Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Neil Abercrombie today issued the following statement about incentive pay for Hawaiian Telcom employees, following a threat by Hawaii's Governor to wage a legal challenge to oppose the payments.

"Public officials owe their constituents fairness and honesty, not just in what they do, but in what they say. We must try to be scrupulous and precise in our statements and avoid broad characterizations or suggest associations that might mislead people. That’s why I believe any attempt to equate bonuses for 1,400 employees of Hawaiian Telcom using company earnings to the use of public bailout funds for multi-million dollar bonuses at AIG is a sad commentary on our political dialog.

"The two situations have nothing to do with each other. Following a pattern of disastrous, risky decisions by a group of AIG investment managers that brought the company — and the U.S. economy — to brink of collapse, AIG’s top management accepted hundreds of billions in bail-out from the federal government and used part of the funds to reward the same investment managers.

"In clear contrast, Hawaiian Telcom appears to be doing the right things to emerge from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings. The company has met its performance targets for revenue and cash flow, and according to its collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the employees have earned incentive pay. Hawaiian Telcom Chairman Walter Dods, CEO Eric Yeaman, IBEW Business Manager Scot Long and the company’s 1,400 employees are working hard, working responsibly and working as a team to keep the utility operating and providing critical telephone service in an intensely competitive communications environment.

"Hawaiian Telcom is under the supervision of a U.S. bankruptcy judge, and we can be assured that the court will make the appropriate decision. The Governor’s threats to intervene add unnecessary bombast to the issue and serve no useful purpose. Disingenuous political rhetoric will do nothing to explain, clarify or improve the situation. The employees have earned these benefits; that’s the difference. Hawaiian Telcom recognizes this; so should the Governor."

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