The highest authority in the Union is the rank-and-file membership as they determine the policies and direction of the Union.
All officers are accountable to the membership.
Portions of this report were adapted from the International Convention Report prepared for The Dispatcher.
The four current International Titled Officers were nominated without opposition on Friday, June 12, 2015, the last day of the convention. (L-r) Vice President Mainland Ray Familathe, Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams, President Robert McEllrath, and Vice President Hawaii Wesley Furtado.
Delegates elected by the membership do this once every three years at a five-day Convention which was held at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii from June 8-12, 2015. With the addition of the Panama Division, the ILWU Convention rotates to one of eight areas of the ILWU every three years. The last convention was held in San Diego, California in 2012. The next Convention will be held in the Oregon/ Columbia River Area in 2018. Panama will be hosting the Convention in 2021. Future Conventions will be held in Northern California in 2024, Canada in 2027, Washington/ Puget Sound/Alaska in 2030, and Southern California in 2033.
A total of 364 delegates attended the Convention. The delegates were elected by members of ILWU Locals from California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Canada, Panama, and Hawaii. There also were 35 fraternal delegates from ILWU pensioner groups and women’s auxiliaries.
In addition to the three Titled Officers, Local 142 sent the largest delegation, numbering 146 delegates. Hawaii Longshore Division sent 48 delegates, 39 delegates represented Maui Division, Oahu Division was represented by 28 delegates, Hawaii Division had 20 delegates, and Kauai Division sent 8 delegates.
The delegates worked hard for five days and a few night sessions. The Convention approved a budget for the next three years, adopted 6 constitutional amendments, 3 program policies, and 30 resolutions. All actions of the International Convention take effect upon adoption by the Convention.
Local 142’s role
Besides being hosts to the Convention, Local 142 played an important role in setting the direction of the International ILWU for the future. Local 142 introduced 10 resolutions covering a wide-range of critically important issues such as combating the “right to work” movement, opposing the TransPacific Partnership and continuing to support the Jones Act. Other resolutions affirmed support of some of the industries—sugar, pineapple, agriculture, and tourism—where our brothers and sisters work by encouraging delegates and their families to purchase ILWU grown products and to patronize hotels that provide good ILWU jobs.
Local 142 delegates were active and vocal in the committees and on the floor of the Convention. Some debates were heated, but differences were always settled by full discussion and a democratic vote. The Convention left the union more united and stronger than ever.
A week of hard work kicks off with a traditional Hawaiian blessing
Hawaii Longshore Division Secretary-Treasurer Kumu Hula Drake Keolakapu Dudoit Delaforce announced the arrival of Hawaiian singer and musician Aaron J. Sala by blowing the conch. Sala delivered a traditional Hawaiian blessing with chants and song. The Royal Hawaiian Band—founded in 1836 by King Kamehameha III—then played the national anthems of the United States, Canada, Panama and Hawaii Pono‘i.
Governor David Ige addressed the Convention by welcoming the delegates and acknowledged the importance of the ILWU in changing Hawaii for the better. He recalled that his first job was working at the pineapple cannery where he was briefly an ILWU member. The ILWU negotiated contract meant that he and the other workers were paid fairly and were even paid overtime. The governor thanked the ILWU members on the docks for all their work at the terminals because 90 percent of the cargo essential to Hawaii comes through the harbors and ports. Before concluding, he congratulated our Union for its ability to change as the world changes and keeping the labor movement alive and well.
Convention delegates from Local 142’s Maui Division.
Local 142 sent the largest delegation, numbering 146 delegates. Hawaii Longshore Division sent 48 delegates, 39 delegates represented Maui Division, Oahu Division was represented by 28 delegates, Hawaii Division had 20 delegates, and Kauai Division sent 8 delegates.
