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Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell (second from left), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (fourth from right), and Oahu Business Agent Wilfred Chang (second from right) with ILWU members from Unit 4526 - Pacific Beach Hotel at the Labor Unity Picnic held on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at the Waikiki Shell. Caldwell is an ILWU-endorsed candidate, and all Oahu members are urged to support him for Mayor in the upcoming General Election on November 8. Caldwell is endorsed by the ILWU because he has made working families on Oahu his priority. Improving public safety, repaving roads, fixing sewers, and housing homeless veterans are some of Caldwell’s accomplishments during his first term as Honolulu mayor. He has always listened to and tried to address the needs of ILWU members and their communities.
Trade Adjustment Assistance approved for more HC&S workers
A second petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) filed by the ILWU was certified in early September. This means that ALL Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar (HC&S) workers being laid off by the end of the year will be eligible for the federal program that offers training, wage subsidies, relocation expenses, and additional unemployment benefits to those being displaced because of foreign competition.
The first petition for TAA was certified in March after Alexander & Baldwin, the parent company of HC&S, announced that sugar operations would cease by the end of 2016. The ILWU has filed TAA petitions for other sugar companies that closed, but each of those petitions were denied as there was no evidence that foreign competition was the reason for the closure. In the case of HC&S, however, an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling specifically identified HC&S as one of the U.S. firms impacted by “dumping” of sugar on the world market by Mexico.
While that was good news for most of the HC&S workers, the ITC ruling only applied to workers being laid off by November 16, 2016. More than half the workforce was set to be laid off in December. Certification of the second petition now means that all HC&S workers are eligible for enhanced services and benefits under TAA.
Special benefits and services under TAA
With TAA, sugar workers who are older than 50 years of age and earning less in their new jobs than at HC&S can get a wage subsidy for up to two years or $10,000, whichever comes first. HC&S workers can also receive free tuition for training and education to help them find new careers and may even be eligible for unemployment benefits for as long as they are in school. TAA funds can also pay for relocation expenses if workers find jobs on another island or in another state.
How to Apply for TAA help
How would an HC&S worker access these services and benefits? They must contact the State Workforce Development Division (WDD), on Maui called WorkSource Maui, at 984-2091 and speak with WDD staff about their career and employment goals.
If any HC&S worker has questions about TAA or other services, the ILWU is available as a resource. Contact Joanne Kealoha, Local Social Services Coordinator, in Honolulu at 949-4161 or Joe Aquino or Bobby Andrion, Maui Division Business Agents, or Merlita Crespin, Maui Organizer, on Maui at 244-9191.
