Hawaiian Cement workers back on job after 44 days

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Leevy Paparello from Foundations Hawaii pours cement into the footing of a new home at the High Pointe project in Makakilo. It was the first pouring since Hawaiian Cement workers went on strike Feb. 7. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Other than a few minor mechanical/electrical problems, which were fixed or repaired fairly early, the day has gone very well," said Michael Coad, Hawaiian Cement's vice president of operations.

Hawaiian Cement trucks once again rumbled from Hawaiian Cement's Halawa Valley headquarters and across O'ahu yesterday for the first time since Feb. 7, when 68 members of the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996 went on strike.

The strike continued for another 144 Teamsters at Hawai'i's largest concrete producer, Ameron Hawaii. No negotiations have been scheduled between the Teamsters and Ameron since the union rejected the company's "last, best and final offer" last week.

Hawaiian Cement's strike forced Kevin Pena, the owner of Foundations Hawaii, to lay off 50 employees. Yesterday, Pena gladly welcomed 110 cubic yards of Hawaiian Cement concrete for Schuler Homes High Pointe project in Makakilo.

"On a limited basis, we are back in business," Pena said. He described his employees as "very happy to be back on the job. They see some familiar faces and know that their lives are moving forward again."

Laurel Husain, director of development and communications at Punahou School, could only watch as a Hawaiian Cement truck drove away from Punahou, still loaded with badly needed concrete for the Case Middle School's learning center.

Two days of Manoa rain and mud kept Punahou from receiving one of the first deliveries of the day.

"Because of the rains, it's just too muddy to get the pump truck up where it needed to be," Husain said. "It's quite a disappointment because it just extends the delay."

Officials with Actus Lend Lease followed their company tradition of organizing a blessing for the 160 cubic yards of concrete delivered yesterday to Hickam Air Force Base's 74-home Family Housing Project.

"Everything went as expected," Actus spokesman Ryan Mielke said. "Everything's a go. Everything's good. But it's realistic to expect that we're going to continue to be behind, as well as everybody else."

Although concrete flowed again from Hawaiian Cement for the first time in seven weeks, the backlog of orders means contractors and developers will only slowly bring construction crews back to work, leaving unpaid bills to continue piling up for workers and companies.

Hawaiian Cement yesterday was scheduled to pour 1,100 to 1,400 cubic yards of concrete and is expected to keep up the pace for the next several weeks.

But Hawaiian Cement cannot hope to fill all of the demand caused by the ongoing strike against Ameron Hawaii, Coad said.

For those projects that did receive Hawaiian Cement, yesterday was a good day.

"The contractors were very happy to see concrete flowing to their projects," Coad said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.