Bus workers set final offer as strike looms
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
More than 200 city bus employees gathered last night to review their union's final contract offer and prepare for a possible strike.
City officials coordinated their responsibilities for the planned bus strike at Blaisdell Center yesterday. From left, Maj. Kevin Shigemitsu of the Honolulu Police Department, Keoki Miyamoto of the Department of Transportation Services, and Capt. Jose Gaytan and Lt. Sherman Chan of HPD.
The mood was upbeat at the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 headquarters in Kalihi, despite a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. The union represents more than 1,300 bus drivers, clerks and maintenance workers.
O'ahu Transit Services spokeswoman Marilyn Dicus said last night the company had nothing new to report on the negotiations.
The union and OTS are not scheduled to return to the bargaining table until 1:30 p.m. Monday, less than 11 hours before the strike is set to begin.
Last night, union president Mel Kahele encouraged members to stick together, outlining the union's "best and final offer," which he characterized as a "drastic change" from its original offer.
At the start of the negotiations, the union was seeking 10 percent wage increases for each of three years of the contract. Although he did not go into details last night, Kahele said the new proposal calls for annual raises of 40 cents to 60 cents an hour, which amounts to 2 percent to 3 percent increases.
The final offer will not be officially given to OTS until Monday's meeting.
The union set a strike date after ending talks with OTS earlier this month. OTS said the bus system's budget is about $4.5 million lower than last year's and that the union's demands amount to about $30 million more in costs over the life of a new three-year contract.
According to OTS, after five years of employment, bus drivers earn $21.27 per hour, or about $44,000 per year. Honolulu bus operators are paid in the top 10 percent of bus drivers nationwide, the bus company has said. The present contract provides 100 percent of the cost of medical coverage, and a pension payment of $3.19 per hour (15 percent of wage cost), or about $6,600 per year, according to OTS.
Many employees last night said they could live with their union's final offer, but if it is rejected by OTS, they are prepared to strike.
H.B. Badis, a bus driver for 10 years, said she opposes the city's plan to reduce service by about 100,000 hours, or 6 percent. The city administration has said it will postpone the cuts — which were to take effect tomorrow — by 30 days to give the City Council time to come up with a fare package that could avert the strike.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's not about the raises. Put back the service the way it was and leave it alone. It's for the people," Badis said.
Ben and Lii Toomalatai of Kapolei clapped with their sons, Benjahmin, 7, left, and Matagofie, 3, during a rally at the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 headquarters in Kalihi yesterday.
Badis said she doesn't want to strike but is prepared to do so. She said she has enough savings to last three months.
Larry Akina has been a bus driver for 22 years and he also supports the union's position.
"When you have givebacks on the table, you're forcing us to strike," Akina said. "We would like more (than the union is seeking), but I can live with that."
Striking O'ahu bus drivers are likely to be joined by Handi-Van drivers if negotiations fail, bus company and union officials said yesterday.
Although Handi-Van drivers are working under a recently negotiated five-year contract, they are permitted by law to conduct a sympathy strike, Roger Morton of OTS said.
OTS officials met with reporters inside the King Street Handi-Van offices while union president Mel Kahele stood outside telling the drivers that the union was requesting their support. "They are Teamsters," Kahele said.
Handi-Van driver Jeff Kwon said he planned to cooperate with the union. "I'm not crossing a picket line," he said, adding many drivers were torn between their loyalty to the union and their concern for passengers, many of whom rely on the $2 per trip service to get to dialysis appointments.
Katie Keim of Waikiki uses the Handi-Van or bus to get to work in Nu'uanu every day. "I'd be dramatically affected," she said. "It'd be very challenging for me to get to work."
Keim said she would have to use taxis in case of a strike and "that's pretty costly."
In a meeting with OTS officials, several drivers asked the company to arrange for them to pick up vans and get their assignments at a location that would not require them to cross the picket line.
Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday she hopes the union and bus company work things out. If she did have the power to intervene she said she would prefer not to use it. "Whether or not I have the authority, my preference is for the union and the company to work this out," Lingle said. "Like everyone in the state I'm concerned about a strike of the bus system. It would be bad for everyone, it would be bad for the economy and make life difficult for people trying to get to school and to work."
State chief negotiator Ted Hong said the governor does not have the legal authority to intervene should bus workers strike.
"There's no state law that would permit her to intervene in this strike," he said. "There's really nothing she can do. There's no money she could offer or throw into the mix, there's no legal authority that she could utilize to compel the Teamsters to go back and operate the buses."
The city plans to use a network of shuttle vans and an informal car-pool system to help commuters in the event of a strike, but Managing Director Ben Lee warned that "this is not a panacea."
As Lee briefed nearly 70 business leaders at the Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall about contingency plans yesterday morning, the union officially gave OTS the required strike notification. The 72-hour notice, required by federal law, came with a few additional hours because city offices are normally closed on Saturday, said Christopher Boucher, union spokesman.
One final bargaining session between the two sides remains — at 1:30 p.m. Monday at Blaisdell.
If a strike should occur, the city will use a fleet of more than 100 seven-passenger vans to pick up passengers with reservations from seven locations islandwide and take them to locations in town. The locations are: Wai'anae Neighborhood Community Center; Kapolei Transit Center; Wahiawa-Fred Wright Park; Hans L'Orange Park; Blaisdell Park; School Street bus stop near Kapalama Elementary, and Windward Mall bus stop-Kane'ohe. Each staging area will have two morning pickups, at 6 and 8, except for Wai'anae, which will have pickups at 6 and 9.
Passengers will be brought to Chinatown Gateway, where a shuttle service will be available for those wishing to continue into Waikiki.
Return service will be available to passengers with shuttle reservations from Waikiki to Chinatown and then from Chinatown to the original pickup points at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The reservation number is 523-4381, and will be open during business hours today and Monday. Residents must be at least 18 to use the service, and the vans will not be able to accommodate people with disabilities.
Cheryl Soon, director of the city transportation department, told the business leaders that taxi companies plan to operate along 20 city bus routes and will pick up passengers for $3, regardless of the length of the trip.
Mayor Jeremy Harris told the leaders he hopes "cooler heads prevail" and a strike is averted but also told them to be prepared.
The city is encouraging telecommuting, staggered work hours and shortened work weeks.
"The best way we can get through a difficult period is if we all pull together," Harris said. "We ask you to work with your staff, work with your employees."
Advertiser staff writers Karen Blakeman, Lynda Arakawa and Mike Gordon contributed to this report. Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025.
