Hawaiian Air, HEI disagree with Roundtable’s call for veto of civil union bill

Two major Hawaii businesses say they do not agree with the Hawaii Business Roundtable’s recent request that Gov. Linda Lingle veto the civil unions bill.

Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines, sent Lingle a letter Thursday saying the airline was not consulted about the Roundtable’s veto request and does not endorse it.

And Constance Lau, Hawaiian Electric Industries’ president and chief executive officer, wrote in a letter to Equality Hawaii Thursday, “Our HEI companies remain firmly committed to the principle that all people must be treated with fairness, respect and aloha.”

The Roundtable clarified this week that it had not taken a position on civil unions. The group recommended a veto based on administrative concerns about how to implement any new rules, officials said.

But Lau wrote that any administrative challenges can be addressed in ways other than a veto.

HEI and Hawaiian Airlines join a host of other Roundtable members that have distanced their businesses from the group’s call for a veto of the bill.