The 2021 legislative session convened on January 20, 2021 and will adjourn on April 29, 2021. During these three months, elected officials in the state house and state senate will decide which bills are enrolled to the Governor for his final decision. The Governor can choose to sign a bill into law, or he can veto a bill which stops the bill from becoming a law.
Typically, in a non-pandemic year, the ILWU Local 142 sends a large delegation of nearly a hundred members, pensioners, and staff to the State Capitol for its opening day. Our attendance en masse is done to remind our elected officials that labor’s votes mattered enough to help get them in office, so labor’s concerns must be proportionately represented when it comes to what bills become law.
Pandemic modifications
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the health and safety of everyone, the State Capitol was closed to the public for opening day. Because of the closure to the public, we were not able to provide our normal physical presence, but rest assured we have been communicating and working with elected officials on our priority legislation.
Like previous years, work at the legislative level is ongoing. We work with the legislators and communicate our important issues, ask them to introduce bills that benefit the membership of the ILWU Local 142 and educate them on bad bills that could be harmful to working families.
This is an unprecedented time. This is the first time the legislative session has been closed to the public and the first time it will be conducted completely virtually.
Hearings will still occur; testimony will still be accepted but it will all be done with technology such as Zoom and other online platforms. Hearings can also be watched via YouTube. There will be no in-person hearings.
Priority bill #1
Our first priority bill will provide financial help to thousands of our members who collected unemployment insurance benefits last year during the pandemic.
We have introduced a bill that will provide state income tax relief for anyone that collected unemployment insurance benefits from March 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020.
If this bill passes, people who collected unemployment benefits from March 1 – December 31 will not have to pay state income tax on the benefits collected and if someone elected to have their taxes taken out, they will be reimbursed. This could potentially save workers and their families over $2,000 dollars and provides working families much-needed financial relief.
The pandemic has been hard on many working families and no one could have foreseen the devastating impact, but hopefully this bill will pass and make things less challenging.
Priority bill #2
Our second priority bill will help all working families statewide. We are seeking to exempt the General Excise Tax (GET) on groceries and overthe-counter medicine such as Advil, Tylenol, etc. This will mean groceries purchased at grocery stores such as Foodland or Sack N Save (both units in our union) will be tax free.
32 states plus the District of Columbia have tax-free groceries and it only makes sense for Hawaii to follow these other states and make groceries more affordable for working families. For some families, this could mean a savings of more than $500 a year.
The pandemic has been trying for many. We have identified these priorities as a way to help our members and their families. If these bills pass, working families will have save more money and hopefully it will make their lives a little more comfortable during a difficult period.
Pictured above is a very clear example of why politics matters. ILWU Local 142 endorsed Democratic candidate Adrian Tam (State House 22-Waikiki, Ala Moana) in the 2020 elections, and he defeated a GOP candidate with ties to the white supremacist group the Proud Boys. He is standing with Local Vice President Corinna Nguyen at Local 142’s sign holding in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in honor of Juneteenth back in June of 2020. ILWU Local 142 endorses candidates like these because their progressive values such as anti-racism and equality reflect our own.
Maui Division’s delegation to the the legislature’s opening day in January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. There is power in numbers and voting in solidarity for political power. Maui Division has over 7,000 members and influenced key races in this past election.
Other bills of importance
We are also focusing on other bills that are beneficial to working families.
One of these bills includes mandating a minimum number of paid sick days. This is especially important during a pandemic since it is crucial for workers to stay at home when they are sick, so they can recover and not spread an illness to their co-workers or the general public.
We are also seeking to increase the minimum wage which is simply too low in the state of Hawaii, work with the DLIR on UI modernization and extensions and keeping workers safe by raising penalties on customers who violate health and safety orders.