Outsourcing pay leads labor agenda

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i labor leaders unveiled a legislative agenda yesterday that calls for equal pay for "outsourced" jobs previously done by unionized employees, cost controls for prescription drugs, stricter regulations for insurance rates and other bills sympathetic to workers.

Perhaps the most important part of the eight-part legislative agenda is passage of a "service contract act" for Hawai'i workers, said Randy Perreira, chairman of the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO Legislative Committee.

"Work that would be 'outsourced,' if you will, to private vendors would require a prevailing wage that's based on a comparable government payroll," Perreira said.

The Hawai'i State AFL-CIO represents 65 unions and 90,000 members. The group's president, Harold Dias Jr., acknowledged that the thousands of layoffs since Sept. 11, primarily in the hotel and tourism industries, have hurt the labor effort in Hawai'i.

But the umbrella group still enjoys strong labor support in Hawai'i, Dias said, and is pushing pro-worker bills and urging Gov. Ben Cayetano to continue to extend benefits to laid-off workers.

"We will be the watchdog group for Hawai'i's working men and women," Dias said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.