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Kahele wants
unity back in
Teamsters

The re-elected union president
wins by 15 votes; all his running
mates are also elected

---

By Leila Fujimori
Star-Bulletin

Mel Kahele said it's time to bring unity back to his union after he narrowly won re-election by 15 votes yesterday as president of the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996.

Kahele beat rival Derek Maeda, 947-932.

Also elected was Kahele's entire slate of running mates, which include vice president Sonny Dudoit, secretary-treasurer Ronan Kozuma, recording secretary Mark Komomua, and trustees Jose "Bob" Bruno, Vidal Ranion and Kardeen Wong.

"The union is stable now," Kahele said. "We've got a team that cares. I believe that's a strong point."

Teamsters local 996 represents employees of TheBus and other workers.

Earlier this month, TheBus workers ratified a contract negotiated by Kahele that gives them a 50-cent-an-hour raise over the next three years and increases in pension contributions. The union members had rejected a contract offer in July.

"We want a good leader," said Mona Kananoe, a Wikiwiki Bus driver who voted for Kahele. Negotiations for their company, Airport Group International, will be coming up next year, and she recalled what he did for city bus drivers.

Another challenger for the top union leadership post, Anson "Slim" Ilae, filed an appeal with the union and went to federal court to stop the election after he was disqualified from the ballot.

"By removing Slim, we believe that a lot of our votes went to the Maeda slate," said his wife, Arlene Ilae. Anson Ilae was out of town and unavailable for comment.

"It's evident that a lot of things that do go on out there are political," Kahele said. "It's too bad because it drives a wedge between the union and the union members. And the problem now is trying to go out there and reunify Local 996."

Kahele was appointed president in 1996 when then-president Michael Chambrella passed away. He was elected in 1997.

Earlier this month, Kahele and Kozuma were expelled from the Unity House labor support organization, along with Eric Gill and Orlando Soriano, the leaders of Local Five of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union.

The four were accused of plotting to dissolve the 50-year-old nonprofit corporation in order to split its $70 million in assets between the two unions.