Hawai`i Labor History Handout from Ray Catania

Hawaii and International Workers Day
This handout is dedicated to Hawaii's first strike on
Hawaii's first sugar plantation atKoloa, Kauai in 1841.
The all Kanaka Maoli workforce was only being paid
"pasteboard scrip"at the measley rate of12 and a half
cents a day. Unfortunately, the strikers were crushed,
but they laid the groundworkfor a rebellious labor
movement that was soon to follow.
Also to be recognized are the 2,500 sugar workers that
held Hawaii's first May Day parade on Maui on May 1st
1937, marching four miles from Wailuku to Kahului with
signs that read, "We Want to Work-But We Want
Justice" and "Make This a Workers' Paradise." The lead
organizer of the event, Bill Bailey, left the islands facing a
decade ofjail time for violating the "Criminal Syndicalism
Act."
Included in this handout is "Blood in the fields: The
Hanapepe Massacre and the 1924 Filipino Strike" by I
Dean Alegado former UH Ethnic Studies instructor.
*Also featured- Public
Worker battles against
layoffs 2009/2010 and
Kauai Sheraton Workers
take direct action on
"Go Green" initiative
and being treated
"second class" 2/2/2011.
]^AL Ha OLAA
T^
International Workers Day
This past May 1st marked the yearly celebration of International Workers
Day, observed all over the world except Wall Street controlled America.
Workers take to the streets to fight for such human rights as livable
wages, humane working conditions, free health care for all, affordable
housing for everyone, pensions for all retirees and the basic right to
organize unions that will defend our interests free of employer intimidation.
Here in Hawaii, public school teachers with the HSTA, government
employees represented by the HGEA and UPW and hotel workers
represented by Local 5, have settled in, voted on, are in arbitration or are
ratifying contracts that will improve their living standards. Non-union
workers are denied this democratic right.
Wal-Mart happily does business in countries like Bangladesh where its
workers have no protections. Just recently, over 1,120 mostly women
workers in Dhaka, were crushed to death when their shoddily built factory
collapsed.
Wal-Mart has stood firmly against these workers quest to raise their
wages and to better their working conditions. The garment workers fight
for fairness runs counter to Wal-Mart's demanding attitude of paying for
these goods at the lowest cost possible.
On May 14th, six European clothing contractors signed on to an
agreement monitored by independent human rights investigators that
would force the government of Bangladesh and its garment factory owners
to abide by stringent safety standards, and have these same contractors
not conspire with owners to keep costs so low, so that nothing is spent on
employee safety and economic welfare. Wal-Mart refused to sign the
agreement.
And all across the U.S., Wal-Mart is cutting its "associates" hours, trying
to reduce many employees to part-time help so that it doesn't have to pay
them needed benefits. Wal-Mart has set the worldwide template to
downgrade the rights of labor.
Hawaii legislators shamed themselves by not voting to increase the
minimum wage. Hawaii's poorest workers long for an increase from the
present $7.25 an hour to the little more decent $9.00 by January 1, 2017.
New York City's workers got an increase because they were organized.
We don't hear the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, who vigoursly
opposed the increase, cry about the 28% jump in Hawaii's top CEO
compensation since 2011, as reported by the Star-Advertiser on 4/21/2013.
Bank of Hawaii's Peter Ho got an outrageous 93% increase- he made more
than $3,390,000 in 2012. Working people shouldn't be reduced to beggars;
it's time for organization and action.
Ray Catania, Puhi 634-2737 4212 Kole Place, Lihue Hawaii 96766
James Alalem, Wailua 635-0835
Mural by
Jean Chariot
on Hawaii
1946 Sugar
Strike led by
ILWU. 28
thousand
sugar
workers
were
involved in
this winning
strike. A year
later 20
thousand
pineapple
workers
joined the
union.
"An injury to one is an injury to all."
HOW LABOR DAY REPLACED INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY
International Workers Day actually had it's start in the U.S.A. On May
1st 1886 in Haymarket Square (Chicago, Illinois), the police fired into a
large and peaceful assembly of laborers, who were organizing for
something that most of us take for granted, the eight hour day. The
demonstration was considered illegal. Police agents threw a bomb into
the crowd, used this as an excuse to break up the affair, then beat up and
arrested hundreds and killed four workers.
By the next year, "the Haymarket Affair", became an international
event remembered by working people all over the world with it's main
purpose of celebrating the power of workers uniting for social justice and
world peace. The commemoration rapidly spread throughout the world
with over 80 countries eventally making it a national paid holiday and
many more taking to the streets every May 1st to fight for workers rights.
