Cement workers
face big backlogStrike-stalled projects at
Schuler Makakilo and
Punahou School get
deliveries today
The 67 Hawaiian Cement concrete workers who return to work this morning after their 42-day strike are looking at busy weeks ahead.
For at least the next month, they will be delivering more than 1,400 cubic yards of concrete daily and working nights and weekends to meet their company's backlog.
"We're booked pretty well into the next three weeks," said Michael Coad, the company's vice president. "I would think we'd be exceptionally busy for the next six to eight weeks."
The employees' return is especially welcome news for Schuler Homes Hawaii, whose Makakilo development will be one of the concrete company's first pours this morning.
Ray Fortucci, an assistant superintendent with Schuler, said foundations for two homes were expected to be poured at 7:30 a.m. The company is 26 houses behind schedule.
"We'll never catch up," he said, adding that he is hoping for a second pour at the site Thursday. "The time lost will not be gained back."
The Schuler construction site, like many islandwide, was left at a standstill when workers at two of Oahu's largest concrete providers went out on strike in early February.
More than 140 workers at Ameron Hawaii, which provides more than 60 percent of the island's concrete, have been walking picket lines since Feb. 6.
Union negotiators rejected the company's "best and final" offer Thursday night, deciding not to send the proposal to the union's membership for a vote. No new talks between Ameron and Teamsters Local 996 were scheduled yesterday.
Hawaiian Cement workers voted 2-to-1 Friday to return to work under a five-year contract that includes a wage and pension increase but also raises the cost of medical insurance.
Coad said the ratification was "kind of like winning the lottery" because of all the calls he has been receiving from people requesting concrete.
But Coad stressed yesterday that his company alone cannot meet the island's concrete needs. "There's no question that we need Ameron back up and running," he said.
Hawaiian Cement has pledged to service its existing customers before taking on new ones, including those left without concrete because of the Ameron strike.
In addition to Schuler, the company will complete pours this morning at the Hickam Family Housing Project and Punahou School's Case Middle School.
Coad said his company brought in concrete aggregate from Maui to help kick-start production this week until the company's quarry is up and running again.
By Saturday the company will be able to make a 1,500-cubic-yard pour at the Albert C. Kobayashi company's Hokua condominium project at Ala Moana.
That job, "the biggest single pour on the books right now," will require 150 mixer trucks of concrete and was originally scheduled for just days after the Hawaiian Cement strike began, Coad said.
Kobayashi Group President B.J. Kobayashi said that during the strike he was getting calls daily from investors inquiring as to the status of the Hokua project, which was virtually halted with the unavailability of concrete.
"Every investor asks about the strike and potential other strikes," he said. "It's one of the first few questions."
Meanwhile, work at other large projects serviced by Ameron concrete, including the University of Hawaii's Kakaako medical school, remain halted.
And though the strikes have been an economic hit for many island contractors, they have meant a boom in business for a handful of small- to medium-size concrete suppliers on Oahu.
Michael Tangaro, owner of Laie Trucking & Ready Mix Co. Ltd., said he hired four new employees and bought two new concrete trucks to help meet demand.
The company, which used to bring in about $10,000 a month, has quadrupled its profit during the concrete strikes.
"We're still booked for the next four weeks," Tangaro said. "Everybody's calling from all over. ... I hope we get locked in with some customers."