HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0582.010 1996-1998
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Working Together ' LOCAL 152, AFL-CIO
for Hawaii ?°s 1
Hawaii Government Employees Association
495 Manono Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, Phone ((808) 935-6841, FAX (808) 961-2437
December 17, 1997
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Testimony of Eric Notley~Unit 03 Negotiating Team member s~H~~gg in favor of Resolution
185-97 relating_to funding of cost items for bargaining units 03, 04, 63 and 84
My name is Eric Notley. I am an Agriculture Research Technician for the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaii. I work at the Waiakea
Experiment Station on Steinback Highway in Panaewa. I am on the negotiating team representing all
the state workers within Unit 03 of the HGEA/AFSCME on the Big Island. I have been a negotiator
for the past three (3) years and am presently working on our contract which will run to June 30th of the
year 2001.
Our bargaining unit is made up of people who work in the many classes of clerical jobs, skilled
technicians, law enforcement employees, safety and health employees, regulatory employees,
employees in all of our lower and higher public educational institutions -our jobs and responsibilities
go on and on. For example, in our public hospitals, you will find us in the admitting office, accounting
and personnel offices, the phannaoy, in the medical units, in the social services department, in central
supply, in the maintenance department, and yes, those who take your x-rays, those x-ray technicians
are in Unit 03. It is my job as a negotiator to represent our members at the bazgaining table to work to
create as productive, efficient, safe and as healthy a workplace as possible. Determining wages and
other conditions of employment are also an integral part of our negotiating process.
It is with great dismay that I find myself sitting here defending a negotiating process which has always
been labeled a "good faith process". This is a lengthy process of having to work through the many
proposals submitted by both union members and the employers. Relating to the issue of salaries---we,
the members of Unit 03's negotiating team, accepted the employer's proposal of approximately 2 1 /2%
increase for each year of the two year contract. We then took this proposal to our members, who in
turn voted to accept it. At this point, finding that this Council may decide not to fund it is unnerving.
It seems odd to me that this Council had no indication as to what was happening at this round of
negotiations since this process has been going on for some time. I was even more surprised to leans
that the County's representative informed you that the salary settlement offer came from the Union.
This certainly suggests that communications need to improve. The responsibility for this misplaced
action should not become a burden to the public employees.
If the negotiating process is flawed---granted it must be fixed. This fixing process should originate
before the actual negotiating process begins so all concerned will know exactly what the rules are.
I urge you to assert your wisdom in this matter and vote to approve this resolution.
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E C NOTLEY p
Unit 03 Negotiating Team (soot ~ S d z , ( ~
LNSALARY WPD ~ a~< Pos
Presented C.w,uc'~
Art. 1>std DEC 1 7 1991