HGEA

Author: Malulani Moreno

  • Unit 3’s Darice Garcia Creating “A Place Where People Care” for Lahaina Students

    Unit 3’s Darice Garcia Creating “A Place Where People Care” for Lahaina Students

    Two years after one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history ravaged Lahaina, Maui students are finding glimmers of hope on the King Kamehameha III Elementary School campus.

    CBS Mornings’ Nate Burleson visited the temporary campus, built in 90 days by the Army Corps. of Engineers, and spoke with Unit 3’s Darice Garcia, an educational assistant at the school.

    “In the early days, I would hear the kids make comments like, ‘My house is gone,’ ‘My cousin died,’” said Garcia. She sees her role as providing a sense of stability by “being open arms for them, that love and compassion… so they know they can come to a place where people care about them.”

  • CBS Mornings Spotlights “Bravest Lifeguards On the Planet”

    CBS Mornings Spotlights “Bravest Lifeguards On the Planet”

    There’s no question that Oahu’s North Shore is home to some of the most dangerous waves in the world. But it’s also home to world’s most elite class of lifeguards.

    CBS Mornings traveled to Pipeline to speak to the men and women whose job it is to put their own lives at risk to save someone else’s. Featured Unit 15 members include David Wassel, Tau Hanneman, Kyle Foyle, Kirk Ziegler, Jeffrey Okuyama, and Vitor Marcal.

    Patrolling the beautiful yet treacherous waters, the water safety officers from Honolulu Ocean Safety are ranked as some of the most skilled in the profession worldwide. With upwards of more than 1,000 rescues for some veteran lifeguards, it is evident how the work our members do on the coast protects the community and saves lives.

  • Blazing a Trail for Women in Ocean Safety

    Blazing a Trail for Women in Ocean Safety

    Ever since she was a little girl, Toni Watanuki of Unit 15 knew she was destined to be a lifeguard. Watanuki has been a water safety officer at Hanauma Bay for the past three years.

    Her journey began with the junior lifeguard program, where she found inspiration from her instructors—especially the trailblazing women who helped pave the way for future female lifeguards. Her words of wisdom to other young girls interested in ocean safety is to “just do it—and keep trying!”

  • “Survive Until the Midterms” — U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz Townhall

    “Survive Until the Midterms” — U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz Townhall

    U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has emerged as one of the strongest voices of opposition to the unprecedented assault being waged in Washington D.C. against working people by billionaires and anti-union extremists.

    The senator joined AFL-CIO members last week to offer his take on the current administration’s agenda of public service cuts, mass firings and devastating budget cuts, all for the benefit of big corporations and wealthy donors.

    “The question I’m getting the most is, ‘Hey, what can I be doing?’” Schatz told the members gathered in HGEA’s union hall. “You all remember Calvin Say, who used to say, ‘Be like the bamboo — bend, but don’t break.’ As we think about society itself, the object of the game here is to try to survive until the midterms with the bones of society still in place.”

    While those in control of Washington, D.C. rode a working class wave into office, Schatz said he finds hope in shifting public sentiments. Working people are waking up and will fight back in 2026, he said.

  • It’s a Home Run: Two Members Honored in Hall of Fame

    It’s a Home Run: Two Members Honored in Hall of Fame

    One coached the University of Hawaii-Hilo baseball team to more than 500 wins, the other a two-time Olympian who coached UH-Hilo women’s volleyball to six national championships — both are retired Unit 8 members being inducted into the Big Island Sports Hall of Fame.

    Joey Estrella began his baseball career under legendary UH coach Les Murakami, and is the first to receive UH-Manoa’s Jack Bonham award in 1974. He went on to spend four decades coaching UH-Hilo’s Vulcans, becoming a legend in his own right.

    Sharon Peterson’s volleyball coaching career spans more than 50 years, leading the University of Hawaii-Hilo women’s program to six national championships from 1978 to 2002. Prior to her Olympic appearances in 1964 and 1968, she blocked and spiked for Long Beach State, earning her a spot in the university’s hall of fame 20 years later.

  • New State Board of Directors Sworn In

    New State Board of Directors Sworn In

    State Board President Ginet Hayes, a Unit 13 member, challenged the recently elected HGEA State Board of Directors to commit to growing and strengthening the union for the future. Her remarks occurred during the board’s orientation and swearing in on Friday, July 25, marking the beginning of the 2025-2027 term.

    “To our younger leaders – it is your time to help us shape what HGEA will need to become,” Hayes said. “How do you see yourself contributing to the continuity and sustained growth of our union to see it thrive past 2025?”

    With eyes toward the future, board members heard from Executive Director Randy Perreira, who stressed the need to get organized as anti-union extremists in charge of the federal government take a chain saw to Medicaid, SNAP and other benefits working people rely on. The federal cuts, he said, will cause a ripple effect through other parts of the state budget.

    “We are not isolated from what is happening in Washington, D.C. We will see an impact here at home, and it is already starting,” Perreira said.

