Sat. 4/25 COVID-19 Daily Update

DOUBLETREE HILTON ALANA WAIKIKI WORKERS RATIFY 1ST UNION CONTRACT

Congratulations DoubleTree workers! They ratified their first union contract with a 100% YES vote.

HARIETT CLASSES ARE NOW ONLINE

Our training trust fund HARIETT has moved all their classes online! Earn a certificate, learn a new language or skill, improve yourself—all from the comfort of your own home.

View the courses here.

To register, visit HARIETT’s website.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

As frustrations mount, state further expands phone bank set up for unemployment claims (Hawaii  News Now, April 25, 2020)

The Hawaii Convention Center phone bank that was set up to process unemployment claims is expanding to accommodate more volunteers, and phone bank hours will also be extended. There will be two shifts starting Monday. The first from 7:00am to 12:00pm, and then from 1:00pm to 6:00pm, Monday through Saturday.

Governor extends stay-at-home order, quarantine for travelers through May 31 (HawaiI News Now, April 25, 2020)

Following the Honolulu extension, the state order is also extended now.

Ige also announced:

  • Reopening state beaches for exercise, allowing walking and running on beaches but not loitering
  • Elective medical procedures will now be allowed
  • The Transportation Department will continue stronger enforcement of mandatory, 14-day quarantine.
  • Extend a moratorium on evictions, including for non-payment of rent, through May 31.

Opening up the economy won’t save the economy (Vox, Aril 25, 2020)

This article uses Open Table’s online restaurant reservation data to illustrate the point that people stopped going to restaurants before the lock down orders were announced because they were truly concerned about infection.  The article argues that just because restaurants and businesses are allowed to open again doesn’t mean customers or business will automatically return.

COVID Cases Today

World: Cases: 2.9M (+100k).  Deaths: 202k (+6k)

USA: Cases: 938k (+48k).  Deaths: 53.7k (+2.7k).  Total Tested: 5.1M (+400k)

Hawaii: Cases:  604 (+3).  Deaths: 14 (+0).  Hospitalized: 68 (+1). Recovered: 482 (+17)

Fri. 4/24 COVID-19 Daily Update

WATCH THE RECORDING OF OUR FACEBOOK LIVE WITH JENNY JOHNSON

Today, we hosted another Facebook Live to promote our Local 5 hardship fund. We featured Jenny Johnson from the Sheraton Waikiki. Watch Jenny bake cookies and promote our Hardship Fund! 

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

State attorney general tells Hawaii Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 that 14-day visitor quarantine may last (April 24, 2020)

The state attorney general said today that even after Hawaii reopens for tourism, there’s likely to be a 14-day mandatory self-quarantine for a while. The state is also exploring the constitutionality of other quarantine ideas like: requiring quarantining visitors to wear ankle bracelets; employing Facebook recognition; using 24/7 GPS monitoring; requiring visitors to stay in designated locations, which might be guarded.

HTA CEO Chris Tatum said the quarantine is not likely to be lifted until the state has processes in place “to protect our residents and to ensure the virus is not coming.”

Mayor unveils plan to gradually reopen Honolulu (KHON, April 24, 2020)

The stay-at-home order will remain in place with the gradual reopening of different categories of businesses. “If there’s an order in place and it moves forward, month by month, with fewer things in place… we can protect ourselves from seeing a spiking of this virus,” Caldwell said.

Botanical gardens are considered low risk, and will be reopening May 1. “We’ve also talked about aiming towards May 1 for golf courses with a lot of limitations. Car dealerships, real estate transactions by appointment only with a lot of limitations–everyone wear a mask. When you go to an open house, only one person in the open house at a time with the broker. And certain other businesses with remote interfaces.”

The goal is to move forward slowly to prevent another spike in COVID-19 cases in a few months.

City partners with community organizations to launch massive food distribution program (Hawaii News Now, April 24, 2020)

$2M was donated to Hawaii Foodbank to have two distributions a week alternating at the soccer complex and three other venues: Kakaako Waterfront Park, Kaiaka Bay Beach Park in Haleiwa and Waimanalo District Park.

