On Wednesday, May 21, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen joined the ILWU Maui Division Executive Board meeting to speak directly with union leadership about a crisis that hits close to home for many working families: the lack of housing. In particular, the Mayor came to provide Maui members with an update on Bill 9, part of the Mayor’s plan to phase out short-term rentals (STRs). This is an issue that the ILWU Local 142 has strongly supported since 2023. Mayor Bissen’s message was clear and urgent: “This is the right decision, at the right time, for the right reasons,” he told the union board. He emphasized that Bill 9, which phases out short-term rentals (STRs) in residential zones, is one part of a larger strategy to return housing to local families and ease Maui’s worsening housing crisis. “Weʻre in a housing crisis of historic proportions,” Bissen said. “It’s visible in every community and every neighborhood. People are living overcrowded. Workers are leaving. ” According to the Mayor, more than 21% of Maui’s housing stock is currently being used as short-term rentals. For ILWU members who work in tourism and hospitality, many of whom have been displaced or remain in unstable living situations since the Lahaina fires, this figure hits home. As Local 142 has repeatedly stated, the STR crisis isn’t just about housing policy—it’s about who gets to stay in Hawaiʻi. Mayor Bissen emphasized that Bill 9 is not anti-tourism, but “pro-resident and pro-community.” He said it’s about honoring zoning laws that were meant to preserve residential areas and ensuring that Maui’s workforce has a place to live—not just a place to work. The Mayor outlined how Bill 9 fits into a broader housing strategy that includes affordable housing development, tax incentives, deed restrictions, expedited permitting, and infrastructure improvements. But he stressed that STR reform must be part of the solution. Members expressed appreciation for the Mayor’s willingness to engage directly with labor and echoed his call to action. The ILWU Local 142 has made housing a priority since the Lahaina disaster laid bare the deep structural problems in Maui’s housing market. Bill 9 will be heard by the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee on June 9. Mayor Bissen urged residents to submit testimony— either in person at Council Chambers in Wailuku or online at www.mauicounty. us/agendas.