Bus talks inch forward
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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Contract talks between striking bus workers and their employer stretched into another marathon session last night before breaking off just after midnight, with each side offering new ideas in hopes of ending the 10-day public transit strike.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Perry Confalone, chief negotiator for employer O'ahu Transit Services, said he believed the two sides were close to a settlement after union head Mel Kahele said he is willing to consider a two-year wage freeze.
Perry Confalone, the chief negotiator for the OTS, makes a point to members of the media at the Blaisdell Center.
But Kahele said there were still significant disagreements on wages and that the two sides had many issues to settle.
No new talks were scheduled, although Confalone said members from both sides might get together "informally" today to talk about early retirement provisions.
Earlier yesterday, Kahele, president of Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996, said he would ask his negotiating team to agree to forgo wage increases in the first and second years of the proposed three-year contract.
OTS, which operates TheBus on a contract with the city, was seeking a wage freeze for the first two years.
The unresolved issue appeared to be what would happen in the third year of the contract. OTS is offering a "wage reopener," allowing the union to seek a pay raise for the contract's third year but not guaranteeing one. The Teamsters yesterday would not detail its position, but its last formal demand was for pay raises of 50 cents an hour in each of the second and third years.
"Anything to try to end this strike so we can go out and provide some transportation," Kahele said of his latest offer.
The company, however, seemed to be firm on its position of no commitment to a pay raise.
"We feel we need to get some cost containment into this contract," Confalone said.
Kahele and other union officials said they're perplexed why OTS won't budge from its wage position since the union is not requiring the company to pay any negotiated raises if the city does not provide the money for them.
Meanwhile, OTS officials said they are willing to accept a modified version of the Teamsters proposal for an early retirement incentive program.
The union said it wants its workers who retire after 30 years of service to be eligible for 50 percent of medical benefits, regardless of how old they are when they retire.
The proposal "saves the company money by allowing our people to retire earlier," Kahele said.
A new worker earns $5,000 to $6,000 a year less than someone at the top of the five-year pay scale, he said.
The company said yesterday that it is willing to pay medical benefits for early retirees, but not until they reach age 60. "It's my hope that there will be serious discussion about that proposal this afternoon," Confalone said when he first walked into the bargaining room yesterday.
At 10:05 p.m. Kahele told reporters at 10:05 p.m. that employer O'ahu Transit Services "is stalling negotiations."
Kahele said OTS had put on the table an additional $250,000 over three years for a supplemental retirement medical plan, but then promptly withdrew the offer after a 90-minute dinner break.
Despite angry finger-pointing and accusations of bad faith, both sides have made other concessions since the strike began at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 26.
The union, when negotiations began on May 6, had sought wage increases of 10 percent in all three years for its workers, who make between $15.26 and $21.17 an hour. As of Wednesday night, the union's formal position on wage demands had come down to increases of 50 cents an hour in the second and third years. The company estimates that each 50-cent increase would cost the company about $1.5 million annually.
The union is also seeking 50-cents-an-hour increases in pension benefits in the second and third years. The company said that those concessions also would add $1.5 million annually to OTS' operating budget.
Meanwhile, the company has agreed to scratch some 30-odd "take-backs" of benefits including the trimming of vacation and sick leave days for new employees and the elimination of two holidays.
OTS president Jim Cowen last week also faxed a signed memo to Kahele promising not only to withdraw the company's position on take-backs, but assuring him that there would be no reduction in service hours during the life of the contract nor any layoffs of employees provided the Honolulu City Council approves a new fare plan expected to restore some $6.8 million that had been cut from TheBus' operating budget this year.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
