A veteran of 26 years, he also knows he can't count on a raise this year, even though a judge yesterday ruled that a 7.2 percent pay increase awarded through arbitration was binding.
Circuit Judge Daniel Heely confirmed the two-year arbitration award, which would average less than $150 a month for employees and run through June 1997.
Heely also denied motions by Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties to reject the award, saying it was "inconceivable" that the state Legislature intended arbitration to be advisory.
He said the Legislature promised a "bond of trust" in the arbitration process and that employees had a right to rely on it.
But he also said the issue of whether governments had to release the money was not before him, leading some officials to conclude that the government has the final say.
Beck sees the ruling as another step in a process that already has cost the union about $70,000 to get a $5 million raise over two years for the state's 1,658 firefighters.
He anticipates the legal costs may double if the union sues the state and counties to try to get the money. "Why even have collective bargaining if you're not going to honor it?"
Government officials said they likely would postpone action on the award until after they determined their budgets.
They also said they would review and possibly appeal the ruling, which some said ran counter to previous court decisions that arbitration was only "advisory."
"If it's binding on the partners in the arbitration, I have no problems with that," said Manabu Kimura, the state's chief negotiator. "But if it's binding on the Legislature, I don't know vxxx "
Michael Joy, business manager for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said the governments gambled during negotiations with the firefighters' union, refusing to budge off a zero increase. He said it forced the arbitration panel to award the proposed increase of 7.2 percent.
For City Council Finance Chairman Duke Bainum, the ruling confirmed that arbitration was part of the process in salary negotiations.
But he also said the final decision remained with legislative bodies: "As I read state law, we have the choice to fund it or not."
He also said he would recommend that the Council not take any action until the Legislature concludes next week, enabling the city to know what money it would get from the state.
Bainum said certain legislative proposals could leave the city $10 million short and that if the remaining units won similar awards, the city would have to come up with $35 million. "I see no way we could come up with $35 million without raising taxes," he added.
Darolyn Lendio, corporation counsel, said Heely's ruling was part of standard arbitration in which the court confirms or vacates an award.
But she also said the ruling may force a showdown over the constitutional separation of powers.
If the matter returns to court, a judge could order the legislative bodies to pay or send the issue back to the bargaining table.