From the start, it was decried as a "communist inspired" holiday,
attacked viciously by the wealthy, their pals in government and especially
their conservative allies in organized labor that feared a revolutionary or
socialist workers movement that calledfor an end to most union's top
down leadership style, and the just redistribution of society's wealth.
The Knights of Labor, and largely conservative craft unions that fought
for white males only, like the building trades, feared democratically run
organizations like the influential anarchists of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW), who were uncompromising in their fight for all workers
no matter what race or nation of origin.
With the help of President GroverCleveland, the conservatives pushed
for the "Labor Day" holiday instead in September of 1887. It must be
mentioned that the powerful slogan, "An injury to one is an injury to all",
was first popularized by the IWW.
This history has been effectively hidden by our government, media and
the educational system. Instead, we have the trade-off of a tame "Labor
Day". What we now have is a smattering of events organized by unions
calling for "labor unity", where handshaking politicians canfreely roam,
and the societal contributions made by organized labor are touted. This
holiday has been successfully marketed by business as a three-day
weekend sales extravaganza.
This is a time when we can buy new pick-ups on sale at the local auto
dealer, purchase discounted propane barbecue grills at the nearby WalMart, gorge on hot dogs, catch a ballgame, and are reminded by the
National Security Agency, that "freedom isn't free".
BASIC DAMAGE CONTROL
rom Garden Island Newspaper 6/12/2013 Op/ED section
GUEST COMMENTARY
Walmart is doing right by
employees, economy, environment
R a y Catania's and James Alalem's letter (5-2813) shows they fail to understand something
Walmart customers and associates already
know; entry-level jobs often lead to bigger jobs. Our
average hourly full-time wage for our 4,000 associates
in Hawaii is $14.70 as of January 2013.
As Kauai Walmart's store manager, I've seen first
hand how supportive our company is to associates.
I've had the opportunity to build my career right here
in Hawaii since starting 18 years ago as an hourly cus
tomer service manager in the Kailua-Kona store.
At Walmart, you can climb the ladder from a
stocker to a department manager to a store manager
and beyond. About 75 percent of our store manage
ment teams started as hourly associates just like me,
and they earn between $50,000 and $250,000 a year
- similar to the earnings of firefighters, accountants
and even healthcare professionals.
Not only do our wages and benefits already meet
or exceed most competitors, but in the past fiscal year
alone, Walmart associates received more than $1.5 bil
lion in bonuses, $800 million in 401(k) contributions
and $550 million in savings via our 10 percent associ
cause they wanted to work for us again.
I am proud to work at Kauai Walmart. The com
pany has given me and the thousands of employees
here in Hawaii the opportunity to build a career. See
for yourself at www.therealwalmart.com
ate discount.
across the industry. Taking part in the development of
a broader safety plan with other brands, retailers and
the Bipartisan Policy Center, building upon our previ
ously announced commitments, is part of that work.
For these reasons and others, we have more than a
quarter-million associates that have been with the com
pany for 10 years or more. Last year we received more
than 5 million applications to come work in our stores.
Of those hired last year, 20 percent were rehires, mean
ing they worked for Walmart, left, but came back be
Mr. Catania and Alalem also fail to mention that
Walmart had no authorized production in any of the
government-closed factories in Bangladesh, including
at the site of the Rana Plaza tragedy.
Walmart believes that workers have the right to
work in a safe environment, and companies and gov
ernments have a responsibility to help ensure appropri
ate factory working conditions.
We've taken a number of actions that meet or exceed
other factory safety proposals. These include strength
ening safety standards for factories, a zero-tolerance
policy for unauthorized subcontracting, increased
transparency, and requiring that in-depth safety audits
and remediations be made to every factory directly
producing product for us in Bangladesh, reflected in
the cost of the goods that we buy.
We also believe there is a need to partner with other
stakeholders to improve the standards for workers
• Crystal Fernandes is the store manager for
Walmart in Lihue.
IS WAL-MART DOING ANYTHING RIGHT?
Sorry, Wal-Mart is not doing it's workers, the environment or the economy right.
The two letters below are responses to Wal-Mart's "boilerplate" mutterings in it's
guest commentary by manager Crystal Fernandez in the Garden Island Newspaper on
6/12/2013. They were both submitted but haven't made the paper yet. Nevertheless,
they raise some related counterpoints that need exposure. Both letters were quick
responses submitted on June 12, 2013. Mahalo to both of them.
