On January 16, 2009, important new rules on the Family Medical Leave Act went into effect. Following are some of the changes:
• Employees will have to follow their employer’s call-in policies when they are planning to miss work “absent unusual circumstances.” Previously, employees had up to two business days after an absence to notify the company that their absence was due to family leave.
Hawaii celebrated the Martin Luther King Day holiday with a parade through Waikiki and a rally at Kapiolani Park in Honolulu. The holiday honors Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister from Montgomery, Alabama, who was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement to end discrimination against Black Americans, and who spoke eloquently against poverty and the US war in Vietnam.
ILWU Local 30 members took the opportunity this holiday season to thank the supporters and unions which enabled the union to win a hard-fought victory for a fair union contract with Rio Tinto, the owners of the Borax Company.
In 1925, borate deposits were discovered near the town of Boron, California. Pure borate deposits are extremely rare and the Boron mine produces nearly half of the world’s supply of borate. Borate is an essential ingredient used to make household and commercial products such as soap, detergents, paint, glass, ceramics, and fertilizers.
Data collected by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) shows a surprisingly strong recovery in tourism which is lifting other sectors of the Hawaii economy.
There were strong increases in arrivals and spending of both international and domestic visitors.
Oahu enjoyed the biggest increases, but Maui also saw significant growth in arrivals. This data does not include the 4th quarter of 2010.
In 2008, world refined sugar prices averaged slightly less than 16 cents a pound. In 2009, prices began a steady climb and ended at nearly 30 cents a pound in December 2009. In 2010, world refined sugar prices dipped to 21 cents but by the end of the year prices hit a thirty-year high of 34.78 cents a pound.
Alexander & Baldwin (CIK: 0000003453) is the parent company of Matson Navigation and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S). The company’s 2010 Third Quarter Report to the US Security and Exchange Commission showed a slight decline in container volume to Hawaii but a huge increase in shipping to China.
During tough economic times, management too often looks only at cutting labor costs to save money. Benefits such as holidays are cut. Wage increases are canceled. Hours are cut or workers are laid off. The savings are small and result in lower morale and lower productivity, as workers are forced to work harder for the same or lower wages.
A website at http://www.worldsalaries. org/ shows you the salaries earned by different occupations in countries around the world.
The comparisons are based on the money it would take to have a similar standard of living. This is called purchasing power parity. There are also comparisons for teachers, doctors, and other occupations.
On January 30, 2009, just nine days after his inauguration, President Barrack Obama issued Executive Order 13496 which requires companies with federal contracts to inform employees of their right to organize and join unions. It also revoked Executive Order 13201 made by George W. Bush, which required federal contractors to inform unionized workers of their right to object to paying full union dues.
This year, seven priority issues will guide the work of the ILWU during the 2012 Legislative Session. Some of our priorities have not changed from previous years. Issues like worker retention, supporting senior programs and protecting workers’ compensation still hold significance to the betterment of our lives.