Being a member of the ILWU runs in the family for thousands of people in Hawaii.

Members to make final contract decision

SAN FRANCISCO—Meeting in caucus, ILWU longshore delegates overwhelmingly approved the contract agreement reached between the union and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) late November. The caucus, a representative assembly of delegates from all locals on the West Coast, reviewed each section of the agreement in detail, questioning the Negotiating Committee and seeking clarifications.

HONOLULU—After one-year at a temporary location at 720 Kapiolani Blvd in 
Honolulu, the ILWU has returned to its centtral headquarters at 451 Atkinson Drive.
The central office is home to the Local Offiicers and staff, the Oahu Division and its
full-time officers, the International Hawaii Regional Office, the Organizing
Department, and the union’s bookkeeping, mailroom, printshop, and library.

LIHUE—The 46th annual ILWU Mixed Bowling Tournament was held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29-30, 2002 at the Lihue Bowling Center on Kauai.

Twenty teams from ILWU Divi- sions on the Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Oahu participated in this year’s tournament for a total of 105 bowlers. The tournament sponsored singles, doubles, and team events, and also awarded prizes to bowlers
with the top total scores in the “All-Events” category.

HONOLULU—For the last seven years, the Big Island team from the Mauna Lani Bay Resort has dominated the ILWU statewide basketball tournament and walked away with the state championship. One
reason for this dominance may be the fact that the team is able to recruit the best players from over 3,500 members who work at 6 major ILWU hotels on the West side of Hawaii.

A history of helping union members and communities

The ILWU Local 142 has a long history in the movement for safe, decent, and affordable housing. The Union has not been a financier or developer, but we have been an advocate for our members, other working families, and the elderly.

The ILWU reached a landmark agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) on Saturday, November 23, 2002, that will benefit workers, the shipping industry, consumers and our economy. ILWU leaders say the contract is a winwin for West Coast ports, workers and nation’s consumers.

Labor’s response to globalization was on the minds of a couple hundred ILWU members and supporters as they rallied at the longshore Local 10 hall Oct. 10.

Local 34 retiree Asher Harer.

With this year’s contract fight, ILWU members join the legions of dockworkers around the world who have been fighting privatization and casualization for more than a decade. Shipping and stevedoring companies have led the anti-worker drive, but governments everywhere have backed them up.

Edited by Harvey Schwartz, Curator, ILWU Oral History Collection

This article features the recollections of Louis Goldblatt, who was the union’s International secretary-treasurer for 34 years and an ILWU leader who made significant contributions to labor history. Goldblatt’s testimony focuses on the ILWU’s early days in the Islands, his own leadership role and his relationship with long-time Hawaii Regional Director Jack Hall.