HONOLULU—Beginning in 2004, there will be a huge change in the elected leadership of Local 142. As the result of the union-wide elections held in November 2003, close to half or 13 of the 27 elected full-time offices of the union will be filled by a new person.
The biggest change occurred in the top offices of the union, where five of the seven executive positions will be filled by new people. Of the three highest officers—president, vicepresident, and secretary-treasurer, two are newly elected. Former Hawaii Division director Fred Galdones will take the lead as president and Maui member Donna Domingo will serve as vice-president. Guy Fujimura is the only incumbent, having served as the union’s secretary-treasurer since 1985.
Collective leadership
Unlike most unions where power is concentrated in the hands of a single person, the president, the ILWU’s democratic structure puts much of that power in the hands of the three titled officers as a collective group. Article V of the ILWU Constitution charges the titled officers with the responsibility of directing the work of the union between meetings of the Local Executive Board.
Island directors
The next highest positions are the four division directors—Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu—who administer the work of the union in their division. Three of the division directors will be new to the job, however, all three have many years of experience as business agents.
President Elect Fred Galdones and U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie.
After serving 20 years as a business agent, Willie Kennison will take on a new position as head of Maui division. Former business agent Richard Baker will take over as Hawaii division director. Richard served 15 years as a business agent. Dave Mori will take office as the new Oahu division director. Dave has 11 years of experience as a business agent. Kauai’s director, Clayton Dela Cruz, is the only incumbent, with 20 years of experience as a full-time officer.
The division directors are charged with the responsibility of directing the work of their division and supervising the work of the business agents and division office.
The three titled officers and four division directors also serve as the union’s executive committee and meet monthly to coordinate the work of the union, particularly in the areas of contract negotiations and grievance handling.
Business agents
Of the 20 elected business agents (BAs), who carry out the day-to-day work of the union, more than half or 11 will be fairly new to the job. Six were newly elected and another five business agents were mid-term appointments and served less than two years in office.
Business agents Of the 20 elected business agents (BAs), who carry out the day-to-day work of the union, more than half or 11 will be fairly new to the job. Six were newly elected and another five business agents were mid-term appointments and served less than two years in office.
Steve Castro and Teddy Espeleta were mid-term appointments. Pam Green is the new business agent on Kauai. Shane Ambrose and Michael Yamaguchi are new BAs on Oahu. Larry Ruiz was appointed in 2002.
Term of office
All 27 full-time officers serve a term of three years, beginning January 2, 2004 and ending on January 1, 2007. All elected officers of the union must be an ILWU member in good standing and take a leave of absence from their rankand-file jobs to serve in union office. They return to these jobs at the end of their term in office.
See page 3 for the complete election results for all races.
(Above left), December 18, 2003—Eleven state legislators honored retiring ILWU Local 142 President Eusebio “Bo” Lapenia Jr. and Vice-President Robert G. Girald with congratulatory resolutions on their outstanding service to working people. The legislators are (l-r) Jerry Chang, Scott Saiki, Jon Karamatsu, Tommy Waters, Brian Schatz, Sylvia Luke, Scott Nishimoto, Marilyn Lee, Maile Shimabukuro, and (seated, foreground) Roy Takumi. (Above right): Representative Eric Hamakawa presents Lapenia and Girald with a copy of the House Resolution passed in their honor.