Hawthorne Pacific members approved a new collective bargaining agreement in May and June 2006. The statewide agreement run two years and covers most of the production and clerical workers in units on Maui, Kauai, Hilo, Kona and Oahu.

Can you spare a few hours this week? 
The September 23 Primary Election is only a few weeks away and we need to elect candidates who will work in the best interest of working families.

Hawaii Del Monte workers hoped to pass an official resolution and collect a few hundred signatures for their petition at the ILWU International Convention which was held from May 15-19, 2006, in Vancouver, Canada.

Politics is vitally important to working people, but a lot of ILWU members know very little about the union’s political action program. Many don’t vote. And if they do vote, they may not be voting for candidates endorsed by our union.

Nothing today can be achieved at the bargaining table that can’t be taken away by legislatures, by congress, or by parliament. No union I think in America has gone through an experience like yours that has seen that as clearly.

ILWU delegates to the International Conventiion in Vancouver sign a petition in support of Del Monte workers (see petition, left).

Robert McElrath

Wesley “Wes” Furtado

HILO—Hawaii Division does it again, winning another Hawaii Island United Way (HIUW) Gold Award. The award is presented on the basis of both a high level of giving and high level of participation in the workplace. But winning the award is nothing compared to helping those in need, and the satisfaction of helping others is what Hawaii Division and the ILWU are all about.

Tourism conference participants from Maui Division with officers and ILWU-endorsed candidate for Governor Randy Iwase (center) at the Maui Prince Hotel.