    The board approved its new officers, which include Vice President James Sunday of Unit 6, Secretary Jojo Kawana of Unit 9, and Treasurer Bennett Yap of Unit 13. See the full list of new board members. Their term runs through June 30, 2027.

  • HGEA’s John Higgins to Sit On City Task Force to Examine HPD Vacancy Crisis

    HGEA’s John Higgins to Sit On City Task Force to Examine HPD Vacancy Crisis

    A month after HGEA publicly called on the Honolulu City Council to expand its inquiry into police department vacancies to include civilian dispatchers, council members selected Union Agent John Higgins to sit on its 11-member panel to investigate the problem.

    His appointment marks a potential turning point in HPD’s years-long neglect to address recruitment and retainment of police dispatchers amid a growing shortage in their ranks.

    “Given HGEA members are on the front lines of public safety within the HPD — and the impact staffing levels have had on employee morale, retention, and service — it is wholly appropriate for their voices to be represented on the task force,” HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira said.

    The department faces 188 vacancies in civilian positions, according to reports, two-thirds of which are dispatchers. With some 35% of dispatcher positions vacant, this creates the potential for a public safety hazard, the union contends. Members report experiencing emotional and physical strain: working longer hours, foregoing lunch breaks — even bathroom breaks — and being coerced by managers if they are unable to work overtime.

    The task force’s final report to the council is due by Dec. 1, 180 days from the adoption of Councilwoman Andria Tupola’s measure to create the panel. The council would then consider what, if any, recommendations it would implement.

  • HGEA Voted Best Local Union in Hawaii

    HGEA Voted Best Local Union in Hawaii

    More than 50,000 KITV viewers from across the state have spoken: the Hawaii Government Employees Association is the best local union in 2025.

    For 90 years HGEA has been on the front lines fighting for workers’ rights in the workplace, including job security, pay and benefits, good working conditions and fair treatment. We are proud to represent the hard-working women and men who are providing the public with vital government services. Hawaii really does work best when we do.

    Watch Executive Director Randy Perreira discuss the importance of this milestone on KITV Island Life Live.

  • Peter Oshiro Makes Dining Out Safe In Hawaii

    Peter Oshiro Makes Dining Out Safe In Hawaii

    Peter Oshiro, manager of the Environmental Health Program in the Department of Health, has led one of the most critical departments to keep the community safe from communicable diseases. Oshiro, MCEC member, has more than 20 years of service in the union as a steward and board member, and he remains a strong advocate of the important work that government workers do to keep Hawaii healthy.

  • RELEASE: HGEA Calls on City Council to Expand HPD Staffing Crisis Inquiry to Include Police Communication Officers

    RELEASE: HGEA Calls on City Council to Expand HPD Staffing Crisis Inquiry to Include Police Communication Officers

    Severe Shortage of Police Dispatchers in the Honolulu Police Department Threatens Public Safety

    The Hawaii Government Employees Association this week called on the Honolulu City Council to expand its recently established taskforce to tackle the Honolulu Police Department’s shortage of uniformed officers to include civilian police communication officers, commonly known as dispatchers.

    These vital employees answer urgent emergency calls from the public, but for years the union has sounded the alarm about the growing shortage in their ranks and HPD’s failure to address recruitment and retainment. The department faces 188 vacancies in civilian positions, according to reports, two-thirds of which are dispatchers. With some 35% of dispatcher positions vacant, this creates the potential for a public safety hazard.

    “For our members in these roles, it has meant emotional and physical strain: working longer hours, foregoing lunch breaks — even bathroom breaks — and being coerced by managers if they are unable to work overtime,” HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira wrote to the city council in a June 5 letter.

    The impacts of these shortages are well documented: During ongoing emergencies, when minutes are a matter of life or death, staff shortages often increase call wait times from four minutes to upwards of 20 minutes. Employees are required to hold over four hours at the end of their regular eight-hour shift should their supervisor ask them to stay, usually with no advanced notice. And they are not allowed to refuse overtime, even in the case of childcare, elder care or other personal scheduling conflicts. This has led to a workforce that is physically burned out, emotionally worn down, and fearful of management reprisal.

    Twenty-five current police communication officers have reached retirement age, which threatens to compound the vacancy crisis the department faces. With HPD struggling to retain recruits past one year, it’s hard to see how this situation improves. HPD has retained only 13 police communication officers hired since 2020 compared to 21 who have left the workplace.

    While every county in the state is experiencing staffing shortages with emergency operators, HGEA has been able to successfully negotiate retention differentials with all counties except for the Honolulu Police Department.

    “We urge that the council expand its inquiry into this staffing challenge by including police communications officers and the impact that their staffing level has on employee morale, retention, and service (or lack of) provided to our community,” Perreira said in his letter. “The public deserves a communication unit that is fully staffed and capable of accurately handling critical emergencies without delay.”

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    Media Contacts:

    Malulani Moreno
    Communications Manager
    (808) 543-0024
    mmoreno@hgea.org

    Kristina Lum
    Senior Communications Specialist
    (808) 543-0063
    klum@hgea.org