BY KATY ROSE, formerly of Kauai now of San Francisco
The corporate boilerplate served up by Walmart's Crystal Fernandes doesn't impress me. $14 an hour is not enough to feed my family, even if
Walmartsays that's a decent wage. Butwho cares what Walmart says? The onlything that matters is what we who have to work for a paycheck
say. We have to ask ourselves if we are gettingwhat we deserve. Ifthe answer is "no,"then we have to ask what we are prepared to do about it.
Garment workers in Bangladesh aren't waiting for their bosses to "do the right thing"- they take matters in their own hands and go on strike to win
better conditions. Walmart warehouse workers in California and others along the supply chain have also taken strike actions to improve their lives.
Working people inTurkey have recentlyjoinedthe fight. These battles are picking up steam because we understand that multi-billion-dollar profits
for companies likeWalmart come from one source: the underpaid labor of everyone from the factory worker in Asia to the stocker at the local
store. One of myfavorite historical figures, Big Bill Haywood,said it best a century ago: "For every dollar the boss has and didn't workfor, one of
us worked for a dollar and didn't get it." But Haywood also said that ifwe all "put our hands in our pockets" at once, we would have the bosses
whipped, and that is just as true today as it was back then.
BY KIP GOODWIN, of Kapaa
In response to Walmart store manager Femandes' mea culpa regarding her employer's shortcomiongs ( Walmart doing right by employees, economy,
environment, TGI 6/12/13); WhatMs.Femandes fails to understand is that most employees of Walmart or anyotherplacedon't aspire to be manager.
They simply want to put inan honest day of dignified work for a living wage, andgo home at theendof the day free of the cares andstress of
management. Walmart's policy of part time instead offull time jobs and unpredictable hours isaninsult to its workers and its miserly entry level pay isa
well known scandal.
Worse, companies down the supply chain, all the way to Bangladesh garment makers, are forced to adhere to the Walmart draconian, survival of the
fittest economic template. This says nothing of the carbon dioxide loading up the atmosphere from all the global transportation ofthe vast array of stuff
you see at Walmart.
Since Ms. Femandes supports herthesis with big numbers re: bonuses and 401(k) contributions, here's another one. The four heirs to the Walmart
founder are richer than the bottom 40% of Americans. That means the economic vitalityof communitiesall over the U.S., like Kauai, is vacuumed up
making us poorerand the already ridiculously wealthy even richer.
The answer is to define whether you really need it orjust want it, to buyit locally made if at all possible, anddon't shop Walmart.
SHAPE UP WALMART
Walmart is the richest company in America. It has topped the Fortune 500 list seven times this past decade. Its
total revenues average S421 billion yearly. IfWalmart were a country itwould have the 25th largest economy in
between prosperous Taiwan and modern Norway.
cvf low price
.
.
Let's get beyond Walmart's phony patriotism and "yankee doodle dandy." CEO MikeDukes pulls down an average
of S35 million a year. Compare this to the nationwide average of its "associates" who only make S10toS12per
hour. Yet these bosses have the audacity to cut full-time worker's hours from 40 down to 33, 34 hours a week and
still label it full time.
Walmart can do this because they have working class communities by the throat. Because there is no national
organization behind them, the workers are rightfully afraid. For speaking up they can be disciplined or fired. If
union organizing goes on, Walmart pulls up and leaves.
They want every associate to just accept it and sigh, "At least I have a job." Well, the slaves had jobs too. Every
worker deserves a decent wage and needed benefits like medical, especially if their employer can afford it We
also should be able to speak up against any injustice that happens on the job. It's a simple human right
Come on, Kaua'i's politicians, how about calling Walmart and telling them not to cut anyone's hours. Shoppers can
do the same. Also, check out online "Walmart workers speak out."
Ray Catania, Puhi
James Alalem, Wailua
Graphicfrom DVD "Wal-Mart- the high cost of low price"
from www.walmartmovie.com
Protesters hold upa signcommemorating thosekilled inrecent clothing factory tragedies in
Bangladesh outside Walmart Stores Inc. headquarters in Benton\Alle, Arkansas, June 5, 2013
OUR Walmart members and others sat in outside Yahoo's annual
(Reuters/Rick Wilking)
shareholder meeting on June 24. The workers are targeting Yahoo CEO
Marissa Mayer, who is also a Walmart board member, demanding and
end to illegal firings. Photo: OURWalmart.
