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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0582.014 1996-1998 ~ ~~~0(~J1Y~ ~~f Working Together LOCAL 152, AFL-CIO ~.j~/ for Hawaii' `n.g 7~''~~•• Hawaii Government Employees Association 495 Manono Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, Phune (808) 935-6841, FAX (A08)i961-2437 - December 17, 1997 ] ~ ~ C~_.. Testimony of Newton Inouye, HGEA/AFSCME Board of DirectorsC~t4-~dUitart of : Resolution 185-97. Good morning honorable County Councilmembers. Thank you for offering me this opportunity to address this body. I came to speak to you about passing Resolution No. 185-97. My name is Newton Inouye. I have been employed for the past 17.5 years with the State of Hawaii Department of Health, Hawaii District Health Office. I have lived in the Kaumana area for the past 12 years and have lived in Hawaii County all my life other than going away for college. I am also a small business person as I manage and own several rental dwellings in the East Hawaii District. I have felt the weak economic situation we are in because on several occasions I have had to lower my rent to attract good tenants. My family also adjusted to this weak economic times because in 1995 my wife was laid off after being employed with the State Department of Agriculture for over 12 years as a permanent employee. I realize that government cannot do everything for everybody so I have been involved in several community projects. For instance just this year I was the Co-Chair of the American Cancer Society Moonlight madness Event that raised over $65,000 from this community. I was also fortunate to be a part of the Lehua Jaycees and with this organization I participated in such projects as the Downtown Christmas Parade, Senior Citizens Christmas Luncheon, 4th of July Fireworks from Coconut Island, Springfest Carnival, Food Bank Fundraisers, etc. As a member of the HGEA, we did such projects as the "Get The Drift And Bag It" litter pickup at the Bayfront, Hospice Tree Light Up A Life, Letter Carriers Drive for the Hawaii Island Food Bank, etc. Also this past October in Papaaloa I volunteered with their Annual Haunted House Project for the Ko'niani Community Association. Presently, I am serving on the Hawaii Red Cross and the Hawaii Island Food Bank as a Board member. County and State employees like myself play an active role in our community such as volunteering their time, donating to the Hawaii Island United Way, serving on numerous boards for nonprofit organizations, youth activities, sports functions, etc. We live and work in this community and we are concerned about it just as much as any of your constituents. This is why I have come before you to inform the Council that Unit 03 and 04 are not "just clerks", and I believe you need to know who your vote directly affects. I have compiled a short list of approximately 150 different jobs within Units 03 and 04 -this is by no means all of the jobs; this is a short but revealing list. Because of the limited time available to nte, I shall not read the entire list but will skip around. 1 Ouo>• Y4 J g-Z~• ~ P1b lie. - Presented cooNO~~ let. Ybi r~.tR DEC 1 7 1991 There certainly are thousands of clerical employees in unit 03 including clerks, admitting clerks, clerk stenos, medical transcriptionists and their supervisors. There are secretaries and office machine operators -like microphotographers, data process and computer operators, airport information operators, television production technicians, tunnel systems operators, switchboard operators, hospital billing clerks and their supervisors. In the fiscal and record keeping areas there are generalists like account clerks and specialists like hospital billing and collection supervisors, support payment officers and retirement system home loan assistant. Research statistical clerks are in Unit 03, as well as those in the various state and county tax offices from tax information technicians to tax return examiners to tax revenue collections supervisor. Unit 03 and 04 employees are in the personnel office, serving as technicians in purchasing offices, and they do inventory control. They're abstractors and land court document clerks. They are school administrative services assistants (school secretaries), business services supervisors, business registration assistants, fingerprint classifiers, university schedulers, visitor information programs assistants and, yes, they are airport baggage attendants and cemetery operations assistants. Some management and staff posts held by Unit 03 and 04 employees include school custodial services superintendent, marine cargo specialist, general maintenance and services supervisor, automotive services operations supervisor, parks district superintendent, homestead housing agent, building and grounds superintendent, television audio technicians, photographer, TV graphic artist. In the human services and educational areas, we have income maintenance workers, and social services assistants. bilingual bicultural school and home assistants, teaching assistants, educational assistants, school museum coordinator, homestead assistants, and unemployment insurance assistants. Library assistants and technicians, and medical record technicians are in Unit 03. So are many in the biological and physical sciences like: Wildlife management assistants, fishery technicians, pest control technicians, forestry technicians, agricultural research technicians, laboratory assistants, x- ray assistants and nuclear medicine technicians. The medical field includes dental assistants and hygienists, audiometric assistants, communications aides, and school health aides. Engineering and allied include engineering aids and technicians, radio technicians, television broadcast engineers, chief engineer for Hawaii Public Broadcasting, drafting aid and technicians. Regulatory, enforcement and public safety employees in these units include vector control inspectors, building construction inspectors, highway construction inspectors, OSH compliance officers, elevator inspectors, conservation and resources enforcement officers, school security attendants, parking control officers, security officers, university security officers, airport 2 operations controllers, harbor agents, criminal ID technicians, measurement standards inspectors, deputy sheriffs, marine patrol officers, motor carrier safety officers, and ambulance services inspectors. A few in the Judiciary include judicial clerks, circuit court clerks, family court services supervisors, court bailiffs, paralegal assistants, traffic violations assistants, illustrators, and driver education assistants. A few jobs in the County of Hawaii - I will forego repeating those mentioned previously -include: elections clerk, hearings reporters, police reporters, council services reporter, real property tax clerk, buyer-purchasing clerk, clerk-meter reader, police records analyst, engineering permit clerk, golf course starter, customer service representative, fire radio dispatcher, police dispatcher, police operations clerk, police evidence custodian, fingerprint technician, workers' compensation claims clerk, zoning clerk, legislative information and reference technician. We also have recreation aid, technicians, and swim instructors. Also, community service workers and program assistants, site managers, and nutrition program assistants. Technical skills areas include engineering drafting, planning drafting, architectural drafting, engineering techs, traffic technician and investigator, tax maps and records supervisor. Public safetyjobs include water safety officers (lifeguards), building inspectors, electrical inspectors, plumbing inspectors, wastewater construction project inspector, liquor control inspectors, school crossing guards, public works investigator, driver license examiners, polygraph examiner, motor vehicle control inspector, and civil defense security attendants. There are more jobs. Your vote affects more than 12,000 working men and women in bargaining units 03, and 04. NEWTON INOUYE Hawaii Director At-Large HGEA/AFSCME Board of Directors 3