SAN FRANCISCO -- A labor dispute between the new Alcatraz ferry operators and labor unions boiled over Monday morning at a Pier 31 1/2 protest, but tempers have since cooled with the help of two local officials.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and Mayor Gavin Newsom made a joint announcement that union leaders have agreed to hold off on protesting against non-union ferry operator Hornblower Yachts, Inc. at least until Saturday night so the two sides can meet in a series of talks.

According to Marina Secchitano, regional director of the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, at least 45 ferry workers lost their jobs when Hornblower took over Alcatraz service Monday morning from previous operators Blue and Gold Fleet.

Many of those workers, along with members of the Masters, Mates and Pilots Union and other groups, rallied Monday, as tourists walked by, to resume labor talks with Hornblower, Secchitano said.

"The birds are protected, the sea lions are protected, the rock is protected, but the workers are expendable," Secchitano said.

Rich Weideman, spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said Hornblower's bid was far more compelling than bids offered by tour boat operators Blue and Gold Fleet or Red and White Fleet.

In addition to promising to use more efficient solar and wind-powered boats, Weideman said Hornblower Yachts uses its deckhands to perform more than one job, making each employee more efficient.

Weideman said Blue and Gold Fleet and Red and White Fleet did not have the option of using deckhands to perform more than one function because union bylaws prevent it.

It is unclear if this is one of the reasons Blue and Gold Fleet and Red and White Fleet lost the contract, Weideman said.

"When we are picking service providers we don't have the legal authority to make a determination that a union should be involved or not because that would in violation of the congressional law," Weideman said.

However, according to Secchitano, "it's the Bush administration and it's not a favorable environment to workers."

Weideman said that with the new bid selection process, "the customer service has improved tremendously. What we have seen over time is better service, more wheelchair accessibility and cleaner facilities. Our newer contract is even requiring healthy food on the boats."

According to Weideman, Hornblower "has 90 percent cleaner emissions so the environmental part of the bid is very exciting."

However for Secchitano and members of the Inlandboatmen's Union, the Marine Division of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the International Masters, Mates and Pilots, the new contract means an end to either their jobs or their union membership.

Hornblower Yachts is not unionized, and according to Weideman, union bylaws prohibit current union members from being anything other than deckhands, meaning that if workers chose to perform the multitude of functions performed by Hornblower employees, they would be ineligible for union membership.

Weideman said he is not aware how many National Park Service concessions operators are unionized, and in many of the more rural areas where national parks are located, unions may not exist.

A change in National Parks Concession Law in 1998 made it so that "a company could not get their previously held contract simply by agreeing to do what the concession panel decided the best bidder did," said Weideman.

According to Weideman, it wasn't until Oct. 15, 2005 that those parties bidding on National Park Service contracts had to agree to incorporate prevailing wages into their contract bids. Weideman said the 1998 change in bidding practice was put into effect in order to maintain competitive services. "Businesses were not bidding," Weideman said, "it was rare under the old law for concessions to change companies."

According to Newsom's office, however, the protests will stop at least for a week as all involved parties meet together in a series of talks this week.

Secchitano called it good news for the union.

"Hopefully they'll shepherd us through this," she said.

Representatives from both Newsom and Pelosi's office are expected to mediate the talks all week.

"We are grateful to both parties for their willingness to come to the table and urge them to continue this process," Pelosi and Newsom announced in a written statement. "We are committed to assisting the parties in any way possible to successfully reach an agreement that would ensure representation for the workers, provide for excellent service to Alcatraz visitors, and enhance commerce while preserving peace on the waterfront."