August 13.2013
HUFF
POST
BUSINESS
Walmart's War Against Unions -- and the U.S. Laws That Make
It Possible
Posted: 06/05/2013 3:02 pm
For several years, Walmart's annual shareholders meeting has been the staging ground for high-profile protests against the
retailgiants treatment of its employees. As Walmart workers from across the country - many of whom are on strike - once
again converge this week on the corporation's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, one startling fact stands out: none of
them, or any of the retail giant's 1.4 million workers, are represented by a union.
Walmart's success in keeping its American workforce entirely nonunion is, of course, well documented - so much so that
observers of the company's chronic labor strife almost take it for granted. But even in the context of a long national decline in
union membership among American workers, it is staggering that the country'slargest employer, and one of its stingiest, has
remained union free.
While Walmart contends that its employees have no use for union representation, it stretches credulity beyond the breaking
pointto thinkthat no group of workersat any of the company's morethan 4,000 U.S. stores would choose to organize
themselves into a bargaining unit Afterall, Walmart has become almost as famous for its lowwages and paltry health benefits
as it is forits low prices. And despite the weakened position of unions in the U.S. economy, unionized workersstill enjoywages
that are 13.6 percent higher on average than those of their nonunion counterparts. Likewise, unionized workers are 28.2
percent more likely to be covered by employer-provided health insurance and 53.9 percent more likely to have employerprovided pensions.
So whats the secret to Walmart's "success" in remaining 100 percent nonunion? In short, it's the corporation's thorough
exploitation of our nation's anemic labor laws.
Ina blistering 2007 reportthat sadly still holds true, Human Rights Watch meticulously analyzed howWalmarthas taken
advantage of the gaping holes in U.S. labor lawto turn back every effort at unionization. For example, because American
employers are allowed to actively oppose union organizing campaigns, Walmart "bombards workers withthe message that
disastrous results will ensue ifthey organize, while largely denying them access to contrary views."
Similarly, since national labor law allows employers to permanently replace workers who strike for economic reasons, "WalMartuses this threat of permanent replacement as part of its strategy to scare workers into rejecting union formation at its U.S.
stores." This message is drummed home not only during organizing efforts, but also in trainings for new workers, which are part
of Walmart's coordinated, pro-active approach to stopping organizing campaigns in their tracks.
Perhaps Walmart's most powerful tool in resisting unionization efforts is the incredibly weak penalties for employers that violate
labor law. There are no punitive awards for labor law infractions, which means that employers - particularly those with the
enormous resources that Walmart enjoys —have little economic incentive to obey the law.
Even on the rare occasions when efforts to organize Walmart workers have overcome all these obstacles, the company has
still managed to prevail. In 2000, for instance, when butchers at a Texas Walmart voted to join the United Food and
Commerical Workers Union, Walmart announced two weeks later that it was closing all 180 of its meat counters. In 2004, the
company went so far as to close an entire store after its employees voted to unionize.
Its not surprising that, given Walmarts determination to remain nonunion and the complicity of U.S. labor law in supporting this
goal, Walmart workers and their supporters have turned to non-traditional alternatives. The caravans transporting striking
Walmart employees to Bentonville this week are part of this growing movement, which has succeeded in keeping the company
on the defensive about its labor practices. These workers will need every ounce of creative strength they can muster to prevail
against a system that is stacked against them, and a corporation that has mastered that system.
Real Labor Internationalism
Pacific Beach Hotel workers win 10-year
struggle for union rights and ILWU contract
The ILWU has called an end to the boycott of
the Pacific Beach Hotel with the signing of the
union contract with Highgate Hotels.
the Pacific Beach Hotel have finally won .
and elected officials. At the request of the
ILWU International, the AFL-CIO placed
union representation and a fair contract. It
the Pacific Beach Hotel on its national
took tremendous courage, dedication and
solidarity from the workers of the hotel,
and it took the support and determination
when union federations in the Philippines,
It took over ten years, but the workers of
of the ILWU to stand with the workers.
On the afternoon of December 29,
2012 at the Pacific Beach Hotel, instead
of chants and slogans of countless rallies
and demonstrations led by the ILWU,
there were cheers, hugs, and high-fives.
