Tug-barge
operators
on strike
Sixty tugboat workers for Young Brothers Ltd. and Hawaiian Tug & Barge were expected to hit picket lines this morning after contract talks broke off late last night.
"At this point both parties couldn't come to a settlement and our contract expires at 12 midnight tonight, so at this point we're breaking off and tomorrow the IBU (Inlandboatmen's Union) workers will be on strike," Wesley Furtado, an international vice president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said last night.
Young Brothers provides interisland shipping services. Hawaiian Tug & Barge provides contract towing service, ship assists, barge charters and related marine services.
Picket lines were to be set up at 5 a.m. today, Furtado said.
"Young Brothers and Hawaiian Tug & Barge are disappointed that the Inlandboatmen's Union rejected the company's very generous contract offer tonight," a company spokeswoman said late last night. She saidc ustomers are asked to visit the Web site www.youngbrothershawaii.com for updates.
The Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, the marine division of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, represents 60 of Young Brothers' and Hawaiian Tug & Barge's roughly 360 workers.
Management had said it hoped to reach a deal with the union before the workers' three-year contract expired.
In 1999, SaltChuk Resources Inc. bought Young Brothers and selected assets of Hawaiian Tug & Barge from Hawaiian Electric Industries. Young Brothers and Hawaiian Tug & Barge operate 10 barges and 13 tugs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Young Brothers Ltd.
www.youngbrothershawaii.com