Hawaii County has come to terms with the state’s largest labor union regarding hazard pay for those who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The arbitrated agreement will pay certain Hawaii Government Employees Association members who were county employees 15% of their hourly pay over a two-year period based on when the pandemic began and when cases began to flatten.
“I feel really good. I feel like it’s fair,” Mayor Kimo Alameda told the Tribune-Herald on Wednesday. “They could’ve asked for more, but I think they know with the way things are going at this time and the finances flowing in and out of the county, and now with the feds, that it’s a good agreement for them.
“And it’s a good agreement for us.”
According to both Alameda and HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira, the agreement will cover only those employees and former employees who worked in their offices or at remote locations and not from at home. And for those who split their working hours between home and the jobsite during the pandemic, only the time spent on the job away from home will garner extra compensation.
“The mayor has expressed to us from the beginning that employees were putting themselves and their families at risk during the pandemic … and wanted to make good,” said Perreira, who, with HGEA Hawaii Island Division Chief Brian Penner, met with Alameda on Wednesday at the mayor’s Hilo office.
Alameda said comparable offers are on the table for the other three employee unions covering county employees: the blue-collar United Public Workers, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, and the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association.
“It’s going relatively positive,” Alameda said of negotiations with those unions. “You know, it’s a back-and-forth. We share our philosophies on employees, and they share theirs, and we’re pretty much in alignment that when there are promises made in a contract, then you have to try to fulfill it.”
The county estimates that overall, COVID hazard pay for unionized employees will be about $70 million.
For Alameda, the issue likely secured his victory over Mitch Roth, the then-incumbent mayor, in last November’s General Election.
Roth balked at granting COVID hazard pay, citing fiscal issues, and both HGEA, which represents some 5,400 Big Island workers in state and county positions, and the UPW endorsed Alameda.
“I’m holding true to our promise,” Alameda said. “And I made a point to settle this before Friday, which is Employee Appreciation Day, so I could give them a good, genuine gesture of appreciation.”
Because arbitration was involved, Perreira called the agreed compensation “not really a settlement.”
“The key element here is that we were locked in what I would characterize as contentious litigation with the former administration,” he said. “An arbitration decision was rendered. We found that decision to be flawed, but at that time, the then-mayor applauded the decision and characterized it as a victory — and actually was happy that employees were not getting what we believe they were entitled to.
“So, we filed an appeal, and the arbitrator saw the error in his original ruling and amended his ruling. But the significance today is that the new administration with Mayor Alameda immediately realized it as the appeal was being processed and had expressed a willingness to accept the outcome.”
The arbitrator’s ruling appealed by HGEA was for 15% of hourly pay over a six-month period.
The only county or municipal government that HGEA hasn’t reached agreement with is the City and County of Honolulu.
“We’re rather close with them,” Perreira said. “We’re working with Mayor (Rick) Blangiardi at this point and … I should be meeting with the managing director (Michael Formby) before Friday.
“This month literally makes five years since (then-Gov. David) Ige began the shutdowns,” he noted. “It’s a significant amount of time that has passed. I can smile broadly today because five long years, and for us, there was a lot of money that was expended dealing with the appeal process with the prior administration, just a lot of anguish.
“So, hopefully, this puts everything to rest, and for that, I’m grateful.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
