Approximately 30 workers from Guava Kai Plantation went on strike Thursday. The workers from the North Shore guava plantation had been negotiating with Kilauea Agronomics Inc. company president Wayne Katayama for over 10 months. The workers’ contract expired on New
Approximately 30 workers from Guava Kai Plantation went on strike Thursday.
The workers from the North Shore guava plantation had been negotiating with Kilauea Agronomics Inc. company president Wayne Katayama for over 10 months. The workers’ contract expired on New Year’s Day. Guava Kai Plantation is run by Kilauea Agronomics, a subsidiary of D. Buyers, a holding company of ML Resources. The company has some land assets in the Kilauea area, plus a Seattle-based juice distributorship.
“They (the negotiations) have been very difficult coming from the other side,” said International Longshore and Warehouse Union Kaua‘i division Director of Business Michael Machado. “They seem unwilling to address our concerns.”
Machado and the ILWU Kaua‘i division are representing Guava Kai workers in the negotiations. For the last six weeks, a federal mediator has been present in the talks.
In the most recent proposals, the key points that the workers cite as obstacles in a future contract settlement are unfair language about wages and an “erosion of benefits,” said ILWU Kaua‘i division Director Clayton Dela Cruz.
“We are trying to come up with a solution that is a win-win situation for everyone,” said Katayama.
“We came up with two proposals that their collective-bargaining team rejected,” he said. “We are certainly willing to come up with a third.”
According to Katayama, the Guava Kai workers’ collective-bargaining team came up with a “take-it-or-else” proposal on Monday that his company rejected.
“There was no flexibility in it,” Katayama said. “There were terms in it that made it impossible for our business to strengthen.”
Machado said that the striking workers notified the company on Monday that they would go on strike on Thursday. Most of the workers picketed outside the entrance of the Guava Kai Plantation in mauka Kilauea on Thursday.
Another round of negotiations was to take place today at 9 a.m.
“Our demands are on the table,” said Machado. “Hopefully, we can resolve this as quickly as possible.”
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
