined to win.
One of The Blue & Gold Fleet ferries returning its passengers to port from Alcatraz Island. The Blue & Gold Fleet has been running the ferry service from the Port of San Francisco, for eight years.
Bobby Winston
Published: November, 2005
Bay Area college football fans will soon turn their attention to the Big Game rivalry between CAL and Stanford. But the CAL Bears won’t be the only team wearing blue and gold colors, determined to win.
Also lining up is The Blue and Gold Fleet and its union crews, who are intent on keeping the Alcatraz Ferry Service — their prized contract of eight years.
On September 27, 2005, the National Park Service (NPS) kicked off a new game by announcing that it selected Hornblower Yachts, Inc. for submitting the best proposal for the Alcatraz Ferry Service concession, and said they would start negotiating a 10-year contract.
The other local company competing for the contract was the Red & White Fleet.
Blue And Gold Stops the Clock
The Blue and Gold Fleet is not ready to turn the ball over to Hornblower. On Oct. 6, it filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a non-partisan agency of Congress, asking for a review of the NPS’ selection process. In his first comments since the NPS’ announcement, The Blue and Gold Fleet President, Ron Duckhorn, tells Bay Crossings, Sure, we are disappointed! We submitted an outstanding proposal, backed with a solid record of performance. Our corporate employees and our union crews have given their very best to the Alcatraz Service. All of us need answers and we just want to make sure this was a fair process.
Reflecting back on The Blue and Gold Fleet’s past accomplishments he adds, We are proud of the relationship we built with the National Park Service, which has provided a memorable experience to visitors from all over the country, and world, and given them a great understanding of Alcatraz’ history, cultural resources and wildlife.
The Blue and Gold Fleet took the Alcatraz Service over from the Red & White Fleet in 1997, a Crowley Maritime Company. Deckhand, Roger Lowe, a member of the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU), remembers, In the beginning we were hauling 50 passengers and people thought that this would last for one or two years. Lowe boasts, We told them it would be a gold mine and we were right.
Today, The Blue and Gold Fleet transports 1.3 million passengers annually out of its Pier 41 terminal in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf. It has a fleet of five vessels readily available for the Alcatraz Service.
During peak season, The Blue and Gold Fleet employs 250 people. According to company Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, Taylor Safford, it pays the NPS $2 million per year for the franchise fee, and is the Port of San Francisco’s fourth largest tenant, paying the Port $1.5 million per year in rent.
The Blue and Gold Fleet also provides basic infrastructure for Alcatraz to function as a visitor attraction. There is nothing on that Island, says Safford. Everything has to be brought in.
As part of its current contract, The Blue and Gold Fleet transports fuel for the generators to light up buildings, water and janitorial services. It maintains the ferry floats, removes sewage and trash from the Island, and provides parking and transportation to NPS park rangers. Safford says, Any new operator will have to gear up equipment, facilities, crews, and get lots of permits. All of this will take lots of time.
Was There A Mistake?
We believe that the selection of Hornblower, a dining yacht operator for the Alcatraz service, is a serious mistake. They are starting from ground zero. They lack experience, boats, a facility and readily trained union crews to operate this service, says Capt. Ray Shipway, California branch agent of The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P), the union representing captains, ticket sellers, customer service representatives and maintenance aboard the Alcatraz ferries.
Shipway was joined in his support for The Blue and Gold Fleet’s protest by Marina Secchitano, regional director of the Inlandboatmen’s Union, Marine Division, ILWU, in a letter sent to Senators Feinstein and Boxer and House Minority Leader, Pelosi.
According to The Blue and Gold Fleet’s protest, [Hornblower] has never provided services under a contract for a federal, state or city agency, and does not have experience in conducting point-to-point operations like the Alcatraz Ferry Service.
Shipway speculates, Hornblower submitted a pie-in-the-sky proposal to the Feds. I think the deal will fall apart at the negotiating table with the Park Service.
Hornblower’s dining yachts are non-union, Secchitano points out. They have repeatedly refused to enter into collective bargaining agreements with maritime unions for existing and new ferry routes like the Alameda Oakland Ferry service.
The day the NPS announced Hornblower’s selection, Secchitano and Shipway called McRae.
I received no assurances that [McRae] is willing to enter into collective bargaining agreements with our maritime unions, if they got the Alcatraz Service, Secchitano says. I have to assume that 40 of our [maritime union] jobs are at risk.
Why Is This So Surprising?
From top to bottom, the mood at The Blue and Gold Fleet is complete disbelief.
We have done everything the NPS has asked for and our annual performance evaluations have all been favorable, says The Blue and Gold Fleet’s Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Carolyn Horgan. She explains the rigorous schedule of half hour departures. She has worked the Alcatraz Service since 1973, and proudly says, We’ve never missed a trip, except due to weather. Horgan also notes that The Blue and Gold Fleet’s average crewmember has worked on the Alcatraz service for at least 10 years. She sets high standards for on-time performance with her crews and adamantly says, There is no time for error on Alcatraz boats.
Another IBU deckhand, Rich Phillips, sees The Blue and Gold’s potential loss of the Alcatraz contract as part of a trend that is happening in America, where people do a good job and it doesn’t matter any more. With frustration, he says, We have been doing a good job, and all of a sudden we have been swept under the carpet, like we haven’t done anything right.
Nunzio Alioto, the president of Alioto Fish Company, expressed his dissatisfaction with the NPS decision: The Alcatraz Ferry Service was born and raised at Fisherman’s Wharf. It belongs here and people expect to come to the Wharf to take Alcatraz ferries. He believes that any move that takes visitors out of the Wharf area is a negative.