About 200 Local 23 members and community allies rallied online Monday, demanding that the New Orleans Convention Authority release $100 million to help the city’s hospitality workers.

The action continued with a clergy vigil on Tuesday. Today, workers submitted a petition and 90 written comments in support of their demands to the Convention Center board, which later voted to release just $1 million. However the Communications Workers of America threatened to pull its August 2021 convention if the board refuses to negotiate. “The last thing we’d ever do is cross a picket line.” CWA Secretary-General Sara Steffens told The Lens.

COVID Cases Today

World: Cases: 2.8M (+100k).  Deaths: 196k (+6k)

USA: Cases: 890k (+21k).  Deaths: 51k (+1.0k).  Total Tested: 4.7M (+100k)

Hawaii: Cases:  601 (+5).  Deaths: 14 (+2).  Hospitalized: 67 (+4). Recovered: 465 (+8)

Thu. 4/23 COVID-19 Daily Update

Tune in for another Facebook Live tomorrow @5pm with Jenny Johnson from Sheraton Waikiki. Watch Jenny bake cookies and promote our Local 5 Membership Hardship Fund!

New Resource Added:

Hardship assistance for Hotel & Travel Industry Federal Credit Union Members: https://www.htifcu.com/coronavirus-update/

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

COVID Cases Today

World: Cases: 2.7M (+80k).  Deaths: 190k (+7k)

USA: Cases: 869k (+27k).  Deaths: 50k (+3.4k).  Total Tested: 4.6M (+100k)

Hawaii: Cases:  596 (+4).  Deaths: 12 (+0).  Hospitalized: 63 (+7). Recovered: 455 (+11)

Fed, facing pressure, commits to disclose monthly who’s getting bailouts (Politico, April 23, 2020)

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced it will reveal every month the names of companies that borrow under its massive emergency lending programs, as it faces intense pressure to be transparent about the use of bailout money.  This is good news as it would disclose CARES Act funding including CESA loans that include labor neutrality provisions.   However, Paycheck Protection Program loans administered by the Treasury Dept. and the SBA and Federal Reserve financial market support programs not under the CARES Act are not covered by this transparency pledge from the Federal Reserve.

State raises concern about city’s ambitious testing program, saying kits aren’t FDA-approved (Hawaii News Now, April 23, 2020)

Honolulu is planning to spend $2M on 10,000 testing kits from company called EverlyWell.  The tests are FDA approved only under an emergency use standard.  The State is expressing doubt about the tests and the state and county are reported to be pointing fingers at each other about response communication among leadership.   the tests are to be used at community health centers, but it appears the city can’t move forward without state approval.

OSHA leaves it to employers to monitor coronavirus at work (Pacific Business News, April 23, 2020)

I linked to another news article about how the DOL and OSHA has abrogated its responsibilities to crate safe workplaces for workers. This article details how federal OSHA has left it up to employer to monitor and enforce coronavirus controls.  the article says that OSHA has received about 2,400 complaints and resolved 1,400 of them with no citations issued yet.

The agency said it would not enforce the record-keeping requirement for COVID cases until further notice, except when the employer could obtain clear evidence that the infection was work related, a substantially higher bar than before. Only employers in health care, emergency response or prisons must apply the standard record-keeping procedure in COVID cases.  This could make contact tracing more difficult.

Former OSHA officials also note that the agency has not issued a so-called emergency temporary standard that would instruct employers across a variety of industries to put safety protocols into effect and raise the prospect of fines for failing to do so.

Hawaii manages its own OSHA regulations under HIOSH, and James Hardway suggests looking at the “General Duty” requirement under HIOSH rules to motivate Hawaii employers to take infection control actions to protect workers.

Supreme Court sides largely with environmentalists in Maui wastewater case (Hawaii  News Now, April 23, 2020)

In a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS says that polluters can’t get around the Clean Water Act environmental protections by injecting wastewater into the ground first before it eventually reaches waterways.    Still, the court did not go as far as the federal appeals court, which adopted a standard that would have brought even more groundwater discharges under the clean water law.

