Teamsters, Allied Workers to post two names for top post

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

There will be two names on the ballot when members of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 decide who will lead them during the next three years.

Mel Kahele, the local president since September 1996, is being challenged by Anson "Slim" Ilae, a bus driver for Budget Rent-A-Car.

Union officials this week said Ilae is eligible to run, reversing a decision made several weeks ago when they said he was ineligible because of procedural issues tied to his employment status and payment of dues.

Ilae needed to be working in November 2002 to be eligible. Ilae last Friday provided the union with information he obtained from his employer showing that he was working then, said Ron Kozuma, Teamsters financial secretary and treasurer. That information was verified by the Teamsters this week.

Kozuma, however, pointed out that it was Ilae himself who, in four separate communications this year, stated that he went out on worker's compensation leave in October 2002.

"Had the misinformation not been given from the beginning, we would have ruled him eligible from the beginning," Kozuma said.

Ballot forms will be mailed out Wednesday and next Thursday and completed ballots will be due Oct. 31, Kozuma said.

The votes will be counted Nov. 2 by the League of Women Voters.

The Teamsters represent more than 1,300 city bus employees who went out on strike for 34 days before returning Monday. Some union members, including Ilae, publicly criticized Kahele for his handling of the strike.

Local 996 represents more than 5,700 workers, including truck drivers and people in other blue-collar industries.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.