Hawai'i builders started to breathe again yesterday as news spread of a tentative agreement between Hawai'i Teamsters and Hawaiian Cement that averted a potentially devastating cement strike.

Like other developers, Stanford Carr had to lay off workers and suffered losses two years ago when a different unit of the Hawai'i Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996, went on strike against Hawaiian Cement and its main competitor, Ameron Hawaii, effectively shutting down Hawai'i's red-hot construction industry.

So yesterday, Carr was "very relieved" at the tentative agreement that was reached around 2:30 a.m. yesterday.

"If they went on strike, it would have been deja vu of two years ago," Carr said. "That was quite frustrating and quite expensive."

The tentative agreement affects only 20 Teamsters. But they off-load the only source of imported cement needed to make concrete, then reload it onto trucks for O'ahu and onto barges for the Neighbor Islands.

Teamsters President Mel Kahele said yesterday that he expected the tentative agreement to go before the members within the next five days for ratification.

The main sticking point in the talks was the company's proposal that employees pay 20 percent of their medical copayments. Hawaiian Cement currently pays all of the employees' medical costs, said Mike Coad, Hawaiian Cement's vice president and chief negotiator.

"It's a well-balanced settlement," Coad said. "Of course the company's primary issue was the ... employee copay. We were successful in that issue."

Last Friday, Coad submitted a "last, best and final offer" that included the copayment proposal — along with a $1 per hour raise in the first year of the five-year agreement and raises of 80 cents per hour in each subsequent year.

The tentative agreement reached yesterday calls for the 20 percent copay and a $1.20 per hour raise in the first year, followed by raises of 80 cents per hour in the second year and raises of 75 cents per hour in each of the final three years.

"What the employees got was money in the first year to offset the cost of the employee copay," Coad said.

Kahele said, "We ended up with a real deal, a package that I don't think we were able to refuse." Kahele said the union agreed to the 20 percent medical copay but that the increase in take-home pay will more than make up for it.

The deal was reached 5 1/2 hours after the two sides resumed talks at the company's Campbell Industrial Park offices about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

It was the 13th meeting between the two sides over the contract that originally expired Dec. 31.

Coad praised the role played by federal mediator Ken Kawa-moto, whom Coad said "played an integral part. He worked his magic."

Coad said a factor in the successful negotiations was the relatively large turnout of union members, who were regularly briefed on the discussions.

An estimated 10 Teamsters — out of the 14 O'ahu workers — turned out and "I think that contributed to the settlement," Coad said. "I am sure they voiced their concerns, their issues, and provided their comments on not only the total package but individual items. Having an overwhelming presence made it much easier for Mel to say, 'Hey, guys and girls, what do you think?' "

As union leaders told Kawamoto and Coad of the tentative agreement, Coad said he entered the Teamsters conference room and he and Kahele shook hands.

"It was very cordial," Coad said. "We were both relieved and pleased to have a settlement and get back to our more mundane responsibilities."

If the members ratify the tentative agreement, Coad said he will "happily return to my life of relative obscurity."

Hawaiian Cement's next contract involving Teamsters does not expire until January 2009 and covers the same group of employees that went on strike in 2004.

"We're all happy that the parties were able to reach agreement and resolve their differences," said Ron Taketa, financial secretary and business representative for the Hawaii Carpenters Union. "We look forward to another year of good economic growth. We need to move forward."

The tentative agreement means that Fred Perlin of Perlin Development can get back to work without worrying about having to lay off employees or lose revenue from stalled projects.

"Knowing that a strike won't happen is big," Perlin said. "Everybody was rushing to pour all of their concrete ahead of a strike. Now they won't have to do that.

"I'm really happy. I was trying ways to keep my guys busy if we had a strike and we weren't going to get concrete."

Marshall Hickox, vice president and part-owner of Homeworks Construction Inc., a custom home builder and remodeler, laid off 10 employees during the 2004 strike.

This week, Hickox told a half-dozen customers that their new homes and remodeling projects might be delayed if the Teamsters went on strike.

"Based on what happened two years ago, we were fairly concerned," Hickox said. "You have to plan for the worst. We had some jobs we were ready to start and we gave a warning to those clients and said there was a potential here for a delay. Most were not happy, but they understood that it was out of everybody's hands."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com and Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.