Re-centering workers This year’s involvement was motivated by the need to ensure that policies centering working-class people remain the focus of the party. “Something’s not right” said President Chris West, who addressed ILWU members and FTOs in caucus at the party convention. “We have been under Democratic control in Hawaiʻi since 1954. And somehow, local people are struggling more than ever to survive here.” “We have rooted generational local families moving out of the islands every day”, West continued. “While we support the Democratic Party as the party whose principles are most aligned with ours, we need to be involved to hold them accountable to the interests of working families.”
In addition to these seats, now filled by ILWU members, key positions in the party were filled by candidtates whom the Local supported including Derek Turbin as Party Chair, and Bronson Silva and Juanita Mahienaena Brown Kawamoto as Committeeman and Committee woman respectively. Filling these positions and seats with ILWU members and allies ensures that issues that impact working class locals and labor overall are not forgotten but rather that they are key aspects of all party discussions and positions. What’s ahead? With both the legislative session and the party convention behind us, attention now turns to the Fall elections.
I ka wā ma mua, i ka mā hope was the theme for this year’s Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi (DPH) state convention. The convention was held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on May 18 and 19. The past inspires the future The theme translates to “we look to the past as a guide to the future” and the ILWU certainly lived up to that, with a strong presence and winning a number of district seats within the party. The DPH’s website highlighted the theme by sharing the history of the Democratic party’s rise to power through the organization of ILWU members and the rise of workers in the decdes prior. The party website reads, “2024 marks the 70th anniversary
of the Hawai‘i Democratic Revolution of 1954 in which Democrats took control from the Hawai‘i Republican Party, that previously dominated the legislature. Democrats have maintained a majority in the legislature ever since. This 1954 Revolution was preceded by the Hilo Massacre, strikes and protests around the Hawaiian Islands, and the strong emergence of the ILWU and other unions that significantly diminished the political and economic influence of the Big Five in Hawai‘i. John A. Burns, Democratic Party Chair from 1952 56, worked with union organizers to elect Democrats resulting in the 1954 Revolution in the legislature and ultimately his election as Hawai‘i’s first Democratic Governor in 1962.”
ILWU members won a number of
seats for the State Central Committee:
Senate District 5, Maui
Emmanuel Baltazar
Senate District 5, Maui
Jacqueline Tavares
Sentate District 7, Maui
Stephen West
Senate District 16, Oʻahu
David Chew
Senate District 21, Oʻahu
Collin Mansanas
Jacqueline Tavares, who is a
Business Agent stemming from
the Hotel Wailea, also secured the
Assistant Secretary seat for the SCC.
Every State House seat is up for reelection and half of the State Senate seats are also up for grabs. Two Mayors and a number of County Council seats are also being contested. “Our working class is the backbone of Hawaiʻi’s economy, and it’s time our voices are heard! I encourage all members to register to vote and get out the vote. We have a say in who represents us and will fight for policies that support Hawaiʻi’s working families. ILWU members, register to vote today and make sure our voices are heard at the ballot box!” said Legislative Liasion, Brandon Wolff. A list of all ILWU endorsements can be found on page 4 of this issue.
Dispatcher: Logistics organizing success
their fight against WWL in previous years, and MUA’s readiness to do the same in return. Meanwhile, workers from P&B Intermodal just down the road in the Port of Tacoma shared with WWL employees their experience of striking to shut down their job site, winning a union through Local 23, and the incredible, transformative gains they secured in their first union contract. Locking down the count After multiple weeks of illegal manager misconduct and targeted busting, employees finally made it to election day on March 21, 2024 and
voted 104 to 56 to become members of Local 23. WWL could find no legal objections to the election win, and the NLRB certified the new bargaining unit on March 29. “We were overwhelmingly excited,” said Richard Booth Jr, a distro driver. “We put it all on the line and won.” This landmark victory in organizing with sweatshop logistics workers comes through ILWU’s Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transport (SCLT) program. Rooted in the March Inland campaign, through which tens of thousands of warehouse workers backed by longshore power organized
through ILWU after the Great Strike of 1934, the SCLT program focuses on combining union hammer (ability to use supply chain power) with worker heat (readiness to fight), and works in partnership with the International Transport Workers Federation. “Every day since we won the election, we have backed each other up to deal with unfair discipline and other issues,” said Ramo Natalizio, a quality control inspector. “And we’re locking arms as we go get that first contract.” After effectively using strategic power to organize and win, logistics
workers are now moving ahead to secure protections and respect on the job. “Our strength does not come just from our collective bargaining agreements, dispatch halls, or any other formal designation,” said Jared Faker, Local 23 President. “Our strength comes from our solidarity and organizing the unorganized, uplifting standards in our community, and making lives better for all working people. We could not be more proud to be a part of that for nearly 200 new members.”
Meeting Dates:
Local Executive Committee
Aug 2, Aug 30, Oct 7
Aug 2, Aug 30, Oct 7
Local Executive Board
Sept 6, Dec 16
Sept 6, Dec 16
Local Convention
September 9-13
September 9-13