CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Local 996 Teamster members and their families walked the picket line in front of the Hawaiian Cement plant yesterday.
Cement strike
positions hardenNegotiations break off after
management makes new proposals
Some 211 cement workers and drivers remain on strike this morning as negotiations between Teamsters Local 996 and Ameron Hawaii broke off last night with no new talks scheduled.
Yesterday, 67 Hawaiian Cement workers marked their first day walking the picket lines. They walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. and joined 144 unionized Ameron workers who went on strike Friday.
Ameron and Hawaiian Cement rank among the state's largest cement providers and a long strike threatens to slow Hawaii's multi-billion dollar construction industry.
Ameron Hawaii management and union negotiators went back to the table with a federal mediator at 5 p.m. yesterday, but broke off talks at about 8:30 p.m.
"We started by floating some proposals for new ideas that were, quite frankly, not well received," said Ameron Hawaii Vice President George West.
But Teamsters attorney Michael Chambrella said, "The company's standing firm on their position. We're still standing strong. We're ready to do whatever we have to do to get the contracts."
West said that as many as 40 construction projects, including the University of Hawaii's medical school in Kakaako, have been put on hold because of the strike.
Hawaiian Cement has also had to postpone all of its projects, including a large cement pour at a planned high-end condominium near Ala Moana Center.
"There's no question," said Hawaiian Cement Vice President Michael Coad yesterday, "that we are fully aware of the impact of this work stoppage on our workers, our customers and the economy as a whole."
Leroy Laney, an economics and finance professor at Hawaii Pacific University, said the strikes come "at a particularly bad time, with the construction industry taking off."
"Construction is a crucial industry and there are some bottlenecks already," he said, also adding that "this is likely not to be something that takes the economy down."
But even if the strikes don't have a lasting long-term effect on the state's economy, those within the construction and development industry will be recuperating for a number of months following the work stoppages, he said.
At Hawaiian Cement's Halawa quarry, picketers were upbeat yesterday on their first strike day, laughing and listening to music as they walked around the plant's entrance.
Beatrice Simbre, who has been with Hawaiian Cement for 25 years, said she's just happy she decided to pay her rent in advance this month.
"I always put some on the side for rainy days. This is a rainy day," she said, adding her colleagues are prepared to walk picket lines for as long as it takes. "We just got to stay together and just don't give up."
Officials have said that contract sticking points for both companies center on medical and sick leave benefits.
Both Coad and Chambrella declined to discuss specifics of their contract proposals last night.
Thomas Awong, a 34-year veteran of the company, said he's upset that Hawaiian Cement is trying to cut worker benefits as the construction industry is booming.
"If they made more money why are they saying they need more," he asked.
Coad said his employees make on average $67,000 to $116,000 annually, depending on their seniority.
"I think Hawaiian Cement pays an excellent wage and benefit package," he said. "What we're looking at is cost control."
