WAILEA, Maui—”No need worry about job security!” This was the most frequent comment heard as Grand Wailea members voted to approve a new labor agreement at membership meetings held throughout the day on May 21, 2004.

It is a privilege and an honor for me to be here as the newly elected president of ILWU Local 142 and to be talking to such an important and distinguished group of people like yourselves. I say “important and distinguished” because you are the ones who really deserve the credit for building this union and for making Hawaii a better place.

The ILWU Local 142 is proud to join over 20 unions in endorsing and supporting Mufi Hannemann for Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.

William Kennison 
Maui Division Director

Willie Kennison is on leave from Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co. (HC&S). “I would like to bring the membership together in supporting the programs of the union. I also believe it is important to negotiate fair and equitable contracts that benefit all of the workers.

During the three years of the Bush administration, more than 3 million jobs in the U.S. have disappeared, been destroyed, dismantled, vanished.

Not since the early years of the Great Depression of the 1930s has America experienced three consecutive years of net job destruction. Nor has any president since Herbert Hoover faced the prospect of leaving office with the economy having fewer jobs than when he entered.

Impact on wages and profits 
While Bush’s tax-cuts-for-therich solution has failed to produce jobs, it has succeeded in reducing wages. For the year 2003 aggregate wage and salary income has fallen by 0.7 percent. Bush’s cuttaxes-for-the-rich program has proved, for workers at least, to be the equivalent of economic snake oil. But for the owning class, the employers, it’s been more like manna from heaven.

Substantial gains were made in other areas as well. Wages will increase by about 2.5 percent each year for a total gain of 10.5 percent over the life of the contract. Tipped workers will get 10 cents added to their hourly base pay every year for a total gain of 50 cents. As the result of these increases, the wages paid for many of the job classifications at the Grand Wailea will be the highest of any Maui hotel.

WAILEA, Maui—Another new owner but management’s the same—and so the fight for a fair wages and benefits continues for 900 ILWU members at the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui. Since the super luxury hotel opened in 1991, it has changed ownership five times and management three times. The latest ownership change was in April 2004.

A national budget is a statement about our values and priorities as a nation. On Feb. 3, 2004, President Bush presented his proposed budget to the U.S. Congress. It slashes programs to create jobs, to provide health care for Americans and to strengthen public education. Instead, Bush proposes to funnel money to the wealthiest of Americans and supports more “outsourcing” of American jobs.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration by $6.5 million. For the third year in a row, he is proposing to slash OSHA’s worker training and education programs, from $11.1 million to $4 million.

Medicare? Don’t count on it 
The Bush budget is most callous in its cut to health care for the nation’s impoverished. This year’s budget once again proposes to disperse Medicaid funds through block grant to the states. Under the proposal, states have the option to cut benefits to certain Medicaid populations and to roll back benefits.