Wed. 4/22: COVID-19 Daily Update

WATCH THE RECORDING OF OUR FACEBOOK TOWN HALL ON HEALTHCARE & PENSION

Today, we hosted another Facebook Live Town Hall, which focused on our Local 5 healthcare and pension. We were joined by Carla Jacobs from Benefit & Risk Management Services (BRMS), Lani Meniano Rivera who works at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and our Financial Secretary-Treasurer Eric Gill. In case you missed it, you can watch the recording here.

We will be hosting Facebook Live sessions every Wednesdays and Fridays at 5pm. “Like” our Facebook page so that you’ll receive notifications on our future live sessions.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Hilton Grand Vacations puts construction of Waikiki tower on hold due to Covid (Pacific Business News, April 22, 2020)

Hilton Grand Vacations has put construction of its $370M, 32-story, 191-unit time-share tower on the former King’s Village site in the center of Waikiki on hold because of coronavirus. The Ka Haku by Hilton Grand Vacations project was to begin vertical construction this spring with completion in 2022. Sales were to have started this year.

New unemployment call center opens in hopes of easing Hawaii’s severe backlog of claims (Hawaii News Now, April 22, 2020)

This new call center at the Hawaii Convention Center will accommodate up to 30 lines and will be expandable to other areas and has a full-blown system which allows us to queue people up,” said DLIR. It’s the fourth and biggest call center so far—with technology that the other sites didn’t have. Murakami said because more volunteers than expected showed up for training earlier this week, the call center won’t be operational until the weekend. Volunteers who were trained to process claims, however, will begin doing so on Wednesday.

Trump says immigration order will apply only to green cards and will last 60 days (CNN, April 22, 2020)

The temporary rule barring immigration will only apply to people seeking green cards, lasts 60 days, and won’t affect workers entering the country on a temporary basis.

USDA Increases Monthly SNAP Benefits by 40% (KITV, April 22, 2020)

All SNAP households that are eligible to receive less than their maximum benefit will receive the emergency allotment supplement to bring them up to the maximum. By law, SNAP households are not permitted to receive more than the maximum allotment. SNAP emergency allotments allow states to raise benefits to the maximum amount for the household’s size for up to two months, and USDA is providing additional guidance today to states that want to further extend these emergency allotments month by month as prescribed by the law.

Domestic violence shelter on O’ahu reaches full capacity (KITV, April 22, 2020)

A shelter for victims of domestic violence run by Parents and Children Together (PACT) on Oahu is now at full capacity. It has seen a 20-30% increase in requests since the start of the pandemic. They are working on opening another shelter.

COVID Cases Today

World: Cases: 2.62M (+60k).  Deaths: 183k (+6k)

USA: Cases: 842k (+17k).  Deaths: 46.6k (+1.6k).  Total Tested: 4.4M (+250k)

Hawaii: Cases:  592 (+6).  Deaths: 12 (+0).  Hospitalized: 63 (+7). Recovered: 444 (+7)

Tues. 4/21 COVID-19 Daily Update

Join us for another Facebook Live informational session. We’ll be joined by Carla Jacobs from Benefit & Risk Management Services (BRMS), Lani Meniano, a member from Hilton Hawaiian Village, and our Financial Secretary-Treasurer Eric Gill. Our guests will discuss our healthcare & pension benefits and will answer your questions. See you tomorrow, Wed. at 5pm – facebook.com/uniteherehawaii

 

News Highlights

 

City extends stay-at-home order through May 31, but will reopen parks for exercise (Hawaii News Now, April 21, 2020)

Honolulu Country will remain under stay at home order through May 31st.  Parks will reopen for exercise on Saturday April 25th.  No group exercises are allowed in the parks, only running, walking or biking.  Botanical gardens will open on May 1st, Hanauma Bay will stay closed.  It appears other restrictions may be lifted in the weeks ahead.

