As the debate over the future of the Hawaii Superferry moved from a Maui courthouse to the state Capitol, about 310 ferry employees wondered how long they can keep their jobs.

As of yesterday, all Superferry employees remained working and on the payroll despite the suspension of operations in late August and the prospect that things could stay that way for several months.

"For a lot of us, this is the only job and income we have," said vehicle screener Shayna Asuncion, 25, of Wailuku. "But right now we're keeping our heads up and staying positive."

All Superferry workers continue to work and be on the payroll, said Lori Abe, a senior vice president at McNeil-Wilson Communications and a Superferry spokeswoman. About half the company's workers are full-time and the rest are part-timers. All are getting paid what they would if the ship were operating, Abe said.

"They've been on the boat doing training exercises, cleaning the boat and doing maintenance," she said. "Most employees want to keep busy while they're on their jobs."

She added: "Everyone's expected to come in every day and contribute."

Company president and chief executive John Garibaldi has said that if the vessel can't sail to Maui, 270 of its employees, about 90 percent of its workforce, would be laid off.

MAUI BONDING

Asked about the future of the employees' jobs yesterday, Abe said she had nothing to add to Garibaldi's earlier comment.

"I think the big question on everyone's minds with the Superferry is waiting to find out, obviously, whether there's going to be a special session (of the state Legislature)," she said. "That will, of course, drive their decision-making and timing."

Several of the 35 Maui workers, who grew into a tight-knit bunch during court proceedings there, expressed some of their concerns following state Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza's ruling Tuesday that bars Hawaii Superferry from resuming service until an environmental assessment of ferry-related harbor projects is completed.

Colleen Hammer, 50, of Kihei, was one of the employees who sat through every day of testimony. "It was good to hear all sides of the story," she said.

Hammer, a "customer experience" worker, said she was disturbed by the highly charged debate over the ferry. "We're all supposed to be one state," she said.

Maui manager Duane Kim said employees held a potluck Tuesday night following the court ruling. "We didn't talk about the decision. It was just one of those moments like, 'Let's get together.'"

'HANG IN THERE FOR NOW'

Only two of the 35 Maui workers are full-time salaried employees. The rest are hourly and work several hours a day. About 20 to 30 of them asked to spend their work hours sitting in the court daily and the company agreed to it, Abe said.

Kim said there is work cleaning and maintaining the company's site at Kahului Harbor, and that two or three employees at a time are called in for those chores.

In the meantime, Hawaii Superferry employees are being told to "hang in there for now" and contact lawmakers about the special session, Kim said. A briefing with company officials to update employees on the situation is scheduled for tomorrow.

If the Superferry does not survive economically and the employees are laid off, they will at least be dropping into a period of low unemployment in Hawai'i that might make it relatively easy to find new jobs.

"It's obviously a tight labor market right now, there's low unemployment and we have a number of businesses that are recruiting and seemingly constantly looking for people," said Murray Towill, president of the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association. "From that standpoint, that's a positive with anyone looking."

However, he said, "it depends on the skills of the people looking versus the skills required to perform a particular job."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com and Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.