The letters I.L.W.U. stand for International Longshore and Warehouse Union, a union created in 1934 when longshore and warehouse workers on the West Coast of the United States merged to form a single union. In 1937, longshore workers in Hawaii chose to join up with the ILWU, because it was a democratic union that stood for racial equality within its membership. This was important to the Hawaii members who were mostly of Hawaiian and Asian ancestry.
A NOTE FROM LEAH BERNSTEIN, Director Treasurer of The Harriet Bouslog Labor Scholarship Fund:
Aloha and a big mahalo to the members of ILWU Local 142 for helping to secure a record number of applications for the Harriet Bouslog Labor Scholarship Fund. By the time you read this we will have extended scholarship offers to 18 applicants consisting of six freshmen, nine sophomores, and three seniors to the Fall 2017 class.
Harriet Bouslog was an attorney who defended the rights and freedom of ILWU leaders and members. She was the first female labor and civil rights attorney in Hawaii. She provided the legal support many of the sugar plantation workers needed in their efforts to unionize and stand up for themselves in the 1940s when the Big Five controlled Hawaii. The Big Five were the five companies that dominated Hawaii’s political and economic order; they did not care that their wealth was made off of brutalizing the working class.
Most of the work of the ILWU takes place at the Division level, which is made up of all ILWU members on your island, or in the case of the Hawaii Longshore Division, all the members of the longshore industry. Maui Division includes members on the islands of Lanai and Molokai.
Local 142 is one of 52 separate unions which make up the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. These local unions are located in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. The ILWU also includes Canada and Panama Divisions, the affiliated Inlandboatmen’s Union, the American Radio Association, and the Kauai and Maui County Paramedics.
Most of these locals were part of the ILWU since the 1930s and share the same principles of a democratic union run by the membership. Each local union could operate on its own, but has chosen to be part of the ILWU.
HONOLULU - Throughout the year, the Local holds training classes for rank-and-file stewards. These one-day training classes are attended by hundreds from all divisions. In the most recent series of classes on February 27 and March 9, 2017, rank-and-file members learned about their responsibilities as stewards, how to understand their union contract, and connect with their members to grow and strengthen the union.
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The new Trump administration announced some disturbing news in February that signaled a growing threat to union members.
Support for anti-union law
On February 1, “right-to-work” legislation (H.R. 785) was proposed in Congress by anti-union Representatives Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Steve King of Iowa. The term “right-to-work” was coined decades ago by anti-union business owners. Union members are more likely to describe it as “right-to-freeload,” the “right-to-work-for-less” or “right-towreck-the-union.”
HONOLULU—On January 16, 2017, more than 80 ILWU Local 142 members and officers, HOWU members, retirees and their family and friends marched in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade with other unions and community organizations for a strong showing in support of Dr. King’s enduring message of social justice. Dr.
Classes started with introductions of what unit each member came from, and how they got involved in the union.