Another Wharf merchant, Roger Kaufman agrees: This is a drastic change — for what benefit and for whom? The change to a new operator makes sense if The Blue and Gold Fleet was doing a horrible job, but it is not. It is doing a great job.
Kaufman operates Cellblock 41, a retail gift shop, featuring Alcatraz books, postcards and apparel. His Pier 41 location depends on the foot traffic from Alcatraz passengers. He doubts that he can replace his sizeable shop at Hornblower’s Pier 33, because it is such a small location. Kaufman questions where Alcatraz visitors are going to park near Pier 33 and worries that traffic will jam there, especially on days with cruise ships calls.
Distinct Alcatraz Ferry Service
After seven years in the wheelhouse of Alcatraz ferries, Capt. Mark Andrews says, Alcatraz landings are the most demanding on a captain of any other ferry terminal in the Bay. Andrews, describes the strong currents, ebb tides and winds that make it difficult for someone not familiar with these conditions to dock at Alcatraz. He works hard at making a perfect landing time for the comfort of the passengers.
Alcatraz ferry captains average 16 landings per day during peak season. Andrews, an MM&P member believes new captains face a long learning process — it is not as easy as docking a boat twice at the same facility for dinner cruises. Andrews shares the credit for the company’s strong record of on-time performance with the maintenance crew, which has 20 years of experience maintaining boats and equipment.
Deckhand Phillips describes the intensity of loading 300-500 guests per day with a 10-15 minute turnaround time. Unlike a dining yacht operation, Alcatraz Service’s guests are not predictable. There are lots of people with special needs. We have kids, seniors, visitors from different counties and various physical limitations, says Phillips. He believes that The Blue and Gold Fleet’s crews have a great relationship with park rangers and says, We are in sync like a good pitcher and catcher.
Phillips points out that after every docking the three deckhands clean the boat with Southwest Airline speed. New security rules now require three deckhands sweep the boat for mysterious packages. We have the routine, the safety and emergency procedures down from years of experience and training, says Phillips.
Safford explains that managing ticket sales is complicated because of the NPS rations tickets to avoid congestion in the cell house. This requires special marketing and ticket sales procedures, which The Blue and Gold Fleet has had in place for a long time.
Delivering good customer service is part of the The Blue and Gold Fleet’s corporate culture, and it is visible in the sales office, dispatch room, wheelhouse, decks and maintenance shops. Customer Service Representative, Erris Sykes demonstrates this in his enthusiasm for helping guests line up at Pier 41. I get asked whether Alcatraz is haunted, whether the three guys really escaped, whether there are dungeons and whether everything they’ve seen in the movies is true, says Sykes, a 35-year-old, native San Franciscan and MM&P union member. He’s worked the Alcatraz Service since 1997 and enjoys meeting people who travel here from all over the world. He worries about losing his job if Hornblower takes over.
Fleet’s Green Record Score
In the bid request, the NPS put great emphasis on protecting, conserving and preserving resources in the Park Area.
We thought we had a head start with our environmental record, says The Blue and Gold Fleet’s Environmental, Health and Safety Director, Richard Maddux. In 2004, Maddux and Duckhorn received two Environmental Achievement Awards from the NPS and the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. for outstanding achievements in sustainable practices, pollution prevention and air emissions reduction. They are the only privately operated ferry service in the country to receive these prestigious awards.
The Blue & Gold Fleet has a long history of partnerships with government agencies such as the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, Integrated Waste Management Board, and Bay Area Air Quality Management District. We have partnered with these agencies to test new engine and fuel technologies as well as develop and promote best management practices in pollution prevention and source reduction, Maddux says. We’ve tested alternative fuels such as biodiesel at the request of Bluewater Network (the environmental group leading the charge for cleaner ferry emissions).
The Blue and Gold Fleet’s website dedicates a page to its unmatched record of environmental achievement, with a long list of awards. In 1998, The Blue & Gold Fleet launched its award-winning Green Waves program of environmental initiatives, which include reduction of water and energy consumption and an aggressive practice of the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle).
Golden Gate National Recreation Area Park Superintendent, Brian O’Neil recognized The Blue and Gold Fleet in 2003 as a model of public private partnerships for supporting the non-profit work of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Park Conservancy.
What’s Next ?
The clock has stopped as The Blue and Gold Fleet, and Hornblower, waits for the NPS and GAO to announce the next move. The unions are not sitting idly on the sidelines. At the Oct. 13 San Francisco Port Commission meeting, they urged the Port to be cautious in approving changes to Hornblower’s lease or request for rent concessions.
Chuck Billington, vice chair of the IBU says, We can’t believe this is happening at the Port of San Francisco. How can a non-union operator like Hornblower Yachts be allowed to displace solid maritime union jobs? Maybe this is acceptable elsewhere but it is not the deeply rooted tradition of San Francisco’s waterfront.
The San Francisco Labor Council recently passed a resolution supporting the rights of the IBU and MMP to retain their work on the Alcatraz Ferry. Secchitano explains, This means 150 labor unions in this town are backing us.
The Blue and Gold Fleet’s management and unions are preparing for a long, tough game. So, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over!
Blue and Gold Fleet Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Carolyn Horgan says they have done everything the NPS has asked for and is proud of their on-time performance record.
The Blue & Gold Fleet President, Ron Duckhorn, along with Environmental Director, Richard Maddux, receive the 2004 Environmental Achievement Award from the National Park Service and the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C.