After more than ten years of struggle, an
boycott list. The boycott wentinternational
Canada, and Japan also came forward to
support the Pacific Beach workers. The
solidarity of unions in Japan—led by
Zenkowan, the All-Japan Dockworkers
Union—was especially critical because
most of the hotel's guests came from
Japan.
agreement was reached on a first union
"This fight could not have been won
without the strength and determination
contract for Pacific Beach workers.
of the Pac Beach workers. These workers
For more than a decade, showing
up for work at the Pacific Beach Hotel
meant facing eight hours of intimidation
and disrespect from management. The
intimidation peaked in 2007 when 31
union supporters were fired—including
seven of the ten negotiating committee
members.
faced firings, harassment, and intimidation
for over ten years—but they still stuck
with the ILWU and the ILWU stuck with
them," stated International Vice President-
Hawaii Wesley Furtado. "But the workers
weren't alone. Global solidarity was also
key to this victory."
Pacific Beach Hotel workers voted to
approve their ILWU contract by nearly a
The fight intensified
A local boycott of the hotel was called
by Hawaii unions, community groups,
unanimous vote. The new contract gives
workers in non-tipped jobs a five percent
raise in the first year and a total increase
of 13 percent over four years. Tipping
category workers improved and secured
their tips, and all workers will see major
improvements in their benefits and job
security.
But Pacific Beach workers did more
than just improve their standard of living.
They also built the foundation of a strong
unit organization in the hotel to take on
the struggles that lie ahead and negotiate
more improvements in future contract
negotiations.
Virginia Recaido, a 20-year housekeeper
and union negotiating committee member,
was fired in 2007. She found another better
paying job, but went back to the hotel after
a judge ordered her reinstated. Why did
she return? "I had to show the company
they didn't win. I don't want people who
come after me to suffer like I did."
Kapena Kanaiaupuni, a bellman with
nearly 30 years seniority, is also a member
of the union negotiating committee who
was fired and reinstated. After the contract
was approved, he was approached by
immigrant Korean and Chinese workers
excited about their first union contract.
Differences in languages and cultures had
kept them apart, but the workers' victory
changed that. Kanaiaupuni told them:
"Never mind about nationality—we're all
one now!"
The article above showcases a real act of labor internationalism from the
ILWU's "Voice of the ILWU" January/February 2013 issue. ILWU standing
for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union which reflects
gender equity.
Hawaii's local workers not passive
One often hears in Hawaii from well-meaning transplants, that local
working class folks, especially those of us from plantation history heritage,
are afraid to organize against authority, that we're somehow living in the
passive stupor of a "plantation mentality."
I can still remember one muggy morning as a 16 year old summer hire
picking pineapples in Wahiawa, Oahu, how the truck drivers that took us
to the fields, refused to drive their vehicles that morning. All of us student
hires were told to go home and to wait for a call to come back to work.
Most of us were very confused as to what was going on, but I can recall,
even though I didn't comprehend it then, the angry verbal exchanges that
the drivers were leveling at their supervisor. Not everyone received calls
that afternoon telling us to report back to work the next morning.
Upon returning, we "lucky ones" learned the work refusal had to do
with not all of the union seasonal hires being called back. The drivers
wouldn't work until they were. The minimum wage back in 1966 was $1.40
an hour and we student hires from Leilehua and Wailua High School were
a big time bargain. I worked for Dole Pineapple for a summer and a spring
break. Almost every kid in the neighborhood picked pine during the
summers if he was old enough. The town kids packed sliced pineapples at
the Dole Cannery. I got used to it after the first week, but for a lazy kid like
myself who was full excuses, it felt like torture, and I couldn 't understand
how people worked like this their whole lives.
My parents took most of my pay, but left me enough to buy school
supplies, a concert ticket to see the Rolling Stones and those goofy bell
bottomed jeans from Liberty House that I was crazy about. Today, the
mighty plantation system no longer exists.
Not till the early 1970's did Ifinally figure the refusal incident out.
studying Hawaii's labor history in the University of Hawaii's (UH) Ethnic
Studies Department.
At the time, there were veryfew Filipinos and Polynesians going to UH, I
was one of the few Filipinos going to college, and I was only half. The only
Filipino college instructor I ever had was some brooding and sarcastic
assistant named "Omar"in the Hawaii Labor History class, being taught
by some fiery Indonesian named Ahmad, who had witnessed the massacre
of ethnic Chinese and the violent attacks on the student and worker
movements in his country of Indonesia during the 1960's.
Whenever these guys ranted, they had the nerve to call it "lectures",
one could vividly imagine the slave master's mansion going up in flames.
With all respects to movie producer Quentin Tarantino, their class was the
original version of "Django Unchained", with Ahmad being the abolisionist
Dr. King Shultz and Omar unleashed as the avenging Django Freeman.
On several occasions, Omar would mention the only time one would see
"brown folks" at UH was at night cleaning the toilets. I hung out with him
one night verifying his claim.
