We, the men and women working under the jurisdiction of ILWU Local 142 Hawaii, in order to build and maintain a strong local organization and provide for the defense of our common interests, promote the general welfare of our members, their families and other wage earners in the community, and uphold the rights and dignity of our labor and its organized expression, have determined that we shall be guided by the following principles:

• An injury to one is an injury to all.
• All rights and duties belong, without discrimination to each member of this organization as long as they comply with the Constitution and Bylaws.
• The right of each member to receive a fair and just return for their labor, to make possible sufficient leisure for education, recreation, and cultural development.
• The right to be treated in a decent and respectful manner by the employer.
• To use all possible safety measures in our work so as not to injure brother or sister members; to reduce the hazards of our occupation to a minimum and to get the maximum benefits for those injured and to fight for improved benefits.
• To conduct ourselves as union members in such a way as to raise the living standard of all wage earners.
• To establish our occupation as an honorable means of earning a decent livelihood and protecting us against accident and the insecurities resulting from sickness and old age.
• To organize the unorganized on an industrial basis instead of the outmoded, undemocratic craft union structure, which divides workers and weakens their bargaining power.
• To assist other unions whenever possible in their resistance to attacks on their wages and working conditions and for the attainment of their demands and to honor legitimate picket lines.
• To buy union-made goods whenever possible.
• To fight all violations of democracy, whether they be racial, religious or political, to uphold the principle that all have an equal right to work, to security and to leisure necessary to enjoy life. We reject racial, religious, sex or political discrimination by anyone.
• To continue fighting for the extinction of fascism and all the misery it brings, under whatever form it may operate and under whatever mask it may conceal itself.
• To join in the worldwide people’s movement against war and the causes of war, and to work for an enduring peace maintained and protected by powerful international organizations dedicated to the elimination of fascism, war and aggression.
• To engage in political action to the fullest extent of our energies and resources, so that our economic and social gains may be extended, consolidated and protected.
• To educate our membership as to their role and responsibilities as union members toward the working class movement and society, with a view to achieving a social order in which the resources of the earth shall be utilized to bring the greatest good to the greatest number.
• Basing ourselves upon these principles, we are determined to do everything within our power, individually and collectively, to promote the best interests of our members in pursuit of these aims by:
  • Maintaining democratic rank and file control of our Local.
  • Establishing affiliation with our International Longshore and Warehouse Union, working closely with other labor councils whenever possible.
  • Coordinating our economic and political activities with other trade unions and progressive organizations, such as farm and cooperative groups.
  • Working for unity within the labor movement locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Affirming the right of everyone to a job without discrimination because of race, creed, color, sex or political belief.
  • Asserting our full citizenship in the affairs of our communities, state and nation, in such a manner as to make clear that our interests are identical with the fundamental best interest of all the people, regardless of the popularity of such interest.
  • Upholding everywhere our conviction that the welfare of all mankind depends upon a recognition of the dignity of human beings.