{"id":2678038,"date":"2026-10-07T14:05:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strike-by-23-staffers-leaves-blue-state-commuters-stranded-too-bad-state-fired-120-staffers-for-vax-refusal\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T14:15:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:15:37","slug":"strike-by-23-staffers-leaves-blue-state-commuters-stranded-too-bad-state-fired-120-staffers-for-vax-refusal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strike-by-23-staffers-leaves-blue-state-commuters-stranded-too-bad-state-fired-120-staffers-for-vax-refusal\/","title":{"rendered":"Strike by 23 Staffers Leaves Blue-State Commuters Stranded &#8211; Too Bad State Fired 120 Staffers for Vax Refusal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstrike-by-23-staffers-leaves-blue-state-commuters-stranded-too-bad-state-fired-120-staffers-for-vax-refusal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2678038&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/subway-chandeliers-be-damned-russia-still-manages-to-off-alexei-navalny-in-prison\/\" title=\"Despite extravagant subway chandeliers, Russia succeeds in silencing Alexei Navalny behind bars\">potential consequences faced<\/a> by Washington State Ferries after over 120 crew members left due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. A recent strike organized by 23 employees resulted in significant disruptions, cancelling many ferry routes and exposing staffing shortages. The ferry authority highlighted that unfilled engine room positions prevented many vessels from sailing,with only a few operating out of the fleet. Critics argue that vaccine mandates led to the loss of critical personnel,contributing to the current operational crisis. The piece also touches on broader themes about government mandates, workforce planning, and the unintended effects of such policies on public services in politically liberal regions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Remember when the left wished the worst ills upon those who refused the vaccine mandate \u2014 including loss of job?<\/p>\n<p>Also, remember the old idiom that you should be careful what you wish for, because you just may get it?<\/p>\n<p>My guess is that the functionaries at Washington State Ferries don\u2019t, or at least won\u2019t recognize their lesson \u2014 because, after losing over 120 crew members due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/florida-eliminate-vaccine-mandates-every-last-one-wrong\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vaccine mandates<\/a>, they were brought to their knees by just 23 employees organizing a sick-out strike.<\/p>\n<p>According to local NPR affiliate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kuow.org\/governing\/2026-10-06\/commuters-scramble-to-navigate-a-day-without-washington-state-ferries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KUOW<\/a>, \u201c[t]housands of ferry riders in the Puget Sound region were left in the lurch Monday morning as major routes and dozens of sailings were canceled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly two dozen engine room employees called out sick, according to the state, and backup crew declined to fill in. The union representing the workers said Monday\u2019s shutdown highlighted Washington State Ferries\u2019 failure to hire more staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The outlet said that \u201cdozens of sailings were upended Monday\u201d due to the sick-out, with only a few boats in operation.<\/p>\n<p>Washington State Ferries said on X that not only had the employees called out, but all employees qualified to keep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-passengers-evacuated-staten-island-ferry-engine-fire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the boats<\/a> running declined to help out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of the employees calling in sick, and declining to fill those vacancies, are represented by the Marine Engineers\u2019 Beneficial Association (MEBA) who represent engine room employees,\u201d WSF said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">All of the employees calling in sick, and declining to fill those vacancies, are represented by the Marine Engineers\u2019 Beneficial Association (MEBA) who represent engine room employees. (2\/6)<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Washington State Ferries (@wsferries) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/wsferries\/status\/2107148592486171085?\">October 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As a result, all but five of the ships were out of service.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The employees who work in the engine room play a vital role in providing WSF\u2019s safe service, which is why Chief Engineers have a base salary of $157,000, and can make more than $350,000 a year with overtime, as well as annual sick and vacation leave, and retirement accrual. (4\/6)<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Washington State Ferries (@wsferries) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/wsferries\/status\/2107148594759532846?\">October 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">When those positions aren\u2019t filled, the boat cannot sail, which is what we\u2019re experiencing today across 13 of the 18 vessels currently in service. (6\/6)<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Washington State Ferries (@wsferries) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/wsferries\/status\/2107148598702207483?\">October 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If only there was something they could have done to avoid this. Oh, wait:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">@wsferries Any of the 121 you fired for not taking an experimental shot willing to work ??? https:\/\/t.co\/ad8Tq4eFAh<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 jerry anderson (@VotePro2A) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VotePro2A\/status\/2107172106912014734?\">October 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Fact check: Accurate. From a 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ex-dem-governor-rips-washington-state-leaders-control-economic-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington<\/a> State Ferries workforce planning <a href=\"https:\/\/leg.wa.gov\/media\/zjcoo1kc\/wsf-workforce-combo.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>First, the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing labor shortages in the maritime labor market. An estimated 3.2 million workers nationwide left the labor market between 2019 and 2021, impacting every sector of the economy. Second, WSF was particularly hard hit by employees not complying with the state vaccine mandates. It lost 120 crew members or approximately 6% of its operational workforce. Not only is this nearly double the state employees\u2019 rate of 3.2%, but the losses were also concentrated in critical occupations: 20 oilers and 40 temporary assistant engineers left their positions.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This sounds bad \u2014 and worse when you look at the numbers from a separate report on overtime <a href=\"https:\/\/leg.wa.gov\/media\/5nhhhkbx\/wsf-workforce-plan_ot_report_summary_12_14_2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">analysis<\/a> from 2021:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>121 workers separated and 8 retired (60% of separations) 6.8% of WSF workforce stopped working because of the vaccine mandate \u2026 11% of Oilers and 35.7% of Assistant Engineers separated.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, would any of these individuals made a significant difference? I doubt they would have hurt, particularly given the number of engine-room specialists that could simply bring WSF to its knees \u2014 just two-dozen.<\/p>\n<p>Again, this is what the American left wanted in 2021 and 2022. They wanted people\u2019s heads on a pike if they didn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bo-derek-rips-covid-vaccine-mandates-bill-maher-interview-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">take an experimental vaccine<\/a>. They got their wish, career-wise, at Washington State Ferries. And now we\u2019re supposed to believe that they\u2019re sorry, or at least care about staffing levels?<\/p>\n<p>This is a government organization in one of the bluest corners in America \u2014 both in terms of politics and waterways that need to be straddled. Now, they get bit in the behind, years after the fact, by the mask-and-jab brigade, which has moved onto other, fresher causes.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the language the Washington State Ferries information office used was telling, too. Who knows how long they\u2019ve been operating barely above the very minimum Coast Guard requirements? Just look at that phrasing. Glad you managed to feel so safe from the unvaxxed, Seattleites. Sorry about your public transit system at all, but you know what they say about omelettes. Or you would, if you didn\u2019t eat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-bones-study-exposes-consequences-going-vegan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vegan eggs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Remember the saying: be careful what you wish for? It seems Washington State Ferries officials haven&#8217;t learned this lesson, as after losing over 120 crew members due to mandates, they were brought down by just 23 employees organizing a sick-out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2678039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Michael-Featured-Image-1429.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[86848,43544,36643,38780,86847],"class_list":["post-2678038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-blue-state-politics-2","tag-labor-strike","tag-public-transportation","tag-vaccine-mandate","tag-workforce-layoffs"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Michael-Featured-Image-1429.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2678038"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2678053,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2678038\/revisions\/2678053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2678039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2678038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2678038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2678038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}