HONOLULU—February and March were busy months for the Local 142’s longshore division, as union members began mobilizing for upcoming contract talks with their employers. Collective bargaining agreements covering ILWU longshore members expire on July 1, 2002, and negotiations are set to begin between the West Coast ILWU and the employer group, the Pacific Maritime Association, in May.

A national budget represents the values and priorities we place on problems and issues confronting the country, directing limited resources to meet them. President Bush just released his proposed budget for the upcoming year. It includes huge increases for military spending, a massive infusion of money for “homeland defense” and endless tax cuts for the wealthy. The budget slashes funding for workers programs and other programs important to organized labor.

The horror of Sept. 11 left more in its wake than 16 smoking acres in Manhattan. A rush to security at all costs became the rule of the day and civil liberties were treated as collateral damage. The Port and Maritime Security Act of 2001 currently being considered in Congress—with its provisions to screen and ban waterfront workers from the docks as security risks—is one of those overreactions.

Ameron International is a cement product manufacturer. Rock and sand are quarried and mixed into different types of cement, then trucked to construction sites by Ameron drivers.

Hawaiian Cement in Puunene has a rock quarry and grinds its own rock to sell to contruction sites, as well as mixing it to make into cement. Thousands of tons of material are used in construction projects all over Maui.

The workers at Enron thought they had it made with their retirement program that was heavily dependent on Enron stocks. They were duped just as so many working people are duped into believing that the stock market is the answer to their retirement security. The Enron collapse and the instant evaporation of thousands of workers’ 401(k) retirement savings is the perfect example why we must strengthen and preserve Social Security, and fight against its privatization.

Propaganda Techniques: Twisting Facts

• Exception to the Rule. What is “News” is generally the extraordinary and not the commonplace events. The one labor strike will receive more coverage then the 99 peacefully negotiated contract settlements. The one indicted labor leader or the one disputed union election will receive front page coverage. In strike stories, the wages of the highest paid worker is often used, instead of the average, to give the impression of greed.

Fooling and deceiving people is an age-old practice. The quotation above by Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) talked about how people were being misled and fooled over 140 years ago. Today, the practice of fooling and deceiving people may be a bigger and more widespread problem, because we are constantly being exposed to images and messages on television, radio, the internet, newspaper, magazines, and even word of mouth.

A statewide longshore industry caucus was held in Honolulu on March 14-15, 2002. Forty-five leaders from Hawaii, Maui, Kauai and Oahu Divisions participated in this meeting to draft and discuss negotiation proposals.

“In unity there is strength.” Or sometimes we say— “United we stand, divided we fall.” We have a lot of different ways of expressing this idea that unity and strength go together. Even our own slogan—“An injury to one is an injury to all”—is based on this principle. “The union makes us strong.” This is a concept that working people have no problem understanding. They understand that a single worker is powerless to bargain with his or her employer for good wages and working conditions.