Kapi'olani Health workers set Sept. 10 strike date

By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Hawaii Teamsters Local 996 notified Kapi'olani Health yesterday that its 200 union members are prepared to strike Sept. 10 unless issues surrounding contract talks are settled.

Union and Kapi'olani officials met with a federal mediator for four hours Monday, but reached no agreement on the issue of paid time off, or "PTO," which union officials have said is the major stumbling block to a contract settlement.

"It seems like they're just being stubborn," Mel Kahele, president of the local, said yesterday of Kapi'olani officials. "They don't want to move off the PTO and our members are not in agreement of wanting to be under the paid-time-off plan."

Kapi'olani officials describe paid time off as a benefit program that combines vacation, holiday and sick time into one bank that employees can draw from throughout the year.

Under the Kapi'olani proposal, union employees have five unrestricted days of sick leave annually and another seven "extended-leave" days that they can use only if they are ill for three consecutive days and then provide a note from a physician.

Employees who do not use their annual sick leave can take five of those days off for any reason or take an additional five days of pay, Kapi'olani officials said. They can also carry over the seven extended-leave days.

The union's position is that paid time off strips union employees of much of their sick-leave benefit — especially for those who have substantial accumulated sick leave.

The Teamsters members, who are at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, have been working without a contract since Aug. 1. The workers' most recent three-year contract expired June 30 and was extended to July 31.

Kapi'olani Health, the parent company of the medical center, said in a statement yesterday that it is "extremely disappointed" that the Teamsters leadership issued a strike notice.

"We continue to feel strongly that the wage and benefits proposal we have offered is an excellent package that meets or exceeds agreements similar bargaining units have reached for similar work positions," Kapi'olani said.

Both sides said they are open to further talks that could lead to a contract settlement before the strike. However, Kapi'olani Health said it is moving ahead with contingency plans that could include replacement workers.

Teamsters members employed at the medical center include cooks, food-service workers, housekeepers, nurse's aides, medical assistants, warehouse employees and maintenance workers.