Alexander & Baldwin (CIK: 0000003453) is the parent company of Matson Navigation and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S). The company’s 2010 Third Quarter Report to the US Security and Exchange Commission showed a slight decline in container volume to Hawaii but a huge increase in shipping to China.

During tough economic times, management too often looks only at cutting labor costs to save money. Benefits such as holidays are cut. Wage increases are canceled. Hours are cut or workers are laid off. The savings are small and result in lower morale and lower productivity, as workers are forced to work harder for the same or lower wages.

Have you ever wondered about the wages earned by hotel workers in other countries?

A website at http://www.worldsalaries. org/ shows you the salaries earned by different occupations in countries around the world.

The comparisons are based on the money it would take to have a similar standard of living. This is called purchasing power parity. There are also comparisons for teachers, doctors, and other occupations.

On January 30, 2009, just nine days after his inauguration, President Barrack Obama issued Executive Order 13496 which requires companies with federal contracts to inform employees of their right to organize and join unions. It also revoked Executive Order 13201 made by George W. Bush, which required federal contractors to inform unionized workers of their right to object to paying full union dues.

Union-wide elections held in November 2012 elected the top officers who will direct the work of the union for the next three years. Elected are 27 full-time officers, 13 rank-and-file members to the Local Executive Board, and 14 Delegates to the ILWU International Convention. The election results were announced on November 20, 2012, but candidates filed six challenges to the election. An ILWU Judicial Panel has ruled on challenges to the election results, and those decisions must be carried out before the results are final.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) confirmed the September 6, 2012 results of the ILWU’s officers’ election. The results stand as official as there were no challenges to the election received by the September 13, 2012 deadline as provided under Rule 17.A of the union’s election rules.

The ILWU International Balloting Committee reported the results of the election after ballots were counted and tabulated at a meeting held on September 6, 2012 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in San Francisco, California.

The following was presented by Convention guest speaker Lowell Chun-Hoon. Chun-Hoon is a partner of the law firm King, Nakamura and Chun-Hoon, which has defended the union and union members since the 1940s.

reduces the expense of middlemen such as HMSA. The Trust Fund allows us to set the cost of medical for several years, so the hotels know exactly how much they must pay. With HMSA, the hotels have no idea how much their medical plans will increase each year. The ILWU Local 142 will continue to educate the members about the Health & Welfare and encourage units to negotiate this Fund into their contracts.

American voters sent a loud and clear message that they support President Obama’s and the Democratic Party’s policies and rejected the Republican Party’s philosophy and programs.