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<br /> ~ AA ~A <br /> ~ ~ <br /> Working Together ' LOCAL 152, AFL-CIO <br /> for Hawaii ?°s 1 <br /> Hawaii Government Employees Association <br /> 495 Manono Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, Phone ((808) 935-6841, FAX (808) 961-2437 <br /> December 17, 1997 <br /> __.i <br /> Testimony of Eric Notley~Unit 03 Negotiating Team member s~H~~gg in favor of Resolution <br /> 185-97 relating_to funding of cost items for bargaining units 03, 04, 63 and 84 <br /> My name is Eric Notley. I am an Agriculture Research Technician for the College of Tropical <br /> Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaii. I work at the Waiakea <br /> Experiment Station on Steinback Highway in Panaewa. I am on the negotiating team representing all <br /> the state workers within Unit 03 of the HGEA/AFSCME on the Big Island. I have been a negotiator <br /> for the past three (3) years and am presently working on our contract which will run to June 30th of the <br /> year 2001. <br /> Our bargaining unit is made up of people who work in the many classes of clerical jobs, skilled <br /> technicians, law enforcement employees, safety and health employees, regulatory employees, <br /> employees in all of our lower and higher public educational institutions -our jobs and responsibilities <br /> go on and on. For example, in our public hospitals, you will find us in the admitting office, accounting <br /> and personnel offices, the phannaoy, in the medical units, in the social services department, in central <br /> supply, in the maintenance department, and yes, those who take your x-rays, those x-ray technicians <br /> are in Unit 03. It is my job as a negotiator to represent our members at the bazgaining table to work to <br /> create as productive, efficient, safe and as healthy a workplace as possible. Determining wages and <br /> other conditions of employment are also an integral part of our negotiating process. <br /> It is with great dismay that I find myself sitting here defending a negotiating process which has always <br /> been labeled a "good faith process". This is a lengthy process of having to work through the many <br /> proposals submitted by both union members and the employers. Relating to the issue of salaries---we, <br /> the members of Unit 03's negotiating team, accepted the employer's proposal of approximately 2 1 /2% <br /> increase for each year of the two year contract. We then took this proposal to our members, who in <br /> turn voted to accept it. At this point, finding that this Council may decide not to fund it is unnerving. <br /> It seems odd to me that this Council had no indication as to what was happening at this round of <br /> negotiations since this process has been going on for some time. I was even more surprised to leans <br /> that the County's representative informed you that the salary settlement offer came from the Union. <br /> This certainly suggests that communications need to improve. The responsibility for this misplaced <br /> action should not become a burden to the public employees. <br /> If the negotiating process is flawed---granted it must be fixed. This fixing process should originate <br /> before the actual negotiating process begins so all concerned will know exactly what the rules are. <br /> I urge you to assert your wisdom in this matter and vote to approve this resolution. <br /> ' <br /> E C NOTLEY p <br /> Unit 03 Negotiating Team (soot ~ S d z , ( ~ <br /> LNSALARY WPD ~ a~< Pos <br /> Presented C.w,uc'~ <br /> Art. 1>std DEC 1 7 1991 <br /> <br />