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Moloka'i nurses try to oust union

Nurses at Moloka'i General Hospital yesterday voted to decertify the Hawaii Nurses Association as its union.

The decision is not official until the National Labor Relations Board reviews the vote, and the union still has seven days to consider a response, said Mary Bonifacio, Moloka'i General Hospital director of nursing.

The step comes after the Hawaii Nurses Association issued strike notices this week to The Queen's Medical Center, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Kaiser Foundation Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center and Kuakini Medical Center.

The seven nurses at Moloka'i General, run by Queen's Health Systems, are covered under a separate contract ratified last year. It gave them a one-time bonus with no increase in wages.

Las Vegas route will be nonstop

Hawaiian Airlines will offer nonstop flights between Honolulu and Las Vegas three days a week starting Jan. 8.

Hawaiian will fly between Honolulu and Las Vegas via Ontario, Calif., on the other four days of the week. The carrier will no longer fly between Honolulu and Las Vegas via Los Angeles.

In September, tour operator Vacations Hawaii decided to switch from Hawaiian Airlines to Tulsa, Okla.-based Omni Air International as its charter carrier to Las Vegas when its contract with Hawaiian expires on Jan. 31.

Hawaiian will also operate new nonstop flights between Maui and Portland three days a week from Feb. 1 through April, and between Maui and San Diego four days a week beginning June 1. The airline currently offers daily flights to Honolulu from Portland and San Diego.