Ameron concrete
workers on strikeThe walkout comes as Hawaiian
Cement contract talks break off
More than 140 Ameron Hawaii cement workers went on strike early this morning and some 110 Hawaiian Cement workers are threatening to do the same tomorrow, causing a halt to dozens of construction projects around the island.
At 6:30 p.m. yesterday, Teamsters Local 996 President Mel Kahele said the union and Hawaiian Cement were making significant progress in talks at the Teamsters' Kalihi office. But by 10 p.m., he reported that things were not going well. "Talks are over for today, tomorrow and up until the time the company starts to look to the welfare of (its) employees."
Hawaiian Cement Vice President Michael Coad said: "I personally don't think there is any reason for it to come to this. ... It's my hope that this will be a short-lived strike."
Ameron and Hawaiian Cement employees are covered under two different contracts, and their union has been negotiating with the respective companies since November. Their contracts expired Dec. 31.
Talks with Hawaian Cement broke off after a four-hour session. Workers are prepared to strike at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow.
Union members assembled signs and prepared food and water for pickets at Ameron today. No new talks between Ameron and the union are scheduled.
"We rejected almost every one of their proposals. We're far apart, we're miles apart," Kahele said of those negotiations.
Ameron workers will picket today at the company's Kapaa Quarry, Campbell Industrial Park and Sand Island plants.
Both Ameron and Hawaiian Cement rank among the island's largest cement providers.
"We're completely shut down," George West, Ameron Hawaii vice president of operations, said yesterday. "That means our customers are going to be immediately impacted."
West said as many as 40 construction projects, including the University of Hawaii's medical school in Kakaako, will be put on hold because of the strike. And contractors around the island have said the strikes would put their building plans on hold, pushing home construction at a number of developments back for as long as the work stoppage persists.
Meanwhile, city spokes-woman Carol Costa said a "prolonged strike would certainly have an effect" on a number of public projects and repairs islandwide, including construction of the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.
She said the Ameron strike coupled with Hawaiian Cement workers walking out could halt construction at the plant and stall street repaving work, a sidewalk renovation in Chinatown and construction of about 150 wheelchair ramps on the island.
"They can work around it for a while ... (but) delays in the projects would eventually have to be assessed," she said, adding that city officials met yesterday morning to discuss the impact of a strike.
The sticking points in the Ameron Hawaii contract center on health benefits and pensions.
West said that in the company's proposed contract, the percentage of medical payments each employee would cover has been increased by 10 points to 30 percent. Teamsters attorney Michael Chambrella declined to discuss the union's proposal last night.
The dispute in talks with Hawaiian Cement center around medical benefits and sick leave, Kahele said.
Ameron officials and the union have been meeting three times weekly since Nov. 10. The two last met Monday in federally-mediated negotiations.
"I think we have some fair proposals on the table," West said, adding that his company's cement employees earn on average $72,000 a year. "These are some tough issues for us to be competitive and we feel in the long term we need them."
There are no plans to bring in temporary workers with the union members out, but the issue could be revisited if a strike persists, he said.
"They're not moving," West said. "We're just so optimistic about getting back to the table."
Chambrella said the union is "hopeful that we can come to a reasonable solution" with Ameron. "We feel that we're being reasonable," he said.
Ameron Hawaii's employees on Maui are unaffected by the negotiations, as they are members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142.
Hawaii's homebuilding industry, an economic bright spot for the past few years, is concerned that a prolonged strike at the cement companies could put new home construction well behind schedule, even as demand from buyers continues unabated.
As many as 100 homes a week under construction islandwide could be affected by the lack of cement, according to Mary Flood, vice president of Schuler Homes Hawaii.
Schuler alone has 12 communities under construction on Oahu, she said, and about six concrete slabs are poured each week, she said.
The delays could have a domino effect on local contractors by putting off other construction activities that are dependent upon having concrete slabs in place, Flood said.