A labor dispute is roiling below the surface of Hawaii’s ocean cargo transportation industry.

It’s not the typical strife over union contracts between a company and employees that occasionally instills fear of dock strikes, or actual strikes, disrupting shipping in a state where the vast majority of goods arrive via ship or barge.

This dispute is largely, or at least partly, between different factions of organized labor, and it could affect the prices and availability of goods.

Essentially, it appears that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union wants tug-and-barge operators to hire existing local stevedore companies, which use ILWU labor, to handle mooring lines for securing barges at harbors statewide.

Two bills that would require such hiring have so far easily sailed through the state Senate and House of Representatives with backing from the ILWU and several other unions, while companies that transport consumer merchandise, crops, fuel and other things via barges between the islands and from the mainland are in opposition, warning that there will be higher prices and possible shortages if the proposed change becomes law.

At a Feb. 28 hearing on one of the measures, House Bill 714, Eric Wright, president of fuel producer Par Hawaii, told the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that he was confused and surprised by the legislation.

“We don’t really understand where it’s coming from,” he said.

Wright explained that Par uses tug-and-barge operator Sause Brothers with union crews to transport fuel refined on Oahu to Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island. He said the tug crews have handled barge mooring lines for dec­ades and that Par would have to hire additional labor that would create logistical challenges and extra expense if the proposed legislation becomes law.

“If we have to use stevedoring services, that could potentially create major scheduling issues for us and potentially lead to fuel shortages on the neighbor islands,” he told the committee. “We’re very concerned.”

HB 714 was introduced by House Speaker Scott Saiki (D, Ala Moana-Kakaako- Downtown). Its companion, Senate Bill 824, was introduced by six senators led by Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Mililani-Wahiawa-Whitmore Village).

Neither lawmaker responded to a query about the need for the legislation and whether it was requested by someone else.

Hawaii Stevedores Inc., which is owned by California- based ocean cargo transportation firm Pasha Hawaii and stands to benefit from the proposed change, declined to comment on the legislation.

Sierra Revilla with Hawaii Stevedores submitted written testimony expressing support for the bill, though a Hawaii Stevedores spokesperson said no one was authorized to submit testimony on the company’s behalf and that the company has no official position on the legislation.

The ILWU, which represents more than 18,000 Hawaii workers in a variety of trades including agriculture and tourism, did not respond to a question on whether it sought the legislation, though the union has submitted written testimony favoring the two bills.

Christian West, president of ILWU Local 142, said in written testimony that HB 714 would protect its local workforce from losing jobs to out-of-state operators.

Several other unions or organized labor organizations have testified in support of the bill, including the Hawaii Government Employees Association, Operating Engineers Local 3 and the Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO, a federation of 74 affiliate local unions and councils with more than 68,000 members in the public and private sectors.

“Hawaii stevedoring companies have the capacity to do the work that has been lost to out-of-state companies,” Randy Perreira, Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO president, said in written testimony. “This bill proposes favoring hiring Hawaii workers to supply Hawaii’s maritime workforce needs.”

Opposing the legislation are tug-and-barge operators Sause Brothers, Olympic Tug &Barge, American Marine Corp. and Aloha Marine Lines, in addition to companies that use these transportation firms to deliver their products. This latter group includes Hawaii Gas, Aloha Petroleum, Island Energy Services, Island Plastic Bags and Hawaiian Cement.

Other entities expressing concerns over HB 714 include the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric, which estimated that the proposed change would lead to monthly electrical bill increases of 26 cents on Maui, 50 cents on Hawaii island and $3.92 on Molokai.

Young Brothers LLC, Hawaii’s dominant interisland cargo transportation firm, which owns its own fleet of tugboats and barges, has asked that it be exempted from the legislation.

Opponents of the legislation estimate that there are about 700 tug-assisted fuel barge arrivals and departures each year in Hawaii, plus hundreds more for other goods, and that the vast majority of tug-and-barge crews are union members.

The General Contractors Association of Hawaii expressed concern that enacting the legislation will increase the cost of construction and housing, while the state Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Young Brothers, said it is concerned that Young Brothers would incur extra labor costs that could then be passed on to ratepayers or customers.

Jim Gomes, a Hawaiian Cement division manager, said in written testimony that a crew of locally unionized employees has operated the only cement barge in the state for the past 40 years, and that it would be “counterproductive” to displace those local union employees with another union force.

A few lawmakers have said they recognize concerns with the legislation, which has been called “a work in progress” by two committee chairs: Rep. Mark Nakashima and Sen. Chris Lee.

Nakashima (D, Hamakua- Hilo) led the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce in an 8-1 vote advancing HB 714 on Feb. 28.

Lee (D, Kailua-Waimanalo- Hawaii Kai) led the Senate Committee on Transportation, Culture and the Arts in a 5-0 vote on the same bill March 21 after it passed the full House on a 47-2 vote March 3.

This bill was advanced Wednesday by the Senate Ways and Means Committee, led by Dela Cruz, in a 10-0 vote without discussion, setting it up for a vote by the full Senate.

The companion measure, SB 824, stalled in a House committee in March after advancing through the Senate. That leaves HB 714 to be possibly considered in a Senate-House conference committee.