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.
Willie retired at the end of 2012 after more than 30 years as a full-time official. Even after he retired, he remained active in union activity, in particular, the ILWU Memorial Association Board of Directors and PAC.
Start in Sugar
Willie was born in Wailuku and was a 1964 graduate of Baldwin High School.
He got his start at Wailuku Sugar Company in 1967. As he performed a variety of duties within the company as a cane haul truck driver, planter, and journeyman welder, he also helped his fellow workers in his capacity as union steward.
By 1977, Willie was unit chairman of Wailuku Sugar. Willie had a mind for strategy and a natural way of connecting to others. How else could he have gotten 100% of his unit to decide to go on strike that year? The demonstration of solidarity made the union strong and set an empowering example for many other workers on Maui.
Early Promise
Willie showed such promise and leadership potential that several ILWU leaders started mentoring him, namely past Maui Division Directors Tom Yagi and John Arisumi and former business agent Tai Sang Yang. While he was evolving as a leader, the economic landscape of Maui changed drastically.
Grounding Force in Turbulent Times The rampant closures and layoffs that happened as Hawaii’s main economic engine shifted from agriculture to tourism threatened to rock Maui to its core. However, people like Willie within the ILWU provided a grounding force and a source of support and guidance for many workers who were caught in the shuffle of this transition.
He helped members apply for Social Security, file for workers’ compensation, and petition the Immigration Service to bring family members to the U.S.
All the while, Willie was a quick study, learning all he could about other industries in the ILWU. He negotiated most contracts on Maui in the mid-1980s through the 90s and beyond, including agreements for Hyatt Maui, Grand Wailea, Four Seasons-Lanai, Maui Prince, Renaissance Wailea, Ritz-Carlton, Maui Pine, and HC&S.
Honored for a Legacy of Aloha
At the 26th Convention of the ILWU Local 142 in 2012, he was given an honorary resolution for his imminent retirement. The members in attendance made sure his aloha would not go unacknowledged, and gave countless and sometimes tearful accounts of Willie’s kind and dedicated efforts that went above and beyond to support members in need and embodied the union’s principles.
We express deep appreciation, too, for his wife Evelyn, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren for being the foundation from where he could draw strength and inspiration.
His funeral on June 2, 2019 was hours long to accommodate the masses who showed up to honor his memory and fondly remember his endearing quirks and exemplary character
Rest in aloha, Brother Willie. We will always remember you and the way you taught us the power of humility and the courage of the heart.
1. After the closure of HC&S in December 2016, the company’s owners threw a Mahalo Luau the following month at Maui Tropical Plantation for all workers involved. Pictured here is Willie at the event. He started in sugar as a worker and saw it through ‘til the very end, always keeping the membership as his number one concern in his roles as both Business Agent (since 1981) and Maui Division Director (since 2003).
2. Willie at a bowling tournament in 2004 with some of the Maui Division ohana. He was active in all aspects of union life, even the union sports program.
3. As a Business Agent Willie made frequent visits to all his units. Here he is on site at Ameron International (a cement manufacturer) in 2002.
4. In 1981 Willie took over as chairman of the union’s Political Action Committee and became PAC coordinator in 1999. Here he is at a Labor Day picnic in August 2002 - a regular stop for politicians each year. 5. Even though he was retired, he Willie remained active in PAC, attending events like Legislative Opening Day in 2017.