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The board of directors of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers decided Friday to suspend its newly increased stipend payments in order to give union members a chance to vote on any potential pay raises for leadership.
The SHOPO board also said it would revert to the previous pay scale from 2011 and suspend all monthly payments until union members can weigh in on board compensation.
The board’s actions came after a private meeting Thursday with union members at SHOPO’s Hoe Street headquarters, where police officers shared their opinions on the hefty increases, which would have seen SHOPO President Robert Cavaco’s allowance jump from $1,400 to $6,000 per month and Vice President Steven Keogh’s stipend increase sixfold from $800 to $5,000.
The stipend increases — now on hold — were to have gone into effect Thursday, the same day a $20 hike in monthly union dues, from $80 to $100, kicked in.
By comparison, members of the police union in San Francisco pay $148.60 per month in dues, and in Sacramento, police union members pay $130 per month.
“We understand the frustration voiced by some members about the allowances, and while we took action with the members’ interests in mind, we should have done a much better job of communicating with our members prior to making a decision,” the SHOPO board said in a statement Friday to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “In consideration of the feedback received, the State Board voted to hold a membership vote on the monthly allowances, to roll back the allowances to the 2011 levels, and suspend all allowance payments until the membership votes on this issue.
“In the meantime, we will continue to push forward for competitive pay and safe working conditions for our members, as well as improving public safety for the people who live, work and visit Hawaii.”
A timetable for voting on the proposed pay raises was not announced.
In an August email to its 2,700 members announcing the changes in compensation and union dues, the SHOPO board said the increases were justified to offset significant rises in Hawaii’s cost of living since 2011, when the stipends were last adjusted, and a substantial increase in board members’ workload and responsibilities.
The board also pointed to the union’s rising legal costs, which shot up 97% between 2019 and 2021; a need to hire more business agents; building and property maintenance; increased pay for SHOPO staff; and the hiring of a political and communications consulting firm as other reasons for the increase in monthly dues.
Other SHOPO board members who were set for stipend increases include Secretary John Asing and Treasurer Derek Pa, who would have been bumped up from $800 to $4,000 per month.
Additionally, the pay for Kauai Chapter Chair Kennison Nagahisa, Maui Chapter Chair Nicholas Krau, Hawaii Chapter Chair James “Kana” Correa and Oahu Chapter Chair Nicholas Schlapak would increase from $800 to $3,000 per month, with member approval.
The three director-at-large positions, held by Shawn Cavaco, Christopher Calio and Carmel “Mel” Hurley, would go from earning $600 to $1,000 per month.
Chapter vice chairs, previously uncompensated, would earn $500 per month for their union work.
SHOPO board members say they use a significant amount of compensatory and vacation leave to conduct union business. Turning to the 2,200-member San Francisco Police Officers Association for comparison, they said that group’s president does not have to take any leave to perform union duties and earns a captain’s pay from the city while also receiving a $6,000 monthly allowance from the union.
The president also is prevented from working overtime or side jobs, as many police officers do.
The SFPOA vice president gets $2,500 monthly from the union and other union officers receive $1,500 monthly, while 32 directors earn $400 per month. The vice president, other officers and directors are permitted to work side jobs and overtime.
In its August email to union members, the SHOPO board included several financial protections and cost- saving measures to go along with the pay increases.
One measure, now to be voted on by union members, would prohibit SHOPO’s president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and chapter chairs from working lucrative special-duty overtime shifts.
Also halted were per diem payments to board members for travel, which cost the union an average of $20,440 per year over the last five fiscal cycles. And, the union would no longer pay for mobile phones and service for its leaders.
The board on Friday also removed the previous threshold for a qualifying vote of 50% of SHOPO membership plus one. That was done because in recent elections, less than 50% of union membership voted to put new leaders in place.
About 39% of SHOPO’s statewide members voted in the December election that put the current board of directors in office.
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