Two concrete companies may face strike
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 has given notice that it will strike Hawai'i's two largest concrete producers this week, which could delay projects in the midst of a statewide construction boom.
Union members are prepared to strike Ameron Hawaii at 12:01 a.m. Friday and Hawaiian Cement at 12:01 a.m. Saturday as their current contracts expire, Teamsters president Mel Kahele said yesterday. The companies said in written statements that they've made fair offers and are willing to negotiate.
A strike could shut down concrete plants, idle mixing trucks and delay projects from Kona to Kaka'ako. The dispute also represents the first glitch in an otherwise euphoric time for Hawai'i's construction industry, which is preparing for an unprecedented boom in military projects.
"Obviously we don't want a strike, especially coming off of so many years of what I would almost call a depression in the construction industry," said Bruce Coppa, co-chairman of the Hawaii Jobs Summit, which is working to employ as many local laborers as possible for the anticipated construction jobs.
Talks between union and Ameron officials broke off Monday. Union officials last spoke with Hawaiian Cement representatives Tuesday night.
Kahele said the issues are the same at both companies: sick leave and medical co-payments.
Ameron, which Kahele said employs about 160 Teamsters, wants employees to pay 30 percent of their medical co-payments, up from 20 percent. Hawaiian Cement wants the 70 Teamsters members to pay 20 percent of their medical co-pay, Kahele said.
The union also wants to discuss reinstituting paid sick days at Ameron, which the company eliminated three years ago, Kahele said. Hawaiian Cement wants to reduce the amount of sick days by 50 percent, he said.
"We're willing to sit down and talk about these items but we haven't gotten nowhere," Kahele said.
Teamsters concrete workers at the top of the pay scale now earn $25 an hour, Kahele said, and wages are a negotiating point. But sick leave and medical co-payments are the unions' top issues in the negotiations, he said.
The union represents a variety of workers, Kahele said, including drivers, welders, plant operators and quarry workers.
Officials from Ameron Hawaii and Hawaiian Cement did not return repeated telephone calls yesterday but issued statements.
"We remain committed to resolving this issue at the bargaining table, and we are willing to resume negotiations at any time," Ameron said. "We believe that the proposal we have offered the union is fair to our employees and will allow us to successfully face growing challenges in a highly competitive industry while addressing our workers' need ... for health benefits and fair wages."
Hawaiian Cement said it has been negotiating with Local 966 since Nov. 13 "and believe our proposal is fair and in the best interest of our employees and company. We are willing to return to the bargaining table at any time, and continue to hope that we can reach an agreement that allows us to serve our customers without interruption.
"However, if our unionized employees do strike, we have no choice but to shut down our operations until our employees return to work," according to the statement. "We regret the impact this will have on our employees, customers, construction industry and the state of Hawai'i and remain committed to negotiating an agreement that will provides a solid future for our company and employees."
Ameron Hawaii and Hawaiian Cement are the main concrete providers for O'ahu and Maui, Coppa said. Hawaiian Cement also supplies the Kona side of the Big Island.
"The inability of the two major suppliers to deliver concrete, I'm sure, will have a major impact," said Bill Wilson, president of Hawaiian Dredging, which has projects under way on Maui, the Big Island and O'ahu.
Each project will adjust to the loss of concrete by focusing on other work, Wilson said.
"If you can't pour concrete into shafts, we'll just keep drilling more shafts," he said. "You try to work around a situation. But if you don't have the concrete to build the first floor, you can't build the second floor. ... If it goes on for a long period of time, we're going to have to send our workers home and even the salaried staff will have to take some vacation."
The Teamsters held a concrete strike in 1984 and again in 1992.
Homeowners may be able to continue working on small projects, Coppa said. But large construction projects could not consistently mix together enough enough sand, cement and aggregate to do the job properly, he said.
"It's an impossibility," Coppa said. "You'll need four, five, six trucks. And to get that kind of consistent quality and consistent quantity, it's hard."
General and sub-contractors for the past 18 months have been cheering about Hawai'i's construction future after settling contracts with the major labor unions for typically five-year agreements.
"Contractors were feeling the way they were because the unions and management had reached agreements with the electricians, pipe fitters, dry wallers," Wilson said. "But now you've got the concrete guys and the concrete companies. And concrete is a key component for construction."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
