On September 18, 2010, Hawaii will hold its Primary Election with Mufi Hannemann and Neil Abercrombie both on the Democratic ballot for Governor. The State will begin mailing absentee ballots to voters after August 13. The ILWU urges all members, their families, and retirees to support and vote for Mufi Hannemann in this Primary Election.

Support candidates recommended by your union

The Primary Election is this September 18, 2010. Absentee ballots will go out in mid-August. ILWU members and their families are urged to take a Democratic Ballot and vote for those candidates listed below. Cut out these lists and keep them in your wallet as a reminder when you vote. Your Political Action Committee made these recommendations after interviewing candidates, asking them if they support issues important to working families, and looking at their past performance and relationship with the ILWU.

Our new representative in Congress thinks it’s a good idea to repeal the Jones Act. He thinks it would cut costs and save a little money. The Jones Act (officially the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) requires all shipping between U.S. ports to be done by U.S. companies, with U.S. crews, and with U.S. built and flagged vessels. Similar laws apply to airlines and cruise ships. These laws do not allow foreign companies to carry cargo or passengers between U.S. ports.

The 25th biennial conference of the ILWU State Pensioners Association was held May 15-17 in Honolulu at the ILWU union hall. The conference rotates among the islands every two years. The last time it was held in Honolulu eight years ago, the ILWU building was under renovation.

HONOLULU—On February 26, 2010, Oahu Division suspended the important work of its Division Executive Board meeting take the time to thank and recognize the outstanding rank-and-file leaders who served as the “front line” at ILWU units throughout Oahu in 2009.

Unit treasurers have the responsibility of safeguarding union funds. They must check dues paying members and the company seniority list to make sure all members are paying their share of union dues. The treasurers must also make sure all spending by the unit is authorized by the members of the unit.

ILWU financial policies and federal law require all units to get membership approval before spending unit funds. These funds come from union dues paid by members of the unit.

Vital for survival of HC&S

A return to good cultivation practices has paid off for HC&S. Sugar yields are very high, and every field has produced 2-3 tons more sugar than the goals set by the company. The company should do well this year with the increased production and record high prices of sugar on the U.S. and world market. HC&S members will get a big bonus as their collective bargaining agreement provides for profit sharing.

Over 100 ILWU members at eight Kaiser Permanente clinics approved a new contract settlement. The ILWU represents the medical imaging technicians such as X-ray, CAT Scans, Ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Other Kaiser workers are represented by the Hawaii Nurse’s Association and UniteHERE. The Nurses approved a contract with Kaiser but UniteHERE remains in negotiations with management.

Kaiser is one of the medical plan options offered under many ILWU contracts and with the ILWU Health and Welfare Trust Fund.

From the very beginning, the ILWU has always proclaimed that the union and every union member must be actively involved in the political life of the community. Political action had to be one of the primary activities of the union. Political action was just as important as negotiating contracts for better wages and benefits; and political action was just as necessary as organizing new workers into the union.

There are five reasons why the union and every ILWU member must be involved in political action.

Union members earn higher wages

In 2009, among full-time wage and salary workers, union members earned a median weekly wage of $908, while workers who were not represented by unions earned only $710 a week.

In 2009, among full-time wage and salary workers, union members earned a median weekly wage of $908, while workers who were not represented by unions earned only $710 a week.