DRUG USE A CONCERN IN HIRING FORECAST

With thousands of new jobs on the horizon, businesses are becoming
increasingly concerned that Hawai'i's drug problem will force them to
recruit from a workforce that is failing pre-employment drug tests in
greater numbers, or -- even worse -- where many are avoiding the tests
altogether.

Workplace testing most often turns up evidence of marijuana use, but
methamphetamine use has been catching up rapidly, at three to five times the
rates seen on the Mainland, said Carl Linden, scientific director of
toxicology for Diagnostic Laboratory Services.

In a recent report to legislators, the leading drug-testing laboratories in
Hawai'i reported positive drug tests for methamphetamine alone increasing by
25 percent to 67 percent in the past five years, depending on the groups
tested, with the vast majority of those tests coming from workplaces in
Hawai'i.

Robin Gard-Kelley, alcohol and drug awareness program coordinator for ISI
Health Enhancement Services, said meth use accounts for most pre-employment
failures she reviews. ISI, a subsidiary of HMSA, assists about 130 companies
with their pre-employment or random workplace testing programs.

"I've heard several times that it does get frustrating, that these people do
have the skills that are needed, but these employer groups don't want people
in there that are using, especially with crystal meth, which can cause
violence in the workplace," she said.

Bev Harbin, small-business advocate with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i,
said almost all company executives interviewed under the Project Jobs
business expansion and retention program cite drug use as a big problem.

One company reported that a decade ago they would run help-wanted ads and
get 600 applicants. But when the same company these days indicates that drug
testing is required, "they're lucky if they get 100," Harbin said.

"Businesses are willing to put energy into employees to raise their skill
levels, but the problem is the pre-screening drug tests," Harbin said. "It's
rampant here on O'ahu."

Harbin and others said the industries most likely to report problems with
positive tests are those with large numbers of unskilled and younger
workers, including auto repair, construction, food service and hotels that
use a lot of casual and part-time help.

"I think it has been going on for the last four or five years. I think the
epidemic (of drug use) is reaching a higher level now," Harbin said. "It's
suddenly a big issue because we realize we have an insufficient workforce
and what we have are drug contaminated. It is a very spooky problem, because
our economy is just going to explode."

On the Big Island, where ice use is seen as a major issue, employers face
special problems in areas such as Kona, where unemployment is low and the
labor pool limited.

"People who are plumbers and electricians and professionals, blue-collar
professionals that are affected, are no longer practicing their trade," said
Paula Helfrich, president of the Hawai'i Island Economic Development Board.
"That affects our ability to participate in this incredible construction
boom that's all over the place."

Another concern is those who don't take part in drug testing. Arnold Ku,
president of Spectrum Security Limited, said many who discuss jobs with his
company fail to show up for drug tests or drop out after being told they
will be tested.

Spectrum, which provides security services for cruise ships and other
commercial properties, has about 200 employees and is constantly recruiting
to fill slots. Ku said the company has a particularly difficult time filling
positions in Kona and Maui.

Not everyone sees a problem, though.

NCL America is hiring 2,000 workers for the Norwegian Cruise Line
operations, but drug use has not been a factor thus far, said Dale Hahn,
director of human resources and administration for NCL in Hawai'i.

Applicants are told they will be tested, and "our experience actually has
been that we're not seeing a lot of positives," she said.

The company has been recruiting since earlier this year, and "we're happy
with the response that we're getting," she said.

Linden said his years of reviewing test results suggest workers are more
likely to be clean in some sectors -- such as banking -- and to test
positive in others, such as construction.

The issue of recruiting clean construction workers will become more
important as Hawai'i embarks on the building and renovation of nearly 8,000
military homes on O'ahu. The work, estimated to cost more than $2 billion,
will last through the next decade and produce a surge of construction jobs
to be filled.

Ron Taketa, financial secretary and business representative for the Hawai'i
Carpenter's Union, acknowledges that drug use was a problem in the
construction industry in the past, but says it dropped dramatically because
of drug-testing programs set up by employers with the consent of the union.

"It is a problem, it is getting better, and I think that's because the word
is getting out that if you want steady employment, you really need to be
clean if you want to be a craftsmen here in the carpenters union," he said.

Nevertheless, Bruce Coppa, executive director of the Pacific Resource
Partnership, an advocacy group representing the Hawai'i Carpenter's Union
and unionized contractors, said the community has to come to grips with
workers' drug use sooner or later.

"The community and the industry's going to have to come to an agreement.
What do we do?

"If we've got people out there and they've got a problem, are we going to
help them, or are we going to go out and find some people someplace else?"
Coppa asked.

"And we don't want to do that."