NYC Ferry Captains Vote to Join Transport Workers Union

The unionization of more than 120 ferry operators expands TWU's collective bargaining footprint into city waterways, which could affect future municipal contract negotiations with New York City...

More than 120 captains operating vessels on New York City's public ferry system voted on Friday, October 10, 2026, to join the Transport Workers Union of America, according to a report by the New York Post. The vote brings ferry operators into the same union that represents subway, bus, and other transit workers across the country.

The captains run vessels across NYC Ferry routes on the East River, Hudson River, and New York Harbor. NYC Ferry is operated by Hornblower under a contract with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, a city-affiliated public benefit corporation. The specific terms of that operating contract are a matter of public record with the EDC.

The TWU is the largest transportation worker union in the United States by membership. The union stated publicly that the addition of the ferry captains is intended to strengthen its position in future contract negotiations with New York City. No specific contract demands have been filed or disclosed as of the publication date of this article.

New York State Comptroller of Labor Roberta Reardon attended the vote alongside TWU members, according to the New York Post report. Her presence at a union organizing event is a matter of public record. The New York State Department of Labor maintains records of labor organization activity, which would include any formal certification filings related to this vote.

The National Labor Relations Board is the federal agency responsible for certifying union elections in the private sector. If the ferry captains are classified as private-sector employees under their Hornblower employment arrangement, the NLRB would hold jurisdiction over the certification of the TWU as their bargaining representative. If they are classified as public employees, the New York State Public Employment Relations Board would govern the process. The distinction has not been publicly clarified in available source material as of October 12, 2026.

Federal labor law under the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. Section 151 et seq., guarantees workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. The NLRA does not apply to public employees, who are instead governed by state law. Which legal framework applies to these ferry captains is a question whose answer would be found in the Hornblower-EDC operating contract and any relevant NLRB or PERB filings.

NYC Ferry launched in 2017 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. The system carried approximately 9 million riders in fiscal year 2023, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation's publicly reported figures. The service has operated at a per-ride subsidy that the city comptroller's office has previously placed above $10 per trip, a figure drawn from EDC budget documents.

The TWU represents workers in more than 100 local unions across the United States. Its most prominent affiliate in New York City is TWU Local 100, which represents approximately 42,000 New York City Transit workers under a contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA contract is a separate agreement from any potential future agreement covering ferry captains.

The TWU has not publicly released a timeline for beginning formal contract negotiations with NYC or Hornblower on behalf of the newly organized ferry captains. The union's statement, as reported by the New York Post, described the vote as a step toward applying pressure on the city in future negotiations. No dollar figures, wage demands, or benefit requests have been made public.

What remains unknown is the precise legal classification of the ferry captains as public or private employees, which federal or state labor board will certify the election result, and what specific terms the TWU intends to seek in bargaining. The Hornblower-EDC contract, NLRB Case Management System records, and any PERB filings would be the public documents most likely to answer those questions.