Ameron International is a cement product manufacturer. Rock and sand are quarried and mixed into different types of cement, then trucked to construction sites by Ameron drivers.
Unit chair Abel Kahoohanohano and Al Domingo work in Ameron’s garage and repair equipment and vehicles. Former steward Domingo has worked for the company for 38 years. Kahoohanohano became Unit Chair because “You need to control your own destiny. And by getting involved in the union, in negotiations, you can do that.”
Ready-mix truck driver Robert Holder waits patiently while his truck is filled for a delivery
(Above) Batchman operator Dickey Lopez, seen here at the batching panel, controls the loading of cement into the trucks. (Left) Business Agent Willie Kennison and ready-mix drivers Robert Holder and Clayton Yagi discuss unit issues at the worksite.
Dry cement is mixed with water in huge towers before being funneled into waiting cement trucks.
ILWU Unit 2406 cement
Helping to build Maui’s economy, helping to build our union.
Just over 100 ILWU members work in Maui’s cement industry, in jobs that include truck drivers, laborers, forklift operators, quarry drillers, mechanics, crane operators, concrete fabricators, boiler tenders, utility millmen, and hollow tile production workers. ILWU members make and transport the construction products that are used in homes, private commercial and public buildings, and infrastructure on Maui and throughout the state.
Unit 2406, made up of Ameron International, Walker Industries, Hawaiian Cement, and Maui Blocks, also participates in ILWU programs such as the political action program, and was recognized as the Outstanding Unit with 1-100 Members for the year 2001.
Hawaiian Cement workers were the first to join the ILWU in 1960, and were followed by Ameron workers in 1966, Walker Industries workers in 1976, and Maui Blocks workers, who organized in 1977.
Walker Industries, Ltd.
Walker Industries is located right next to Ameron in Kahului. The company manufactures pre-cast cement products, including the poured concrete pieces used in storm drains throughout the state.
(Above) Kadon Zimmerman. (Right) Forklift operator Shaaron Kauhaa-Po strips a product from its mold, called a “form.” A unit leader at Walker Industries, Kauhaapo has been a union member since 1976. “What I like about being union is that we are treated with fairness,” he said.
(Left) Steward Sonny Alviar and Laudinio Pachico are “pre-cast concrete specialists,” shown here fabricating steel skeletons that will be placed into concrete for reinforcement. Alviar became a steward “to be active in the union, and to make sure nobody runs all over us. With the ILWU, the company treats us fair, and we do our fair share—so far so good!”
(Above) Justin Waiohu in a large cement cylinder. (Right) Nery Zamora has been with Walker Industries since 1999. Products made by the company are shipped as far away as Guam.