Honolulu City Council Committee on International and Legal Affairs Meeting Summary - January 15, 2026
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Honolulu City Council Committee on International and Legal Affairs Meeting Summary - January 15, 2026
The Committee on International and Legal Affairs met on January 15, 2026, to discuss Resolution 25-313, concerning collective bargaining negotiations between the City and OTS (the bus service operator) and Teamsters Local 996, representing bus operators, mechanics, and support staff. The meeting also included an executive session to discuss lawsuits against the city. The committee ultimately voted to defer action on Resolution 25-313 to next month.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jonathan Makwey: Expressed full support for Resolution 25-313.
- Holly Golderama (Teamsters Local 996 and Live Workers): Testified in full support of the bill.
- Jonathan Johnson: Expressed support for the resolution.
- Tavesi Algaffa: Expressed support for the resolution.
- Jonathan Reid (Teamsters 996): Expressed support for the resolution.
- Sandy Chung: Expressed support for the bill.
- Terrence Kaloha (Hawaii Teamsters Local 996): Expressed support for the resolution.
- Kevin Holu (Teamsters Local 996): Spoke at length in support of the resolution, emphasizing that workers are essential to the city and deserve fairness, dignity, and respect. He stated that workers went through a seven-year contract and were told by OTS to "move to San Francisco" if they wanted higher wages, which he called "a huge slap in the face." He urged the council to support the resolution to help negotiations proceed correctly without public relations interference.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 25-313: The resolution, introduced by Councilmember Wires, aimed to signal council support for fair wages and conditions for city bus workers during ongoing collective bargaining with OTS. Chair Nishimoto noted that it is unusual for the council to involve itself in active collective bargaining, but he took up the resolution to show concern while allowing space for negotiations. He recommended deferring action until next month to give both parties time to reach an agreement.
- Councilmember Wires: Stated that the intent was to acknowledge that bus workers are part of the city 'ohana and to ensure the council is not seen as a limiting factor in negotiations. He emphasized the importance of setting a standard as an employer.
- Councilmember Okimoto: Expressed support for workers but concern that the resolution may be outside the council's jurisdiction and could set a bad precedent for future negotiations. He hoped negotiations would resolve before next month.
- Councilmember Tupolo: Supported the deferral and thanked Kevin Holu for leadership, expressing confidence that negotiations could be resolved without council intervention.
- Councilmember Kiyano: Addressed OTS leadership directly, stating they need to "come to closure" on negotiations and warned that the measure would be pending consideration if not resolved. He hoped they were watching.
Executive Session
- The committee entered executive session to discuss two lawsuits: Saki versus City and County of Honolulu and Shelton versus City and County of Honolulu. No public testimony was offered. The committee reconvened and voted to report out the request for authorization to settle the Shelton case for adoption.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 25-313: The committee voted to postpone action on Resolution 25-313 until February's meeting. The roll call vote was: Member Cordero (Aye), Member Kiyano (Aye), Member Okimoto (Aye), Vice Chair Tupolo (Aye), Chair Waters (Aye), Member Wires (No). Chair Nishimoto voted Aye. Member Dos Santos Tam was excused. The resolution will be considered again if negotiations remain unresolved.
- Executive Session: The committee approved reporting out the authorization to settle the Shelton versus City and County of Honolulu lawsuit for adoption. No further details were provided.
- All other reports and motions were adopted without objection.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned following the executive session actions.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, uh, calling to order the committee on international and legal affairs. Please note the presence of all members, um, except member um dosantos Tam who is excused. And no members participating um remotely. Okay, announcements members pursuant to section ninety-two dash three point seven HRS, this meeting will be conducted as a remote meeting by interactive conference technology with the following procedures in effect for the meeting. As both English and Hawaiian are official languages of the state of Hawaii, pursuant to Article 15 section four of the Hawaii State Constitution and section one-thirteen of the HRS, members of the public may testify in either language for oral testimonies offered in Olelo Hawaii. Before testifying, each person shall state their name. Each speaker may not have anyone else read their statement and is limited to a one-minute presentation on each item. Please utilize the raised hand feature in Zoom to be called on. If you're also watching the proceedings on Olelo, please mute your tech your television at the time you're called to testify. When the timer on your screen reaches zero, please conclude your remarks promptly. HRS section 92-3.7 requires all votes at remote meetings to be conducted by a roll call unless unanimous. Therefore, I will call for objections. If there are any, I will call for a roll call vote. No members are participating outside the chamber. Okay, for written testimonies, including the testifiers email, uh testify's address, email address, and phone number will be available to the public as described in the posted agenda. As a courtesy, please turn off all cell phones. Okay, moving to agenda item number one, resolution 25-313. Is anyone for the administration here? KC none. Any in-person registered testifiers? Chair, we do we have some. Okay. We have one registered in-person testifier. Jonathan Makwey, please come forward. Uh there's a yeah, there you go. Thank you. Mah. You can begin. Okay. My name is Jonathan Makue, and I uh fully support this bill. Bahalo. Are there any other registered testifiers? Okay, why don't we just there I have a few, but why don't we just say whoever is here to testify, just please come up one by one. It's all we could. Aloha chair, vice chair, uh, council members, Holly Golderama, Teamsters, Local 996, and Live Workers. Um testifying full support of the bill. Okay, thank you. Next testifier, please. Hello. My name is Jonathan Johnson, and I support this. Thank you. Next testifier, please. Good afternoon. My name is Tavesi Algaffa. I support this bill. Thank you. Thank you. Aloha, my name is Jonathan Reid, uh, Teamsters 996. I support this resolution. Okay, thank you.
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