Business Manager's Message
Valentino B. Ceria
Happy New Year Brothers & Sisters!
Just a brief recap of some of the highlights throughout the year for 2024.
First and foremost, we had no opposition to the Union's election of Officers, Executive Board, Finance Committee, and Examining Board. All position terms expired at the same time, December 31, 2024, per the UA's request for correction to the original staggered terms. The current positions are for threeyear terms. I want to express my appreciation to all of you for your confidence and support for myself, my officers, and board members, over the years.
On the political front, we were not successful nationally for President and Vice President. Locally though, we supported Rick Blangiardi for Mayor and in prior elections, Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke and Governor Josh Green. I'm happy that the majority of our own State politicians are pro-labor and will support our objectives for our construction industry.
Earlier in the year, United Association General Secretary- Treasurer Patrick Kellett retired and resigned his position on March 31, 2024. Effective April 1, 2024, General President Mark McManus appointed Derrick Kualapai to serve as General Secretary-Treasurer for the remainder of the term; a position only second to the General President. Brother Kualapai was our former International Representative for California and Hawaii. He helped me transition when I became Business Manager in 2019. So I'm happy to report we can move forward with a strong relationship with the United Association.
Last year I hired Brother Sheung Man Wong as my new Business Agent and assigned him to be the Agent for the island of Kauai. I also hired Emmanuel Zibakalam, as the Government Relations and Legislative Liaison for the Union. They have been doing exceptional work.
I also want to announce that Brother Troy Taniguchi recently came on board as the new Assistant Training Coordinator for Air Conditioning to our Apprenticeship Program.
On Oahu and the Neighbor Islands, work is still going strong and I have to give my thanks to the Business Agents handling Oahu and their respective islands. Matt Brady for Hilo, Sam Barrett, Jr. for Kona, Ben Panis for Maui, and Sheung Man Wong for Kauai. I can't thank my brothers enough for doing an excellent job for the Union.
We welcomed four new contractors we organized to add to our list of Signatory Contractors. Clyde T. Hirata, LLC, AG Repair, LLC, KT Construction LLC, and Elite Mechanical, who re-signed with us due to new ownership. The new owners of Elite Mechanical wanted to continue as a Union Shop and I appreciated their commitment to becoming signatory to the Union and have many of our members continue working without any disruptions. The transition went very well.
For our active Union members who happen to become unemployed, the Union has a unique benefit to assist you in maintaining your medical coverage for you and your family. As long as you sign in on the Union's Out-Of-Work List and turn in your approved unemployment determination letter to the Trust Fund Ad Office, you will qualify for 35 hours credit weekly, and that should be sufficient to maintain your medical coverage while unemployed. I believe we are the only Union that provides this credit benefit to its members.
The Trust Funds are doing very well. Back when we took office in 2019, our pension fund was in the low 80% green zone. There are three zones - green, yellow, and red. If we fell below 80%, we would be in the yellow zone. We would have to make changes to our pension plan. If we were to hit the red zone, we would have to make drastic changes that would affect our current retirees. So we made hard choices to help improve our pension plan and those changes helped us get to where we are today.
Based on our actuary, our pension is in the green zone at 98%. The benefit unit dollar credit value, voted on by the Trustees, is now $100 for the August 2023- July 2024 fiscal year, instead of the $48 base. So hopefully the market stays up into the new year.
As you may know, the Union purchased a building and property in Aiea, last year. The property is a 2.5-acre fee-simple lot with an existing building on Moanalua Loop in Aiea. Our focus right now is on the Training facility since the current lease will expire in mid-2026 at Iwilei. We will be developing classrooms and hands-on work areas that will accommodate all the trades - plumbing, air conditioning and refrigeration, fire sprinkler, pipefitting, and welding. After that, we will focus on moving the Union Office and Trust Fund Administration Office over into the new Local 675 Building. It will be a “One- Stop-Shop” in a convenient area with lots of parking space. We recently hired a Project Manager to oversee the renovation work for the existing building. I will keep you all updated on the progress during the year.
I would like to report on the Dry Dock #5 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Earlier, I signed a Project Labor Agreement along with other Unions, and Dragados/Hawaiian Dredging/ Orion (“DHO”) Joint Venture, for the $2.8 billion project. We are looking at mid-2025 when pipefitters will be needed for the job.
Last year we initiated the Pipeline Apprenticeship Training Workshop. We see this as a good opportunity to educate the public on the benefits of belonging to our Union and to focus on the high school students who already show an interest in the trade. I would like to thank Head Training Coordinator Dean Kobashigawa who created this first-of-its-kind program, along with the assistant training coordinators, Ronden Numasaki and Westin Alcover. Because it was so successful, Training will have another Pipeline Workshop on Oahu in March and one on Maui in June.
At this time, I want to congratulate the 16 worthy recipients of the Local 675 Imi Loa Scholarship who were showcased in the last Ha'aheo newsletter. To date we gave out $154,500 in scholarships since 2013. Just so you know, the committee, based on the negotiated contributions coming in from the contractors, increased the scholarship dollar amount to $2,000 this year. I'm happy to report we also had a record five UA scholarship winners from our local. We had the names of the awardees listed in the previous Ha'aheo. The 2025 scholarship application will be posted on our website, Plumbershawaii. com, on March 1st.
I wish everyone a prosperous new year, and hope to continue celebrating our special events with you, our Local 675 family and friends!
<< Previous Next >>