Police and news helicopters circled overhead as hundreds of union and community supporters converged on the dusty entrance to the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal. The gathering occurred on May Day – the traditional workers’ holiday – and attracted supporters from near and far who marched and rallied with the ILWU and a host of maritime unions and business groups who are opposing plans for a baseball stadium and luxury condos on the Terminal’s 55 acres.

Retired ILWU Maui Division Director and long-time union leader William “Willie” Kennison passed away on May 21, 2019. Willie retired from the ILWU in 2012 after 30 years of active involvment in the labor movment.

The Local would like to honor William “Willie” Kennison in this issue of the VOICE because we are proud to call him ours. The ILWU Local 142 would not be the same kind of organization it is if we did not have people like Willie who devoted a good portion of their lives to the membership and the labor cause.

(Editor’s note: the following was written with information from Leah Bernstein, Director of the Harriet Bouslog Labor Scholarship Fund - HBLSF).

Who was Harriet Bouslog? 
The scholarship is named for the lawyer who represented ILWU Local 142 in the 1940s and 1950s.

Harriet Bouslog defended workers who hardly had the means to defend their cases, let alone receive any type of counsel.

Bouslog’s courage and commitment to social justice coupled with the ILWU workers’ tenacity brought deep lasting change to the whole state.

Syvee Ashley 
Galam Syvee’s father Meliton G. Galam, Jr. works at Unit 4405 Foodland.

Front L-R: Unit Secretary-Treasurer Kanani Numata, Unit Vice Chair Chris Nakama, Unit Chair Kimberley Goo. Back L-R: Jeff “Ronny Jr.” Mueller, Business Agent Dennis Morton, International Field Representative Dustin Dawson.

AQ doing what she did best...giving galvanizing speeches. She is pictured here giving a fiery speech that earned a standing ovation at the 32nd ILWU International Convention in 2003.

...If you don’t know, you better ask somebody... 

This is someone to be proud of when you think of ILWU history; this is part of your labor legacy.

KALAHEO — The 39th Annual State Basketball Tournament was held on May 18, 2019 at Kalaheo Gym on Kauai.

This year the state tournament was held in May instead of December. Maui Division was unable to get a team because of the timing, but all other divisions participated with Kauai competing with an extra team.

ILWU Local 142 endorses Joe Biden for President

Pictured at left is Joe Biden in December ‘19 at the ILWU interview of presidential candidates at their headquarters in San Francisco. Pictured at right is Local 142 President Donna Domingo and our future President of the United States.

ILWU Local 142 released the complete list of the union endorsed candidates for congressional, state and county races for this year’s Primary Election (see page 8).

The officers and rank-and-file members of the ILWU Political Action Committee (PAC) endorse candidates only after a thorough vetting process. The committee interviews candidates and reviews their positions on issues that matter to working people.

With workers nationwide demanding more fair treatment, hours, and safety measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, people are waking up to seeing how important the working class is to the lifeblood of this country — and by extension — unions.

Unions have historically fought for many of the things non-union workers are demanding right now - benefits such as paid sick leave, better safety regulations, and overall more fair treatment from companies set by a legally binding contract.