ANALYSIS
Bus strike left everyone winning some, losing some
| • | Week of free bus service offered to coax riders |
| • | Money saved in strike not for raises |
| • | Relieved bus riders resigned to higher fares |
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The union preserved benefits and job security for workers but failed to win the wage increases it sought in the second and third years of a new five-year contract.
Union leaders Jim Santangelo, left, and Mel Kahele said they would ask the membership to vote in favor of the new five-year contract.
The proposed settlement to Honolulu's lengthy public bus strike leaves no clear winners or losers, but everyone involved won and lost some things.
Many bus riders feel they lost the most.
"Now we're going to be paying the highest bus fares in the country and there's going to be, I think, a big loss in ridership," said David Bohn of Palama.
Although the fares are nowhere near the highest in the country — and even a City Council fare hike this week puts Honolulu somewhere in the middle of the pack — the increases could have city officials scrambling to find money to replace lost fares for future bus budgets.
Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 preserved the threatened benefits and job security that union officials said caused them to call the strike on Aug. 26.
But the guarantee triggered the fare increase and frustration that could harm the bus system in the long run.
And the union failed to win the wage increases it sought in the second and third years of a new contract — key demands that kept workers on the picket lines.
Instead, the pending settlement is for a five-year contract with raises in the fourth and fifth years.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Such "back-loaded" contracts have become common in Hawai'i in recent years but generally short-change workers because raises don't keep up with inflation, said Dr. Lawrence Boyd, a labor economist at the University of Hawai'i's Center for Labor Education and Research.
Perry Confalone, left, and Roger Morton of Oahu Transit Services explain the company's final contract offer to the union.
"The increases should be based on productivity, which is up," he said. "Sometime, the people will realize how much they've lost."
It's possible, though not certain, that the union could have won larger raises if it had settled for a three-year contract now and demanded the pay increases in the next contract.
Still, the five-year deal will give workers certain pay raises if they ratify the proposal tomorrow. It also provides modest pension increases that are smaller than the union wanted.
"Are we happy? Of course not, we're not happy," said Jim Santangelo, a vice president for the parent International Brotherhood of Teamsters. "But the people are going to make that decision and that's where it's at."
The city has saved an estimated $3 million while buses remain idle, but will almost certainly need it to balance the expected loss in ridership, officials say.
"There are benefits of course," Mayor Jeremy Harris said. "The bus company doesn't have to go through this foolishness again for five years. The downside is, of course, there's no way to know what the revenue picture will be like four and five years from now."
Advertiser staff writers Treena Shapiro and Mike Leidemann contributed to this report.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
