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.

Hawaiian Cement in Puunene has a rock quarry and grinds its own rock to sell to contruction sites, as well as mixing it to make into cement. Thousands of tons of material are used in construction projects all over Maui.

The workers at Enron thought they had it made with their retirement program that was heavily dependent on Enron stocks. They were duped just as so many working people are duped into believing that the stock market is the answer to their retirement security. The Enron collapse and the instant evaporation of thousands of workers’ 401(k) retirement savings is the perfect example why we must strengthen and preserve Social Security, and fight against its privatization.

Propaganda Techniques: Twisting Facts

• Exception to the Rule. What is “News” is generally the extraordinary and not the commonplace events. The one labor strike will receive more coverage then the 99 peacefully negotiated contract settlements. The one indicted labor leader or the one disputed union election will receive front page coverage. In strike stories, the wages of the highest paid worker is often used, instead of the average, to give the impression of greed.

Fooling and deceiving people is an age-old practice. The quotation above by Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) talked about how people were being misled and fooled over 140 years ago. Today, the practice of fooling and deceiving people may be a bigger and more widespread problem, because we are constantly being exposed to images and messages on television, radio, the internet, newspaper, magazines, and even word of mouth.

A statewide longshore industry caucus was held in Honolulu on March 14-15, 2002. Forty-five leaders from Hawaii, Maui, Kauai and Oahu Divisions participated in this meeting to draft and discuss negotiation proposals.

“In unity there is strength.” Or sometimes we say— “United we stand, divided we fall.” We have a lot of different ways of expressing this idea that unity and strength go together. Even our own slogan—“An injury to one is an injury to all”—is based on this principle. “The union makes us strong.” This is a concept that working people have no problem understanding. They understand that a single worker is powerless to bargain with his or her employer for good wages and working conditions.

On the eve of the Longshore Contract Caucus the employers threw down the gauntlet—Pacific Maritime Association CEO Joseph Miniace, in a story planted in the shipping industry publication the Journal of Commerce, declared he wanted major changes in work rules and a complete revamping of the arbitration process or he would lock out the union.

HONOLULU—Outstanding work should be recognized, and that is exactly what Oahu Division did as they honored some very deserving members and retirees at a special Division Executive Board dinner meeting on February 15, 2002.

The presentation itself was a group effort—Division Director Ray Camacho would announce the category; the business agent of the unit involved would present the award; and the recipient would often say a few words of thanks.

HILO—Hawaii Division pioneered the Unit Awards banquet as a big social event that would involve members and their families and give public recognition to “model” units for their outstanding union performance. The first awards banquet was held on January 27, 1978, in the Crown Room of the Naniloa Hotel, and was attended by 225 members and their spouses. Nine units were given “best units” awards for their “effective union operation at the individual company level.” Two unit editors were also recognized for winning a statewide excellence award for two-years in a row.