Concrete strike talk ends with stalemate
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Any hopes for a quick end to the 20-day-old concrete strike that has hobbled O'ahu's construction industry were dashed yesterday when striking Teamsters and Hawaiian Cement officials broke off contract talks, with no timetable for new negotiations.
The most recent round of talks — which began Monday and continued for a second day yesterday — had been the first glimmer of progress since both sides last met on Feb. 13.
But as O'ahu's concrete strike enters its 21st day, the continuing economic ripple effects worry big and small businesses, which have laid off hundreds of workers and seen construction projects slow or come to a halt.
Economists for the state, University of Hawai'i and Hawai'i's major banks are reluctant to estimate the exact economic costs of the lengthening strike. But those in the construction industry don't need economists to tell them how the strike has hurt their businesses.
"I've got 375 guys — some have already been laid off and all of them are going to be laid off if this drags on," said Kenneth Choate, executive vice president of Haseko Construction Inc., which is building 4,850 homes at Ocean Pointe in 'Ewa Beach.
At a time when Hawai'i's construction industry was expected to explode, Choate instead has laid off an average of five workers per day since the strike began.
"These guys have car payments, they have tuition payments, they have to buy their kids food," Choate said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how long we can last. We're all frustrated by it."
For the state's economy, Choate worries that the strike may mean that Haseko and Hawai'i's four other largest developers will not match the $1 billion that they added to the tax rolls last year.
Aware of the potential impact, Gov. Linda Lingle has stepped up her monitoring of the strike. She sent state negotiator Ted Hong to observe the talks yesterday and Monday.
"The governor has taken a very keen interest in what happens in these negotiations," Hong said. "The governor's instructions were to sit in, to observe and report back to her and to encourage both parties."
Effects to show soon
The first hard numbers revealing the economic damage of the strike will begin appearing in early March.
That's when state officials will produce tax revenue, unemployment filings and other data for February, said Lingle spokesman Russell Pang.
The talks yesterday between Teamsters President Mel Kahele and Hawaiian Cement representative Michael Coad at the Kalihi headquarters of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 ended a little over an hour after they began.
The key sticking point was how much of the healthcare cost union employees should bear. Hawaiian Cement, which currently pays all of the medical costs, wants union members to start picking up 20 percent of those costs.
The union said Hawaiian Cement offered to make its employee contribution to the medical plan match whatever agreement the Teamsters reach in contract negotiations with O'ahu's other major concrete company, Ameron Hawaii, which also is on strike.
"The company claims this would make them more competitive when bidding for jobs against Ameron," the union said in a statement yesterday. "The union disagrees, noting that Hawaiian Cement claimed a net profit of an estimated $19 million last year and is predicted to have several banner years ahead."
Company 'disappointed'
Hawaiian Cement's Coad declined to describe what led to the breakdown in the talks or to discuss the latest proposals. Coad did say the union negotiators rejected Hawaiian Cement's "fair proposal."
"The union has rejected that proposal," Coad said. "... I'm disappointed, there's no question about it. The company has continued to put proposals and offers, ideas, suggestions and thoughts on the table. ... There doesn't seem to be anything that the union is or can agree to."
When Kahele emerged from the failed talks, he said: "We apologize again for all of the inconvenience we have caused out there, but right now the ball is in the company's lap. We are not and will not pay no co-payments for our medical with the company making $19 million in profits."
Coad has said that Hawaiian Cement remains profitable. But the company has not released earnings or opened its books to union negotiators.
Face-to-face meeting
In previous negotiation sessions, each side sat in separate rooms at the Teamsters headquarters as federal mediator Ken Kawamoto shuttled between the two groups.
The past two negotiations were the first in which company and union negotiators met face-to-face.
Coad was outnumbered by the union's negotiating committee and any rank-and-file members, who were allowed to observe the talks.
"We have about 30 guys on our side," said Mike Chambrella, the union's in-house counsel.
The strike began on Feb. 6 when 144 Teamsters set up picket lines around Ameron Hawaii. Another 68 Teamsters who work for Hawaiian Cement struck the next day.
No talks are scheduled between the Teamsters and either Hawaiian Cement or Ameron.
The issues are similar at both companies: sick leave and company proposals to increase employee contributions to healthcare plans.
Ameron wants its union employees to increase their contribution from 20 percent to 30 percent.
Both companies have said that rising healthcare expenses represent the fastest-growing segment of their labor costs.
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
