PAINTERS’ UNION WRONG TO CRITICIZE LINGLE FOR DOING WHAT IS BEST FOR ALL OF HAWAII
HONOLULU - The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades has dusted off an old message in its recent false attack ad against former Governor Linda Lingle. The union is spending $70,000 of its members' money to prop up Mazie Hirono's faltering U.S. Senate campaign.
“Despite the ad’s misleading message, the Painters Union leadership knows full well that the State hires a contractor and the contractor hires the workers. No Governor hires the workers. If they have a beef with the residency of the workers, the union needed to bring that up with the contractor,” said Russ Saito, former Director of the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS). DAGS oversees state contracts.
“Once again, the union leadership has manufactured an attack that is not grounded in fact, but plays on the fears of local people. The union leadership is purposely misleading the public about Governor Lingle’s record,” Saito concluded.
“The Painters Union leadership deceptively hides the fact that Hawaii’s procurement code already required that contractors abide by fair labor practices including paying prevailing wages, state taxes, and covering their workers for unemployment and health insurance. Aloha Stadium desperately needed repairs and we abided by all the procurement rules when we awarded the contract to preserve this important public facility for the residents of our State,” Russ Saito concluded.
"Despite claims to the contrary, the facts remain that there were 21,000 more jobs in the state when Governor Lingle left office then when she was elected," Campaign Manager Bob Lee added.
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