Washington D.C. The weather was frigid but the team was on fire. For three days in early February, the ILWU Hawaiʻi International team hit the pavement in Washington D.C. meeting with all four Hawaiʻi Congressional representatives to advocate for Hawaiʻi’s working-class. 

Recently-elected International Vice President Hawai’i, Brandon Wolff, and Local 142 Legislative Liaison Brenson Wailehua-Hansen travelled to Washington with two priorities: strengthen and broaden the ILWU’s political relationships and safeguard and advocate for the rights of the working class.

While D.C. is indeed a hotbed of political uncertainty under the new administration, the Hawai’i team focused on education, finding common ground, and securing win-win solutions to some of the issues that were discussed.

The team expanded political relationships by meeting with both Democrats and Republicans. In addition to Senator Brian Schatz, Senator Mazie Hirono, Representative Ed Case,  and Representative Jill Tokuda, all of whom are Democrats representing Hawaiʻi, they met with Republican reps including Representative Morgan Luttrell from Texas and Representative Derrick Van Orden from Wisconsin.

“The entire U.S. Congress makes decisions that impact Hawaiʻi so our outreach needs to be as far-reaching as possible” said Wailehua-Hansen.

Win-win solutions emerged by linking representatives’ national security concerns with union job security. The delegation highlighted how automated, foreign-made cranes threaten both dockworkers’ jobs and national security. 

This was the first trip to D.C. for this Hawai’i delegation who set the stage and tone for future meetings in the Capitol. 

“Our trip to Washington D.C. was invaluable, yielding both new insights and tangible results”, stated Wolff. “We forged promising bipartisan connections. We’re optimistic about the progress and committed to strengthening these relationships to better represent our members and Hawaiʻi.”