Clayton Dela Cruz, International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Kaua’i division director, said contract and closure negotiations between the union and Amfac Sugar Kaua’i are expected to resume next week. But he added workers should realize that the severance package negotiated
Clayton Dela Cruz, International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Kaua’i
division director, said contract and closure negotiations between the union and
Amfac Sugar Kaua’i are expected to resume next week. But he added workers
should realize that the severance package negotiated will only be a temporary
help for employees.
The union is also hoping Amfac will extend medical
benefits to workers after the layoffs.
Most of the union members he has
talked to are most concerned with how far the medical and unemployment benefits
will go, and are looking for jobs offering wages comparable to what they are
receiving from Amfac, Dela Cruz said.
“Mortgages are a big thing, because
unemployment (alone) won’t cut it,” he said.
An Amfac manager said a memo
was issued to management personnel, telling them not to discuss details of the
company’s closing with the news media.
Dela Cruz said he and others are
encouraging Amfac workers to keep their heads up, adding that Kaua’i people are
known for getting through tough times like these.
Gini Kapali, director of
the Kaua’i County Office of Economic Development, said the pending unemployment
isn’t going to sink in for the Amfac workers until after the start of the new
year.
“They’re going to look at life quite differently after January, when
the whistle doesn’t blow anymore,” Kapali said.
Staff Writer Paul C.
Curtis can be reached at pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
