As a member of ILWU Local 142, you are part of a long and proud tradition where workers join or form organizations for their mutual benefit and to promote fairness and justice on the job. These organizations are called labor unions, trade unions, or just unions.

In Hawaii, one out of every four workers are members of a labor union. The most common kind of union is based on the job the worker does. For example, there are unions of airline pilots, firefighters, bricklayers, teachers, and nurses, and only workers who do those jobs are members of those unions. Another kind of union is based on an entire industry—such as hotel workers, government employees, or postal workers. A third kind of union, like the ILWU, organizes and includes workers from many different industries. This kind of unionism brings the highest level of unity to workers.

There are 21,000 ILWU members on all major islands in Hawaii, which makes the ILWU one of the largest unions in Hawaii. ILWU members work in every major industry including: tourism, longshore, sugar, pineapple, manufacturing, transportation, and hospitals. ILWU members hold diverse jobs—they include mechanics, drivers, cooks, hotel housekeepers, store cashiers, computer clerks, hospital technicians, and more. ◆

Organization for mutual benefit

A third and very important benefit of union membership goes far beyond your job. You are now a member of a workers’ organization—dedicated to defend your interests as a worker and to promote the general welfare of you and your family.

This is spelled out in the ILWU Declaration of Principles:

We, the men and women working under the jurisdiction of ILWU Local 142 Hawaii, in order to build and maintain a strong local organization and provide for the defense of our common interests, promote the general welfare of our members, their families and other wage earners in the community, and uphold the rights and dignity of our labor and its organized expression, have determined that we shall be guided by the following principles . . .

One of the most important ways the union defends our interests is through Union Political Action. The legal system is extremely important to working people. Laws can be passed to give additional rights and protection to workers or, just as easily, take away workers’ rights and protections.

In our country, the U.S. Congress and our State Legislature have the power to make new laws and change old laws. Every year in Hawaii, our State Legislature considers thousands of bills that propose changes in our laws-- some of these proposals benefit workers and some take away rights and benefits. For this reason, the ILWU and other unions must be actively involved in the legislative process, monitoring all of the bills, stopping legislation that would hurt working families, and urging legislators to pass legislation that benefit workers.

The success or failure of union political action depends on numbers—it takes a majority of legislators to pass a piece of legislation. This is why the ILWU and other unions endorse certain candidates over others during the elections. In the last election in 2006, the ILWU Political Action Committee interviewed dozens of candidates and questioned them on issues important to workers.

Union members were then urged to vote for only those candidates who would support working families. ◆

Workers like Larry Tsuchiyama (above right) at Pacific Beach Hotel joined a union because their employer didn’t treat them with respect. Workers at Pacific Beach received only one raise in eleven years, even though the hotel was doing well. The workers won their union representation election, and are now in negotiations for their first contract. Help Pacific Beach workers in their fight—sign a support postcard, available at your Division office now.