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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 31, 2008

EMPLOYEES
Employees, families feel left in the lurch

By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Aloha employee Kala Tai wipes away tears. The airline is operating its last passenger flights today, although cargo service will continue.

Photos by ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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ASSISTANCE FOR JOB SEEKERS

Oahu Work Links has offices across the island. Services include career counseling, job searching, and job and training referrals. Some job seekers also may be provided English as a second language training, as well as training in high-demand industries such as healthcare, construction and commercial truck driving.

Project participants also may receive out-of-area job search assistance, relocation assistance and related support services such as childcare, transportation assistance and job-related certifications, uniforms and equipment.

The main telephone number is 592-8620.

The Oahu Work Links centers are open 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.

Here are the locations and phone numbers:

  • Waipahu civic center, 94-275 Mokuola St., Room 300; phone 675-0010

  • Dillingham Shopping Plaza, 1505 Dillingham Blvd., Room 110; phone 843-0733

  • 830 Punchbowl St., Room 112; phone 586-8700

  • Waialua Shopping Center, 67-292 Goodale Ave.; phone 637-6508

  • Makalapa Community Center in 'Aiea, 99-102 Kalaloa St.; phone 488-5630

  • Wai'anae Neighborhood Community Center, 85-670 Farrington Highway; phone 696-7067

  • Kane'ohe, 45-1141 Kamehameha Highway; phone 233-3700

    Unemployment Insurance

    Unemployment insurance provides temporary financial assistance to qualified workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own. Benefits are not based on need.

    How do I apply for unemployment insurance benefits?

    When you become unemployed or have a reduction in your work schedule, you can call HAWAII TELE-CLAIM at the phone numbers below to file your unemployment claim. TTY relay service is available.

  • 643-5555 (from anywhere in Hawai'i)

  • 1-877-215-5793 (from outside Hawai'i, toll-free)

  • Hours of operation:

    6:30 a.m. to midnight (Sunday to Thursday)

    6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Friday)

    Your claim will be effective from the week in which you finalize and complete the claim-filing process after talking with a customer service representative. Your claim is good for a one-year period called the "benefit year."

    Be prepared to provide your:

  • Social security number

  • All employment information such as:

    Employer's name and address

    Dates of employment

    Reason for separation for the past 18 months (include part-time work)

    If you relocate to another state, you can still file your application by calling the toll-free number.

    Source: state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

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    Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

    Julie Baron, an Aloha Airlines claims representative, wore creative headgear Friday as employees rallied at the state Capitol.

    Advertiser library photo

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    Chris Opiopio, known as "Auntie Aloha" by her colleagues, was expecting to retire next year after 30 years with Aloha Airlines. Instead, she is one of some 1,900 Aloha employees losing their jobs today.

    "It's really going to be hard," Opiopio said yesterday, as she held back tears while working the check-in desk at Honolulu International Airport.

    Tomorrow, the 54-year-old will do something she hasn't done since she was 24 — look for a job.

    Across the Islands yesterday, Aloha Airlines employees — and their families — reacted to the news that their ailing airline was shutting down passenger service, effective today. After the initial shock, there was a range of emotions — anger, anxiety and sadness.

    Distraught employees were regularly spilling tears. Some decided not to come in after hearing the news; others thought they needed to be there for their colleagues.

    Coreen Dijos, a customer service agent for Aloha, couldn't talk about the shutdown without choking back tears. Between helping customers yesterday, she worked to get a list of her colleagues' phone numbers that she could pass out to others so everyone could stay in touch, even after the shutdown.

    "Aloha is like an 'ohana," Dijos said. "We're so close."

    Dijos still hasn't considered her future.

    "It hasn't really sunk in yet," she added.

    And like many Aloha employees, Dijos held out hope for a last-minute miracle.

    "We're hoping this will all be like April Fool's."

    Kamuela Clemente, a dispatcher for Aloha, said he has few choices beyond going to the Mainland for work.

    "The current airlines in Hawai'i are already staffed," he said.

    Clemente, who has been with Aloha for 16 years and is a shop steward for the Transport Workers Union, said he "can't believe that a company that's been here so long is no longer going to be here. Right now, nobody knows what to do."

    Randall Cummings, a pilot for Aloha, predicts the shutdown will have a ripple effect across the state. "This is to Hawai'i what Katrina was to Louisiana," Cummings said. "We're very much integrated into Hawai'i."

    The 42-year-old has been with Aloha for four years. Now, he's looking at his options. Few airlines, he said, are hiring pilots.

    But Cummings doesn't know how he could start a new career, either.

    "It's not fair," he said. "It brings me to tears of anger."

    Shavonn Okamura, who works part time at Aloha, said the shutdown will cut severely into her finances. "It's going to be a burden on my family," she said, adding the job loss has cemented her plans to go back to school for a nursing degree.

    Okamura, a customer service representative, said she's had plenty of jobs, but never has she had one that she'll miss so much.

    "This is the one job where everybody is like a family," she said.

    Downstairs, at the baggage-claim area, the mood also was somber among employees helping passengers find lost luggage. One woman said she couldn't talk about the shutdown without crying. Another just looked down at his shoes when asked about the loss of jobs and shook his head, saying nothing.

    Aloha retirees also will be hurt by the shutdown. Steve Brenessel, a pilot who retired in 2004 on medical disability, said he may not be able to get back surgery he needs because of the loss of benefits.

    Brenessel got a disability claim check and medical coverage through Aloha.

    Losing both will mean he'll have to scramble to find some income.

    "I wasn't ready for it, but I expected it," he said.

    Opiopio, the 30-year veteran of Aloha Airlines, said she is also worried about losing her medical coverage. She said health insurance is the main reason she will "pound the pavement" for a new job as soon as she can. She added, with a weak laugh, that it will be hard to stop herself from driving to the airport this morning — and instead line up at the unemployment office.

    Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.