HILO — If, as the classic 1980s TV commercial advises, you’re looking for the union label, you’re not likely to find it on Hawaii firefighters uniforms any time soon.
State and county ethics boards are advising against a Hawaii Fire Fighters Association request to allow firefighters to affix an HFFA emblem to their helmets and uniform shoulders. The union, representing all state and county firefighters in the state, has added the clause as part of its contract negotiations currently ongoing at the state level.
But the Hawaii State Commission on Ethics is advising against the practice, saying it would violate state ethics laws governing fair treatment, in particular the portion that bars using an employee’s or officer’s official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages, including “using state time, equipment or other facilities for private business purposes.”
Counties are following behind. The Hawaii County Board of Ethics on Tuesday unanimously agreed with that stance in a request for an informal advisory opinion submitted by Deputy Corporation Counsel Belinda Hall, who represents the county before an arbitration panel convened in Honolulu to hear arguments about contract proposals for firefighters.
The head of the firefighters union said its attorneys are looking at the next course of action, whether to appeal to the ethics commissions or take the matter to court. It’s the first time the union has sought to attach its emblem to uniforms.
The union wants to allow a sticker with the HFFA logo on helmets and a cloth emblem on the opposite sleeve that bears the official emblem.
“The State Ethics Commission construes HRS section 84- 13 to generally prohibit state employees from using their state positions to promote or endorse private businesses or organizations,” said staff attorney Nancy C. Neuffer in a Sept. 27 letter o the the state attorney general’s Employment Law Division. “To do so would unfairly create the impression that the state favors one organization over all others.”
At the Hawaii County board, member Ken Goodenow said the county ethics code has similar provisions.
“It seems pretty clear that’s not appropriate,” Goodenow said.
HFFA President Robert H. Lee characterized the emblems as a morale booster. He said the firefighters have enthusiastically embraced the concept.
Lee said the union is different from a private company as it’s the only firefighter union in the state.
The uniforms aren’t entirely government property, Lee said. Firefighters are given a set upon being hired. After that, they pay 25 percent of the replacement cost, with the government picking up 75 percent.
Beside, he added, there are logos aplenty on government-purchased vehicles, and automotive dealers even tout the government purchases as a marketing tool. He said the military requires logos be removed when it purchases vehicles.
“If they want to use that as an excuse, they better be prepared to take off all logos from anything they buy,” Lee said.