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HAWAII
Turtle Bay workers vote for boycott

Local 5 workers who are negotiating with the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu have voted 92 percent in favor of a boycott of their hotel, a new strategy for the union.

The approval allows union leaders to launch the boycott at any time. The 250 Turtle Bay workers will seek endorsements of the boycott from community leaders, Local 5 said.

Further negotiations are scheduled for mid-August. Contract issues include medical benefits, wages, successorship and subcontracting, according to Local 5 of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees union.

The Turtle Bay Resort is owned by Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LLC and managed by Benchmark Hospitality of Texas.

Hawaiian loses money to refunds

Hawaiian Airlines, stuck in bankruptcy proceedings, has lost an estimated $100,000 to $200,000 in refunds to many of the passengers stranded because of a runway shutdown in American Samoa.

Hawaii suspended all flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago International Airport on June 24 because of the runway's substandard condition. Flights resumed Thursday.

Reservations workers have said that roughly 30 percent of passengers have declined to use their tickets, and instead want refunds, said Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner. Hawaiian had scheduled an extra flight for Sunday, but canceled it yesterday because of lack of demand.

Meanwhile, Hawaiian said yesterday that International Lease Finance Corp. has given it a third extension of the period for restructuring its leases on four Boeing 767 aircraft. After court approval, the new deadline is Aug. 31.

Wahiawa talks resume

Wahiawa General Hospital's striking nurses and management returned to the bargaining table again last night to try and reach agreement on the latest proposal submitted by the nurses.

Talks began at 5 p.m. at the Hawaii Employers Council and continued at press time. The two sides were called together by the federal mediator.

The nurses have been on strike since May 5.

"We are hopeful that movement will finally be made after the 10 weeks the strike has lasted so far. The nurses are looking very intently at how management will respond since most of us are trying to decide whether to take permanent jobs elsewhere," said Cindy Guerin, one of the nurse negotiators.

In previous negotiations, the hospital has stuck with an offer of a 19 percent pay increase over three years. Other issues for the nurses included increased costs for health insurance, retiree health benefits and increased pay for experienced nurses.

Sweet potato export gets easier

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has amended regulations to allow the use of irradiation as an alternative to fumigation with methyl bromide for the treatment of Hawaii-grown sweet potatoes.

The move will reduce costs and restrictions on interstate shipments of potatoes from Hawaii. The USDA already allows irradiation as a treatment for other fruits and vegetables from Hawaii such as bell peppers, eggplant, lychee, mangoes, papayas and rambutan.