A standoff over control of three Maui hospitals appears to be over.
A settlement between the United Public Workers Union and the state was announced Friday. The state run Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital will transfer to the supervision of Kaiser Permanente. Employees represented by the union will work under Kaiser until their contracts expire next June.
The union had sued Gov. David Ige in an attempt to stop the transfer before contracts expired. As part of the agreement… Kaiser will offer UPW workers positions at the end of their contract. Gov. Ige said the transfer to wouldn’t happen any sooner than early November.
The United Public Workers Union represents more than 500 mostly blue-collar workers.