Former ILWU International Vice President Leonard Hoshijo passed away peacefully in the hospital on October 21, 2021, surrounded by his family

Both in and out of the ILWU, Hoshijo dedicated his life to improving conditions for the working class in his many roles as an activist, organizer, educator, union staff member, union officer, and public servant.

Leonard Paul Hoshijo was born on November 3, 1951, in Chicago, IL. His parents, Andrew “Anki” Hoshijo, a veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Nori Oda Hoshijo, met and were married in Chicago, where Andrew attended Northwestern University on the GI Bill. Nori had relocated there from the World War II internment camp in Minidoka, ID.

26 years of ILWU service 
Hoshijo served the ILWU for 26 years in various staff and elected positions, including Housing Representative and Organizer for Local 142. He was appointed as an International Representative in 1981 and served in that position for 13 years, and was elected by the membership and served as an ILWU International Vice President (Hawaii) from 1994 to 2001.

30 percent for organizing 
Hoshijo was the driving force in passing a resolution at the 1997 ILWU General Convention requiring the union to commit 30 percent of its budget to organizing. That resolution, which passed unanimously, enabled the International to create the Organizing Department, hire an Organizing Director and build a centralized and coordinated organizing program.

“Organizing is where we face out into the world, outside of our own ILWU house. If we’re stuck facing inward, we’ll fall by the wayside as we talk only to ourselves,” Leonard wrote in a column for the March 1997 issue of the Dispatcher.

Celebration of life 
Former Local 142 SecretaryTreasurer Guy Fujimura who knew Leonard for 50 years was one of several speakers at a memorial service held virtually on November 26th.

“Leonard’s titles of Housing Representative, Organizer, International Representative, and ILWU International Vice President don’t adequately convey Leonard’s dedication, intelligence, and strategic insight or how he used his skills and talents to benefit the members and their families,” Fujimura said.

He then went on to detail Hoshijo’s career and legacy in the ILWU and his many contributions to the union and its members.

Worker housing 
Fujimura explained that as Housing Representative for Local 142, Hoshijo worked diligently so that working-class families and pensioners could achieve affordable homeownership after the sugar and pineapple companies gave up their plantation camps. He also developed affordable rental housing for those who couldn’t afford to buy a home.

“He had to become an expert in land use laws, zoning codes, and forms of federal funding,” Fujimura said. “He networked extensively to better deliver affordable housing. In the end, Leonard developed five affordable rental-housing projects with 360-plus units in communities with concentrations of ILWU members and retirees.”

Fujimura continued: “Leonard was able to get state assistance for agriculture and tourism workers. He worked on ILWU legislative issues. He taught Local 142 classes, educating thousands of member volunteers. Leonard successfully negotiated collective bargaining agreements, including for newly organized workers. He represented the ILWU in the community, serving on various nonprofit boards and state commissions.

“He was the Organizer Coordinator for International’s and Local 142 Joint Organizing Program which brought thousands of members into the ILWU. On top of that, Leonard helped to revitalize Local 142’s connection to culture and the arts. He founded the Hawaii Labor Heritage Council to facilitate and coordinate the mural restoration project at Local 142’s Honolulu Office,” Fujimura said.

Leadership in critical times 
ILWU Local 142 member Tracy Takano recalled Hoshijo’s important role during a critical period for the ILWU in Hawaii.

“Leonard came into the ILWU at a critical time for Local 142 in the mid- 1970s. Sugar and pineapple companies were scaling back – or closing – their operations and plantation camp housing. Members were losing their jobs and their homes. Local 142 began to shrink rapidly, as sugar and pineapple were the bulk of its membership,” Takano said. “Leonard was an organizer and helped lead a strategic shift in Local 142 that brought in thousands of new members – including many former plantation workers—into growing industries such as tourism and healthcare.

“Leonard also headed up a housing program in Local 142 to help workers own their plantation camp homes or build new ones on closed agricultural fields. Leonard’s legacy includes thousands of members who won their struggles to join the ILWU, and communities across Hawaii where workers have a roof over their heads. Rest in Power.”

2000 election 
In 2000, Hoshijo lost a re-run of the election for International Vice President (Hawaii) to Wesley Furtado by a margin of 850 votes. Furtado challenged the first election, which Hoshijo won by 291 votes. The International Executive Board voted 12-8 to rerun the election for Hawaii International Vice President because Furtado was denied access to the membership voter eligibility list.

Post-ILWU career 
After serving the ILWU for 

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