Gas service to large-scale Hawaii Gas users has so far appeared to be uninterrupted following a strike of more than 200 unionized employees with the utility.
The utility serves about 70,000 customers and is the state’s only franchised gas utility. It serves gas to residential and commercial customers, and the utility’s staff ensures that gas is delivered to customers, primarily through underground pipe systems but also via tanks on trucks.
The strike began Thursday after weeks of unsuccessful contract negotiations between unionized workers and the utility, leading to concerns that low staffing would lead to gas service disruptions.
But there have yet to be any reports of widespread gas disruptions to hotels and other visitor industry facilities, which was one of the primary concerns for both Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996, and Hawaii Gas.
Hotels use the gas primarily for cooking and heating water.
Medical centers and the military also use gas mostly to cook and heat water, and on the second day of the strike, there appear to be no issues in their service, either.
“None of our members have reported to us that the strike at Hawai‘i Gas is negatively impacting their operations at this time,” said Hilton Raethel, Healthcare Association of Hawaii president and CEO, in a statement.
The U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, also a Hawaii Gas customer, has not experienced any gas disruptions.
“Our Department of Public Works personnel have been working with Hawaii Gas officials to minimize the effects of any potential disruption of services,” an Army spokesperson said in a statement.
Hawaii Gas has 217 union employees with Hawaii Teamsters. During the strike it has maintained operations by deploying 142 nonunion employees who are mostly managers who already work with the company.
While new installations, nonemergency appliance repairs and other services might be delayed, Hawaii Gas said in a statement that it wants to “reassure the public that Hawai‘i Gas facilities are staffed and remain operational.”
When asked whether the nonunion employees can sustain operations for an extended period, the utility said, “The strike contingency plans do consider long-term needs in order to provide basic gas services to all customers.”
Meanwhile, contract negotiations between the union and the utility still appear stalled, as the two sides have reached an impasse on salary increases and medical costs.
The two sides are still working on setting their next meeting, Hawaii Gas said.
The union strike continues, with workers sign-waving or walking in picket lines on Maui, Kauai, Hawaii island and Oahu.
On Oahu, employees on strike could be seen Thursday morning temporarily stopping what appeared to be nonunion employees trying to enter the Hawaii Gas synthetic natural gas plant at Campbell Industrial Park.
