Joining Is Your Right

You have the right to join a union, and it's one of the most powerful steps you can take to protect and improve your working conditions. Under the National Labor Relations Act, you and your coworkers are guaranteed the right to join a union of your choice, and to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and job security. No one—whether it's your boss or the company—can legally retaliate against you for exercising this right. 

Joining a union gives you a stronger voice at work, and ensures that you're not alone when it comes to standing up for your rights. This is your opportunity to make a real difference in your workplace. You not only have the law on your side, but the ILWU’s professional organizers are also here to guide, assist, and support you.

3 Reasons to Join the ILWU

A Better Life

You determine your worth. With a union, the employer no longer determines the worth of their employees alone. The employer must sit with employees, who negotiate the terms of employment, including:

• wages and wage increases
• medical benefits
• retirement
• safety 
• equipment,
• paid time off, 
• hours status, and seniority
• much more

Whatever the employer and the employees agree on becomes the contract that the employer and employees must stick to. Workers come to the “bargaining table” every couple years to renegotiate their contract.

Job Protection

No “at-will” employees. With a union, the employer can no longer terminate a worker “at will”. Every union member is entitled to union representation and advocacy every step of the way.

Never go it alone. If a worker gets called into a meeting by management and the worker suspects or realizes it is a disciplinary meeting or is investigating the worker or their co-worker, that worker is entitled to union representation at that meeting. 

Not disposable. In many industries, and especially the hotel industry, businesses buy and sell to new owners. Canning employees at the point of sale cans their seniority, their wage levels, and their good benefits and saves the new owner lots of money. Many of our contracts include language that protects workers jobs and the workers’ contract  in the case of new ownership. 

The Power of We

The Power of We. Joining the ILWU brings you into the largest family of private sector workers in Hawaiʻ. Your union siblings include Hawaiʻi’s dockworkers, nearly 10,000 tourism workers, workers in trucking and logistics, healthcare workers, and many, many more. When times are hard, this ‘ohana has your back. When times are good, we all celebrate. When we have to fight, we show up for each other.

We also take this collective power to the state legislature and county councils in order to improve the laws that improve the lives and protections of working class families. 

We know that together, we are stronger. And that together is the only way to effectively address the struggles facing local working families in Hawaiʻi today.

Governance. The ILWU is famous for its democratic unionism. From the workplace, to the island region, to the entire Local, and even at the International level, the members govern the union. YOU make decisions about the direction of the union. YOU vote on your contracts. YOU elect officers and reps at your workplace and at the highest levels of international governance. In these processes, you learn governance and exercise collective power. 

Education. The ILWU trains workers at every worksite to know the contract and know how to protect their fellow workers. As a member of the ILWU you can become a “shop steward” or you will have co-workers who are shop stewards. Union members are educated and empowered to collectively defend their rights at the workplace. 

The Education Program provides many more opportunities for worker education and training that builds leadership and shifts the power balance between the employer and the employee at the workplace. 

Member Benefits. ILWU members also enjoy a number of benefits from various partner organizations and businesses. We have our own credit union that offers financial literacy, great loan rates, and saving rates to our members. 

We have a college scholarship specifically for ILWU members, their children, or their grandchildren. 

The First Step - Reach Out

If you are interested in learning more about joining the ILWU, email your area Organizer. They will help you understand the process, understand what questions to consider as you explore joining, and help you get going on next steps if you so choose. 

Remember, YOU and your co-workers choose whether or not to join the ILWU - not the union, not the employer. So you have nothing to lose by reaching out. Reach out today!

ILWU Lead Organizer: Ron Clough
(808) 949-4161I
rclogh@ilwulocal142.org