Progress reported in concrete negotiations
By Curtis Lum and Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writers
Teamsters and Ameron Hawai'i reported some movement last night as the union offered to pay for a portion of employees' medical plans.
The main sticking point in the 41-day strike has been Ameron's demand that its 144 union employees contribute 30 percent to healthcare plans. Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers Union Local 996 negotiators moved off their zero co-payment stand and offered to pay 10 percent.
That offer was rejected in last night's talks by Ameron, which will make a counterproposal when talks resume at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
"Ideas are going back and forth, so we're pleased that we're still here talking," said George West, Ameron vice president.
Teamsters President Mel Kahele said the two sides are not too far apart.
"We made every attempt to try to end this strike tonight," he said. "We actually moved off our position, and only because there are thousands of people out there that's been affected by this strike."
While Ameron mulls over a new offer, representatives with the Teamsters and Hawai'i's other major concrete company, Hawaiian Cement, will return to the bargaining table at 10 a.m. today in an effort to end a strike that began Feb. 7.
However, labor leader Tony Rutledge, who sat in on last night's talks, cautioned that the strike at Ameron could drag on for several more weeks.
The talks were held at the union's Kalihi headquarters, with federal mediator Ken Kawamoto shuttling between both sides, who were in separate rooms. Rutledge, head of the umbrella labor organization Unity House, sat with the Teamsters.
"It's all a mind game at this point," Rutledge said less than two hours before the talks broke off. "There's some real tough principal issues on both sides that have to be overcome."
When pressed for an estimate on how long the strike will last, Rutledge said it could take anywhere from another week to two months.
Reach Dan Nakaso at 525-8085 or at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
