Larry Ruiz 
Business Agent

I have three basic goals for this term: to strengthen the union by getting more members to be active participants in union programs, to strenghten our contracts through negotiations and a strong steward system, and to strengthen labor ’s position in politics through our Political Action Program.

Your union contract is important to you as a worker. It tells you how much you should be paid. It lists your benefits such as medical and vacations. It spells out your rights on the job.

In 2003 and 2004, the U.S. Department of Education tested 19,000 people over the age of 16 to determine how well they could use the written materials found in modern society. The survey is called the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. The people came from all 50 states. Their background information was collected so the results could be analyzed by age, race, education, income, employment, and other factors.

The test involved completing tasks which became more and more difficult. An example of a simple task is to find the expiration date on a driver’s license.

Hawaii has many programs that can help adults at all literacy levels improve their skills. Hawaii has 11 community schools for adults which are part of the public education system. There is no cost for the basic education classes. Some classes may charge a small fee for books. A reasonable fee is charged for general interest classes. The program is open to all adults.

Classes are held in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. You will need to sign up for these classes in advance. Many of the classes are held in the evenings for people who work during the day.

The first comprehensive study of adult literacy in the US was done in 1992-1993, following the passage of the National Literacy Act of 1991. The Clinton Administration published the detailed results of the study in August 2003, a few months after the study was completed. The results were startling—26% of American adults had no more than basic literacy skills and 22% had little or no literacy ability in the English language.

A follow-up study was done in 2003 to see if adult literacy improved after 10 years.

“Have you done any volunteer service with an organization to help improve the lives of people in your community?”

When we asked this question of our union officers and stewards, they mentioned volunteering for their school, church, or club. Some shook their heads, embarrassed to say they did nothing. Not one of them said they did volunteer service for their union. Yet every one of them spends many hours every month helping their fellow workers.

HONOLULU—Over 80 rank-and-file leaders from 25 ILWU hotels met for two days at the ILWU Hall in Honolulu on June 18-19, 2007 to build unity within the industry and prepare for upcoming contract negotiations.

William Kennison
Division Director

I would like to continue the work of negotiating the type of Collective Bargaining Agreements that our members deserve. I would like to see that our members wages and benefits reflect their needs in our fast growing economy.

Claro Romero 
Division Director

Claro Romero is from Unit 2409 - Island Movers, where he works as a truck driver.

My goal as a Business Agent is to provide better service to all members. I think that some members feel that they are not getting the representation that they should be getting on the job.

Conference delegates were shown detailed charts of how their wages and benefits compared with other ILWU hotels in the same “class”—luxury, deluxe, standard, or budget. Luxury hotels list most of their rooms at rates of over $500 a night. This is called a “published” or “rack rate” in the travel industry, and is usually much higher than the actual price charged by the hotel.