State’s federal workers head back to jobs

Thousands of federal workers in Hawaii are expected to be back on the job today after a short-term federal spending bill was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Monday night.

“We’re going back to work. We’re very relieved,” said Jamie Hiranaka, president of the Hawaii chapter of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

Many of Hawaii’s 30,000 federal employees were furloughed Monday morning after the Senate was unable to work out an agreement Friday night, resulting in the three-day shutdown.

Hiranaka, whose union represents about 3,000 mostly white-collar federal workers in Hawaii, said some members thought they might be facing a much longer government shutdown.

“There was no movement this weekend, so we were very worried,” she said.

More than 5,000 federal employees work at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, the state’s largest industrial employer.

“We’re happy to still have a job, that’s for sure,” said Jeff Philipp, president of the Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, which represents 10 unions with more than 2,000 civilian workers at the shipyard.

An estimated 42 percent of the shipyard workforce was handed furlough papers Monday morning, Philipp said.

But those and thousands of other federal workers in Hawaii, including several hundred furloughed Hawaii Air and Army National Guard employees, were notified Monday to report to work today, officials said.

Back pay coming

There’s more good news for the federal workers: The continuing resolution contains language that provides back pay to employees who were either furloughed or deemed exempt from the furlough.

While Philipp said he’s gratified to be back to work, he is aware that another deadline is looming Feb. 8 as the spending bill is good for only three weeks. He said he is disgusted that Washington politicians are playing games with the livelihoods of hardworking federal employees.

“We’ve been through this before,” he said, referring to the 16-day government shutdown in 2013. “This is ridiculous. They shouldn’t be using a government shutdown to get what they want.”

Meanwhile, National Park Service units on Maui and Hawaii island are expected to be fully operational today after remaining partially closed over the weekend and Monday.

On Hawaii island, most of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was closed for what officials called public safety reasons due, in part, to the ongoing eruption of Kilauea Volcano. The summit area, Crater Rim Drive, Chain of Craters Road and the active lava flow within the park boundary were all off limits over the weekend.

Guests at the park’s Volcano House were told to leave the hotel Monday morning, but they will be welcomed back today, an employee said.

At Haleakala National Park the visitor centers and restrooms were closed during the shutdown, as were the park’s summit district during the popular sunrise hours.

“Thank you all for your patience and we look forward to seeing you!” Haleakala’s Facebook page said Monday night.

Camping permits for backcountry cabins were voided during the shutdown. Those who lost out should seek a refund after the government reopens, the park said.

On Oahu, nonprofits helped keep all of the Pearl Harbor historic sites open through Monday. That included the USS Arizona Memorial.