Staten Island Ferry Engineers Entitled to Big Salary Boost, Judge Rules

Dozens of Staten Island Ferry engineers who have been fighting for a pay boost are entitled to a higher wage, equivalent to what their private sector peers earn, a city administrative judge ruled on Tuesday. The decision by Judge Faye Lewis of the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings impacts technicians making up half of the Staten Island Ferry crew union at roughly 50 people.

Staten Island Ferry workers have been working under a contract that expired in 2010, one of 152 public sector bargaining agreements that former mayor Michael Bloomberg failed to settle in the final years of his tenure. The agreement, which covers about 100 captains, mates and engineers in the Staten Island Ferry system, is the only contract still pending from the Bloomberg era.

“We are extremely pleased with OATH Administrative Law Judge Faye Lewis’s decision,” said Roland Rexha, secretary-treasurer of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association. “Judge Lewis’s decision is a triumph for our crew and upholds our longtime concerns that [Staten Island Ferry] engineers and other officers are paid well-below other professional mariners although their work obligations and skills are equal.”

Lewis’ decision, which only impacts the engineers, does not settle the bargaining dispute: Talks between the workers and the administration of Mayor Eric Adams are set to resume Monday, Aug. 29, with mediation. Read more here!