Kauai Electric
strike settled
If workers ratify the deal today,
By Trish Moore
they could return to their
jobs tomorrow
Kauai correspondent
Star-BulletinLIHUE -- Kauai Electric and the union representing 82 striking workers have agreed to a tentative settlement to end the four-day-old strike. The two sides reached a deal at 8:30 last night and union members were expected to vote on the pact today, according to Jenny Van Pelt, Kauai Electric spokeswoman.
If they ratify the deal, the workers are expected to return to their jobs tomorrow, she said. Details of the pact were not disclosed.
The 82 workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1260, went on strike Sunday at midnight after rejecting an extension of their contract. Union officials and representatives from Kauai Electric's parent company, Stamford, Conn.-based Citizens Utilities Co., worked with a federal mediator on a new contract.
Before last night's deal, union officials had said the last sticking point in the talks was health benefits for retired workers.
Under the previous contract the company continued paying premiums on medical plans for their retired workers. The company wants to discontinue that practice, said Billy Workman, strike captain on the Kukui Grove West picket line.
The strike is "mostly for those close to retirement," he said yesterday. "I think some of the younger guys realize it's a national trend, and we could save for it because we've still got some working years left."
The utility has been operating with 44 local management employees and 10 from the mainland, said Van Pelt. "Everybody has been putting in a lot of hours." So far, the strike has only affected customers who pay their electric bills in person, she said. There has been no walk-in service during the strike.
