Elected union leaders representing 400 public ferry workers who operate Alaska’s Marine Highway System are describing their meeting over the weekend with federal mediator Beth Schindler as “very positive and constructive.”

“There were positive steps in our meeting that should allow both sides to reach a solution,” said Trina Arnold, Director of the Alaska Region Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific, an affiliate of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

“The process was productive and positive,” she said. “We want the ferries to get running and communities to b...