Those getting unemployment benefits in Hawaii start seeing extra $600 payments (Hawaii News now, April 21, 2020)

Those receiving unemployment benefits in Hawaii are starting to see extra $600 payments, which were part of the federal relief package. The increase is a weekly payment from March 29 through the end of July — and it is retroactive.

Big business has its own plan to reopen economy (Washington Post, April 13, 2020)

The technology discussed is about widespread quick testing of infection and anti-body immunity.  One interesting practice raised is that a business could test every employee once every week or two to provide peace of mind for customers and employees.

Visitors Arrested On Oahu For Violating Quarantine (Civil Beat, April 21, 2020)

On average, more than 125 visitors fly to Hawaii every day despite coronavirus quarantine (Star Advertiser, April 21, 2020)

Since the state quarantine started, and despite the supposed 14 day quarantine imposed, recreational visitors to the state averaged 125 a day.  on Monday 111 visitors arrived.

Trump says he will sign executive order temporarily suspending immigration into US (The Hill, April 21, 2020)

COVID-19 CASES TODAY:

COVID Cases Today

World: Cases: Cases: 2.56M (+90k).  Deaths: 177k (+12k)

USA: Cases: 825k (+36k).  Deaths: 45k (+2.7k).  Total Tested: 4.15M (+150k)

Hawaii: Cases:  586 (+2).  Deaths: 12 (+2).  Hospitalized: 56 (+1). Recovered: 437 (+14)

 

Mon. 4/20: COVID-19 Daily Update

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Help is coming to ease Hawaii’s severe unemployment claim backlog  (HawaiiNewsNow, April 20, 2020)

Up to 1,000 state workers are being asked to volunteer at a new facility set up in the Convention Center to process the 230k UI claims backlog.

LIVE: Despite decline in new cases, Ige says he’s not ready to ease stay-at-home restrictions (HawaiiNewsNow, April 20 ,2020)

Governor Ige will likely extend the stay at home order late this week, but is considering easing some of the restrictions at the same time.

VIDEO: State House committee updates COVID-19 economic recovery plans (Star Advertiser, April 20, 2020)

Video briefing on the prerequisites to incrementally reopen the economy before the development of a vaccine and having the infrastructure in place to test, screen, monitor and quarantine for the virus.  Also include an update on the State’s receipt of federal CARES Act funds and its allocation and disbursement strategy with State Department of Taxation Director Rona Suzuki.

Jump-starting Hawaii’s economy from coronavirus shutdown to start within a month (Star Advertiser, April 20, 2020)

There appears to be a acceleration of the reopening plan for the state. This week, they will sketch out work plans to support screening, testing, tracking, and quarantining the population when benchmarks for reduced transmission of the novel coronavirus have been met.

Two weeks from now, that plan should be finalized after vetting and tweaking elements. “Our current timeline is aggressive but it’s necessary for it to be aggressive,” Mugiishi said. Mugiishi said the gradual reopening could start with certain places, such as parks or restaurants hypothetically, and expand as capacity for screening, testing and monitoring grows. He also said the reopening could be done on different islands at different times.

A watchdog out of Trump’s grasp unleashes wave of coronavirus audits (Politico, April 20, 2020)

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) answers to Congress, and it has announced numerous oversight audits of the bailout package among other things.

Trump and the astroturf protests: An ugly, cynical new strategy to divide America (Salon, April 20, 2020)

The relatively small anti-quarantine protests you’ve been hearing about are astroturf, which means they are created by and/or funded by corporations, associations, political interests, or public relations firms. These anti-quarantine protests are basically a test to these organizations’ ability to direct inflammatory messaging to “certain” types of people to inflame them into action. Most people still support the quarantine at this point in time.

COVID Cases Today

World: Cases: Cases: 2.475M (+75k).  Deaths: 165k (+5k)

USA: Cases: 786k (+28k).  Deaths: 42.3 (+1.7k).  Total Tested: 4.0M (+200k)

Hawaii: Cases:  584 (+4).  Deaths: 10 (+0).  Hospitalized: 55 (+3). Recovered: 423 (+9)