Tugboat settlement reached

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The tugboat operator's union and two interisland tug and barge companies agreed on a contract early yesterday that will keep food and other cargo moving among the Islands for at least the next three years.

Tugs, like these at Honolulu Harbor, provide a vital service. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We agreed to pretend it was 11:59 for a few more hours," said Mark Cohen, vice president for maritime operations at Hawaiian Tug & Barge and Young Brothers Ltd.

Hawaiian Tug & Barge and Young Brothers Ltd. are closely associated companies that, between the two, supply interisland cargo service, contract towing, ship assists and barge charters. They employ 350 people, 59 of whom are members of the Inlandboatmen's Union.

At 3:30 yesterday morning, the two sides had arrived at a tentative agreement. Forty-seven union members gathered at Young Brothers at Pier 39, where negotiations had taken place.

By 5:40 a.m. the contract had been ratified 34 to 13.

Union member George Taniguchi confirmed the ratification early yesterday morning but did not provide additional details. Efforts to contact other union officials were unsuccessful.

However, Cohen said he thought union members and managers alike could find aspects of the contract that would please them. Employees will get a 15 percent wage increase over the next three years, and their pensions will increase by 18 percent.

They will also get 25 percent more time off, an issue the union was passionate about, Cohen said.

"The employees work on tugs that typically go to sea, and they're often away from homes and away from families," he said. "They didn't think the last contract gave them enough time off."

Twenty-five percent was a little less time off than the union had requested, Cohen said, but he said most of the membership seemed satisfied.

The companies gained more flexibility in scheduling around holidays and some reductions in overtime.

"It really did turn out to be great agreement for both sides," Cohen said.

He said he also thought everyone was relieved to have completed negotiations.

"I know are employee are glad this is behind us," he said, "and I'm ecstatic. I can't say it was a pleasure, but it had to be done."

In 1986, contract negotiations did not go as well, and the union cooks, seamen, deckhands, first and second mates and boat operators were on strike for 26 days.

Because Young Brothers is the only company licensed by the Public Utilities Commission to ship goods between islands, Neighbor Islands that do not have goods arriving from the Mainland would have bee cut off from their supply lines.

Moloka'i and Lana'i, which receive their shipments from O'ahu, would have been hardest hit. Neighbor Island businesses that rely upon shipments to O'ahu, such as farmers in Kaua'i, would have also suffered.

Had a strike occurred, many businesses would have turned to the airlines to ship their cargo. Some would have been disappointed.

Keoni Wagner, Hawaiian Airlines spokesman, said some cargo could have been carried on the airline's 150 daily interisland flights, and some could have been added to its cargo flights.

But Aloha's chief executive officer, Glenn Zander, said there are limits to the amount of help an airline can provide. The amount of weight a jet aircraft can carry and remain able to land safely on short runway is limited, he said.

Moloka'i and Lana'i both have short runways.

The ability to add flights is limited by the number of aircraft an airline has and the number of pilots it employs. During the summer season, the pilots and planes are working at peak levels, he said.

Bill Chung, vice president of personnel and industrial relations for Young Brothers and Hawaiian Tug, agreed that the airlines are less flexible in their ability to carry cargo.

"It's one thing to fly flowers," he said. "It another to handle tubs of watermelons, washing machines and dryers, or pallets of canned goods."