Rodrigues firm
linked to union’s
building construction
The UPW leader has ties
By Ian Lind
to a company that supplied the
logs used in building union
offices on neighbor islands
Star-BulletinA company headed by United Public Workers state director Gary Rodrigues is the authorized dealer in Hawaii for Lodge Log Homes, which supplied logs used to build the union's neighbor island offices.
Rodrigues' company, Log Structures Inc., has been a dealer for Lodge Logs for about 10 years, according to Bill White, national sales manager for the log processor based in Boise, Idaho. It is the only dealer in Hawaii, White said.
UPW has reported spending more than $2.7 million to put up the distinctive log buildings for its island headquarters in Hilo, Lihue and Wailuku between 1986 and 1998.
White said Lodge Logs supplied materials for the UPW buildings, and for a large home Rodrigues built in Oregon in 1987.
Rodrigues did not respond to repeated requests by the Star-Bulletin for information about Log Structures Inc. and the construction of the union's neighbor island offices. The receptionist at UPW headquarters immediately hung up on telephone calls from the Star-Bulletin last week. A detailed list of questions for Rodrigues, faxed to UPW headquarters, drew no reply.
Log Structures Inc.'s annual reports to the state have described the company as "inactive" every year since it was founded.
A former UPW state executive board member who ran against Rodrigues in the union election last year and attempted to question the log buildings was threatened with legal action.Log Structures Inc. was incorporated by Rodrigues in March 1986, according to state business registration records.
That was a month before the union's first log building was completed in Hilo. Rodrigues was listed in the articles of incorporation as the company's president and sole stockholder. His daughters, Robin and Shelly, were officers and directors, the records show.
All three were still listed as company officials at the end of 1997, state records show.
Log Structures Inc. uses the address and telephone number of the UPW's Honolulu headquarters, White said. A list of Lodge Log Homes' current dealers published on the Internet includes a listing for Rodrigues and Log Structures Inc. at the union's telephone number.
Lodge Log Homes delivers pre-cut log packages in which each item is numbered, and construction consists of matching numbers and stacking logs, White said.
He said log buildings cost more than "stick frame" construction but are comparable to higher-quality, upscale homes.
"I don't know why the union initially wanted a log building," White said. "But once he (Rodrigues) saw the first one, he wanted to be a dealer."
White said the log buildings are very popular in Japan, where his company has marketed for a number of years.
UPW's first log building in Hilo was completed in 1986, county records show. The two-story, 4,000-square-foot building cost $251,335, according to the union's 1997 report to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The second log office was started in Lihue in 1990, after Rodrigues' company became a dealer, and cost $1.2 million, the report shows. The building consists of two log units joined together into one building, and has more than 9,000 square feet of floor space, real estate records show. Union offices occupy the upper floor, and the ground floor is rented to a community television organization.The two-story building was finished a month before Hurricane Iniki, and it survived with no damage, White said.
The 4,800-square-foot Maui building, which was under construction at the end of 1997, was estimated at that time to cost $1.3 million, according to the union report.
County building permit records show plans for the buildings were prepared by Lodge Logs, while construction was done by local contractors.
White said Lodge Logs does not have other commercial buildings in Hawaii.
Rodrigues has not reported the business relationship between his company and Lodge Log Homes to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Federal law requires union officials to annually disclose any financial or legal interest in, and any income or other benefit derived from, a business "any part of which consists of buying from, or selling or leasing directly or indirectly to, or otherwise dealing with" the union.
Union officials are not required to file reports if they have nothing to disclose, but anyone who "knowingly fails to disclose a material fact" can be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to one year, or both, under penalties imposed by the federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
Other public employee unions in Hawaii are exempt from requirements of the federal law, but the UPW is covered because its membership includes employees in private hospitals and health care facilities.
Frank Hirazumi, who ran against Rodrigues in last year's union election, wrote to Rodrigues on Sept. 10, 1997, seeking disclosure of nine items relating to the log buildings. Hirazumi asked the costs of constructing, landscaping and furnishing each building, names of former landowners, and the names of the contractors hired for each job.
In a written response, Rodrigues declined to provide any information about costs or construction, saying disclosure was not required by the "Bill of Rights for Union Members." Hirazumi abandoned his questions after Rodrigues threatened legal action.
Hirazumi was ousted from the union earlier this year after being charged with accepting campaign assistance from a former UPW business agent who now works for the state. The union has also filed charges and is attempting to expel the state board member who nominated Hirazumi during last year's UPW convention.
