Talks’ failure blamed
on mainland official
Union officials said a corporate officer from Hawaiian Cement's parent company "pulled the plug" on strike settlement talks last night.
CORRECTION
Thursday, March 11, 2003>> A total of 67 members of Teamsters Local 996 are on strike against Hawaiian Cement Co. A Page A6 story in yesterday's early edition incorrectly said there were 110 Hawaiian Cement workers on strike.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.The executive -- Bill Schneider, Bismarck, N.D.-based Knife River Corp. senior vice president of construction materials -- was at the negotiations at the Teamsters Local 996 Hart Street headquarters yesterday.
The talks started at 2 p.m. and broke off about five hours later, after the company gave a proposal to the union, then received a counterproposal.
"We were actually surprised ... the company pulled the plug and walked off the bargaining table," said Local 996 President Mel Kahele, who blamed Schneider specifically for the breakdown in talks.
Hawaiian Cement Vice President Michael Coad said he did not want to disclose Schneider's part in negotiations, saying only that he was brought in because he "brought some knowledge and expertise to the table."
"We'd hoped that he would act as a catalyst to resolve these issues," Coad said.
The main issue that led 110 Hawaiian Cement workers to strike Feb. 7 revolves around medical insurance premiums. The union is fighting Hawaiian Cement management because the company wants its workers to pay 20 percent of their medical insurance premiums, where currently they pay none.
Yesterday's proposal by management again included the 20 percent medical copayment, but also included wage increases as well as some changes to employee sick leave. The union rejected the offer and submitted their own counterproposal, which was rejected by management.
No new talks between Hawaiian Cement and the Teamsters were scheduled.
The Teamsters will meet with Ameron Hawaii officials tomorrow at 4 p.m. to discuss a possible settlement in the strike of 140 Ameron concrete workers that began Feb. 6.
The two strikes have significantly slowed the booming Oahu construction industry.
