HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0453.006 2000-2002 1-1A1~llAII COUN°T`~' CUUNCII,
CouncilmetzzberNency I'isicchio, Chair
Committee on Trlurnan Services and 1~conomic I)eveloprnent
Tuesday, ,latsuary 8, 2002; 3:00 p.rr9.
S7'A~`El`dIENT OF RA~l1V1®1®lIl CII®1`1G,
II1:OA,II~dIa R1gS®I,U~I~imt IoT~. 1b0-a2
My mane is Raymond Chong, Jr. I am the First Vice-Chairmaafl for the II,WU atnit at Dale
Anuenue, whe.~
I work as a Certified Nurse's Aide.
. _ ~ .
I used to be_ari electrician on the Eig Island but kept getting laid off when construction wa,~ slow.
So- I decided to tx}' another line of work. My mother Was a nurse's a.ade before she retired Arad rrfly
sister is one now In Honolulu. ~1Jhen I saw an ad in the paper alwut a training class being offered
through FIale l~nuenue, I applied. I passed the class and Hale Anuenue hired me and reimbursed
my wining cost.
Ovtrall, it's been a good job at Bale Anuenue. It's hard work, but I've gotten used to it. I like
working with the residents because some of them are old and fragile. but what I don't like is how
rnarzagerneni s®anetAxneS treats us workers unfa2rly. because we have no ttnflon contract. they can
put you on ~e bottom if they don't like you.
g3ecause of the stalemate in contr~t negotiations, the union took a strike vote. ~e were set to go
on sir`flke, bast held off because of atflother offer rrtade by ilea company. Expecting a strike,
rrianageflrflent brought in replacement workers. They paid their airfare and put them up in a hotel
for tvvo days, They paired us with the replaceanent workers so we could show them the ropes.
On the first day, my partner did the first round with tne, but I didn't see him afterward. I'm not
sure what he was doing. The second day, orae of the residents needed sorraething artd left kter call
light on. M~, partsaer Went in to her room four tunes to tuflYl off the light without askflng wh€st she
needed. I I°€ssally had to go in to take cart of her. Other residents complained that the replacetraent
workers make "sore, sore." It was clear that the rcplace?nent workers did not know how io deal
with our residents. Many said that was their first job.
The rraission statement of I-lale Anuenue says, "Our programs, services and facilities rraust be
designed and operated with supcrflor quality to order to satflsfy the needs of Our patients: ' I don't
know how rrassnageYnent hoped to do 411at earith the replaceflraent workers they hired.
We flee CNA's at Hale Ana2enue know our job, knout the residents, and provide quality cage to
them. Instead of trying to work with us to get a good, fair contract, maaagement thought they
could replace us with inexperienced workers from Oahu. I ihirak that Was disrespectful to afls and ts~
t118 rtSfldenYS.
I hope you are able to convince I•Iale Anuenue to slop playitag games and negotiate a fair contrast
with the union. 'Chank you for givi~ag rr'e she opportunity to sh.arr rrry views and concerns.
Ua~s. ~Zoa
Fete- ~3=
Rat, Tf~~