After 25 years of service, ILWU Local 142’s Lead Organizer Ron Clough retired in January, closing out a career that spanned every island and touched thousands of workers. From his beginnings as a rank-and-file worker in an organizing drive to becoming one of the Union’s most experienced organizers, Ron’s journey reflects the heart of the ILWU, one that is worker-led, grounded, and built on relationships.

We sat down with Ron to reflect on his time with the ILWU Local 142.

Rain couldn’t slow down the spirit in Hilo at Harry Kamoku Hall this February. Despite the weather, pensioners, members, officers, and staff showed up strong for the Hawaiʻi Division Recognition Awards Banquet—proving once again that nothing keeps union members from showing up for each other.

Workers at the Point at Poʻipū have secured a strong new union contract after months of negotiations and organizing, marking a major victory for members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 on Kauaʻi.

The new four-year agreement delivers meaningful gains in wages, working conditions, and job protections. Most notably, workers have successfully raised standards at the property, moving from among the lowest-paid in their classifications on island to among the highest. It is a clear example of what is possible when workers organize and fight collectively.

Kaua’i Coffee Company have cultivated more than coffee. They have built one of Hawai i's most iconic agricultural operations rooted in the land, sustained by local labor, and supporting hundreds of families across Kauai's West Side. Today, that legacy faces serious uncertainty. 

On a quiet stretch of Maui’s north shore, where wetlands meet the sea and native birds rise from restored dunes, Maui Division members gathered. But not for their normal meeting or a picket. This time, it was to care for the land beneath their feet. At the historic Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge, members came together for the first-ever mālama ʻāina community work day, attended by Maui Division leaders and Grand Wailea member Richard Van Barringer.

Q: Can you start by telling us where you grew up and a little about your early life? 
A: I was born in Los Angeles in 1970 and grew up in Inglewood, California. My father is Hawaiian, Japanese, and Scottish from Maui, and my mother is Black and from Dallas. They met on a blind date. 

After years of organizing, bargaining, and persistence, ILWU Local 142 has secured a major victory for working families. Effective February 1, 2026, approximately 3,800 members across 12 units covered by the ILWU Local 142 Health and Welfare Trust Fund will have access to retirement medical coverage—nearly one-quarter of the Local’s total membership. 
For thousands of working people in Hawaiʻi, this win means something profound and long overdue: the ability to retire without the fear of losing healthcare.

Fresh off the Tri-Isle Trucking victory on Maui, members at Island Distributing delivered another watershed win — one that will ripple through their lives for years to come.

Negotiations wrapped in November with 100% of members voting to ratify their new contract. The agreement brings major wage increases, stronger benefits, and improvements to retirement. But the biggest breakthrough was something members have fought for over many years: sick leave payout.

For more than three decades, the ILWU Local 142 library and archives have been shaped, strengthened, and safeguarded by the dedication of Rae Shiraki, who recently retired from her role as Librarian Archivist. Her departure marks the end of an era and offers a moment to reflect with deep appreciation on the knowledge, care, and commitment she brought to preserving the union’s history and supporting its future.

Foodland workers across Hawaiʻi are proving what coordinated, rank-and-file power looks like. With their contract having expired on October 31, ILWU Local 142 kicked off a major statewide mobilizing campaign to support Foodland negotiations and things are starting off incredibly strong.