Who do you call if your house is on fire? You call the fire department.

Who do you call if someone steals your car or takes something from you? You call the police department.

Who do you call if someone is drowning or has a heart attack? You call 911.

Who do you call if you get in trouble with the law? You call a lawyer.

Most of you know there is someone to call if you have a problem like this.

But who do you call if you are a worker and union member - say a bartender or cook in one of our hotels, or a nurse in a hospital, or if you are a state or county worker?

Who would you call if your employer didn’t pay you properly for time you worked; if you didn’t get a promotion or was treated unfairly; or if your job was unsafe; or if your boss blamed you for something you didn’t do?

In all of these cases, you would call your union. Get in touch with your Business Agent or any of the offices. The union does many jobs rolled into one. We’re like Fire and Rescue because our members call us when they have a problem on the job.

We’re like the Police when we go after companies who cheat their workers out of their wages.

We’re like lawyers when we advise our members about their rights on the job or represent them in disputes with management.

We’re like Social Workers when our members come to us for help with immigration or family problems.

We’re like Teachers when we educate workers about the union and their rights.

We’re like Mediators when we try to settle conflicts and disagreements between workers and management.

We’re Negotiators when we talk with management about getting better benefits and higher wages.

Call us anytime and we will answer.

(excerpted from an article written by former Maui Division Director William Kennison entitled “Who Do You Call if You’re a Worker?” from the December 2004 issue of the Voice)

Hawaii: (808) 935-3727
Maui: (808) 244-9191
Kauai: (808) 245-3374
Oahu: (808) 949-4161, ext. 4798
Hawaii Longshore: (808) 949-4161, ext. 4799

What is “Right to work”?

Sounds innocent enough, right? 
It’s good to have work. It’s good to have rights. But in this Trump era of “alternative facts,” we cannot take any policy name for granted.

Many of our existing resources and outlets that are progressive and sociallyminded (i.e., Planned Parenthood) are under attack and unions are no exception. As you saw on page 2, the very existence of unions are being threatened with right to work legislation.

Trump is trying his hardest to diminish the working class and make the rich richer (see page 2). This law is nothing new. Martin Luther King, Jr. decried right to work as “a false slogan” (see page 3). As Trump and his administration try to deceive us with “false slogans,” we need to commit to what is true.

Union values - an injury to one is an injury to all - ring true in their wisdom. This stands in stark contrast to the rationale behind most, if not all of Trump’s policies; the rationale of doing things to benefit only a select few, the 1%

Unfortunately, nothing is free in our society. But we have the power to choose where we put our money, and more importantly, where we place our intention. Do we invest in false slogans, or in the truth?

Yes, it is true that the union needs members’ dues to function. Yes, right to work would make it so that members would not have to pay dues.

But the bigger picture, the true picture, if you will, looks more like this:

- the average worker in a right to work (RTW) state makes $6,109 less per year than a worker in a free bargaining state. 
- the poverty rate is 15.3% more in RTW states, compared to 12.8% in free bargaining states. 
- 13% of people younger than age 65 in RTW states are uninsured, compared to 9.4% in free bargaining states.
 - the risk of workplace death is 49% more likely in right to work states (statistics from go.aflcio.org/ StopRightToWork).

These statistics speak for themselves. And they remind us of what the union offers: protection on the job, benefits and security in unpredictable times, the chance to negotiate for a better wage.

We stick together for better or worse. Times look like they might be worse for the union. But as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” As we invest in the union and all the justice it stands for, we will keep this arc going in the right direction.