Business Manager’s Message
Valentino B. Ceria
We are all still very heartbroken by the tragic wildfires and devastation in Lahaina. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families for their loss. We reached out to our members who were affected by the tragedy and stepped up to give help in any way that we could. Two members lost their homes and one member living in a rental lost everything. Supplies were purchased by the Union to support those in need and shipped out to Maui. Together with the assistance of Ferguson and Gordon Mechanical for transportation; Commercial Plumbing and Dorvin D. Leis Company for their contributions and coordinated mobilization sites, we were able to help our members and their families with the donated items. Business agents, Matt Brady, Benji Panis, Sam Barrett, Jr., along with myself and trust fund administrator Erinn Liu and Wendy Hamada for health and welfare, were on hand on Maui to help with receiving and distribution, and answer any questions from our members. A special mahalo goes out to all those who assisted.
General President Mark McManus and General Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Kellett both called me from the United Association as well as some of the other locals across the mainland offering support and asking where they could donate to our affected members. We sought legal counsel for this special situation, and it was advised to set up an account, Plumbers & Fitters Local 675 Maui Fire Special Fund. Checks can be made to this fund and sent to our Union office. I would like to add that we met with our UA International Representative Aaron Stockwell on Maui, who personally presented checks from the UA Relief Fund to the three members who were impacted from the fire. He also had a check for our Maui Fire Special Fund, from his home Local 447, Sacramento, CA. This is a rebuilding time so we urge everyone to do everything they can to support our brothers and sisters on Maui.
I would like to inform you that the Labor Unity Picnic that we have every Labor Day has been cancelled due to the tragedy on Maui. Instead, the LUP committee decided to have a Labor Unity Maui Relief event on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at the Waikiki Shell. A flyer with more details will be going out to you prior to the event.
On a happier note, congratulations go out to all the winners of the Union’s Imi Loa Foundation Scholarship Fund. All the recipients are listed in this newsletter, along with their parents or grandparent.
We also send our congratulations to all the PAMCA (Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association) Board of Directors who were recently sworn in at their Installation Banquet held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. President – Samuel Fujikawa, Continental Mechanical; Directors – Curt Balanay, Preferred AC Service, Joseph Barrios, Alaka’i Mechanical, Jackson Cheng, HSI Mechanical, Darryl Kanno, Elite Mechanical, Barry Lai, Air Central, Kent Matsuzaki, Economy Plumbing and AC, Mark Suzuki, Commercial Plumbing, and David Fujikawa, Construction Management Services (immediate past president). High praise to Gregg Serikaku, PAMCA Executive Director who coordinated the whole event.
We were able to sign Best Plumbing and Electric, LLC as a new signatory contractor after having a Project Agreement with them back in April. They have many projects which include the Child Development Center in Schofield Barracks, Mokapu Elementary School Campus Improvements in Kailua, and the Blaisdell Center Redevelopment project on Ward Avenue. Those projects should keep our members working for a while. We also signed Superior Plumbing Service, LLC in Ewa, and Plumbing and Solar Systems of Maui, LLC.
Recently, I signed a Project Agreement for the Dry Dock 3 Replacement Project at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard which is now underway. Awarded the job in March of this year, Dragados/Hawaiian Dredging/ Orion JV will build the $2.8 billion Dry Dock 5, a new larger graving dock. Hawaiian Dredging will be needing pipefitters in about a year from now. The completion date is slated for September 2027.
The revision of our By-Laws is done, with the appropriate approvals from the General Membership, the United Association, and our legal counsel. I feel a sense of accomplishment along with President Matt Brady and the committee for getting the By-Laws up-to-date since the last revision back in 1980. The new By-Laws will be mailed out to each member in the near future.
I have good news regarding the purchase of Local 675’s new building. It took some time to find the right location that would house our Training Facility and eventually the Union Office and the Trust Fund Administrative Office. After going through the due diligence and negotiating a decent price, we now have our new building in Aiea with lots of parking space. It was the home of the old Holsum Bakery Distribution Center across from Anna Millers Restaurant. The large building sitting on the 2.5 acre lot will need to be renovated to accommodate the new Training Facility whose lease at Iwilei will end in 2026. Eventually, the Union Office as well as the Trust Fund Administrative Office will be moving to the new location. More information will follow as we establish a timeline. For now, business as usual at our current locations.
I need to mention that we had the Union’s annual financial audit completed in May for 2022 and can officially say there were no findings.
Also, great news regarding the Pension. The benefit unit dollar credit value, voted on by the Trustees, is now $100 for the August 2022 – July 2023 fiscal year, instead of the $48 base. Please read the correspondence that was sent out to each member for more information regarding the Pension Plan Benefit Improvement.
On that note, as always, stay informed, stay healthy and be safe!