Tug union is
offered new deal

Hawaiian Tug & Barge says
talks are ongoing to avert a strike

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Seeking to avert a strike that could cripple interisland barge movements, the companies that run the barges and their tugs yesterday made a new offer to the union, the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific.

Now it is up to the union to respond, said Mark Cohen, vice president of Hawaiian Tug & Barge, which provides tug services throughout Hawaii.

"We are ready to talk at any time," he said, and although management was waiting to hear back from the union, Cohen described negotiations as "ongoing." Cohen would not disclose the terms of the offer.

The union representing 59 workers at HTB and its sister company, interisland barge operator Young Bros. Ltd., has threatened to strike as early as Sunday if there is no agreement on a new contract. John Lono Kane, Inlandboatmen's representative, has said he would not comment on negotiations.

HTB and Young Bros., both former Hawaiian Electric Industries subsidiaries, were struck by the Inlandboatmen's Union in 1986. Since 1999 they have been owned by Saltchuk Resources Inc. of Seattle.

Neither management nor the union has disclosed current pay scales or what the workers are now seeking.

HTB's Cohen issued a news release yesterday saying the companies feel they have "offered a fair proposal, given the business climate, and we remain optimistic and confident that we will arrive at a mutually agreeable settlement."

The Inlandboatmen's Union represents deckhands, cooks, mates, engineers, dispatchers and operators at both companies. Together, HTB and Young Bros. employ about 350 workers, some of whom are members of other unions, such as the International Longshoremen & Warehousemen's Union.

The Inlandboatmen's Union is affiliated with and supported by the ILWU, which represents stevedores and other workers on all of Hawaii's docks. Local ILWU officials were not available to comment on whether its members would stop work in support of a strike by the smaller union.

Merchants said neighbor islands business, particularly on Molokai and Lanai where Young Bros. is their primary lifeline, would be hurt if barges are forced to stop operating.