The following 2 articles showcase how workers on Kauai have
challenged the so-called "plantation mentality" misconception and won.
^syftiH
This photo as well as
front cover from
ILWU led sugar strike
of 1946 covering 33 of
34 sugar plantations.
This parade shows
"union guards" to
protect strikers from
any potential
violence. Both
photos from Anne
Rand Library,ILWU
San Francisco.
Graphic on top page
of this essay done by
muralist Jean Chariot
from University of
Hawaii collection.
Mural depicts the all
important power of
labor connected and
united, from the
intellectual to the
physical.
THURSDAY- FEBRUARY 3.2011 • ONLINE: WWW.THEGARDENISLAND.COM
Employees picket Poipu resort over benefits
Labor dispute includes
right to wear buttons
Dennis Fujimoto
THE GARDEN ISLAND
PO'IPU —Buttons, benefits and green initiatives
were at the heart of a labor dispute involving about 230
workers Wednesday morning at the Sheraton Kaua'i.
"We went to work and wore our unionbuttons that
we're allowed to in our contract, but were sent home,"
said Angela Prigge, a housekeeping clerk. "Every other
Sheraton employee is allowed to wear the buttons un
der the contract, but on Kaua'i they changed the policy
in the last two months."
Photos by Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island
Above: WhenLocal 5 employees at the Sheraton Kaua'i.showed up to work with
these two buttons Wednesday, they were sent home, sparking a rescheduling of
picketing plans at the Po'ipu resort.
Top: Angela Prigge, a housekeeping clerk at the Sheraton Kaua'i, leadsMgroup of
picketers on the sidewalk fronting the Ocean~Lobby, Wednesday. r
Chip Bahouth, the Sheraton Kaua'i general manager,
collected his department heads and made offers of cold
water to the picketers, although the offer was refused.
"Our ability to provide a world class experience for
our guests is made possible by the hard work and spirit
of aloha of our associates, who are an essential part of
our 'ohana and the lifeblood of our business," Bahouth
said in a statement. "We intend to work directly with
the union to resolve this issue as quickly as possible to
See Picket, A5
Continued from Al
minimize any impact on our
associates, our guests and
•our community.''
Prigge said the workers'
are tired of being treated as
''second-class citizens."
"I'm here because of our
treatment on Kaua'i as sec-.
ond-class people," she said.
"They have a green program
that made housekeeping
people lose benefits and
hours of work. That was
stopped on the other is
lands, except Kaua'i."
Cade Watanabe, repre- .
senting Local 5, said in a
phone interview that the
green initiative involved
guests being able to opt
out of having their rooms
serviced in lieu of cash op
tions. That program was
stopped at all the Starwood
properties except onKaua'i.
. . "The rooms get dirty,"
said Isaac Silva of the
Sheraton Kaua'i culinary
department. "The contract
is not over and yet they're
cutting everything." .
According to several of
work with two union but
that case, Starwood covered
tons, they were sent home
by the general manager.
the employees' benefits
Workers in the houskee-
ping, food and beverage,
culinary, bell, front desk,and engineering were in
volved in the directive.
"That's about 95 per
during the work.
Watanabe added that
Starwood should cover the
anticipated seven-month
layoff period for Sheraton
Kaua'i workers.
cent of the Sheraton Kaua'i
Kerwin said he feels the
issue of the buttons is a
workers," said Justin Jansen,
a Local 5 representative
language in the contract
who met with the workers
at Anne Knudsen Park in
Koloa after they were sent
home.
During the renovation
work at the Sheraton Kaua'i
misinterpretation of the'
because other Starwood
properties are allowing its
employees to wear more
than one union button.
Watanabe said the Shera
ton Kaua'i workers' con
which started recently, one
tract expired June 30, 2010,
of the areas involved is the
and Local 5 is in the midst
customizing of food ser
of negotiations for a new
vices and the hotel menu.
"This involves between
contract.
He said there was an
40 to 50 people in food
.and beverage," Watanabe
said. "Some of these people
will find other jobs during
the renovation period, but
informational picket
scheduled for 4:30 p.m.,
Wednesday, but after the
workers were sent home,
a management company,
the schedule for picketing
was moved up to 1p.m. and
was set to run until 5 p.m.
"We've already had em
ployees who have had their
hours cut," Silva said. "They
keep changing things.
was faced with a similar
We understand about the
there will be about 15 to 20
people who won't be able
-tofind jobs and will be left
without medical coverage."
Watanabe said Starwood,
the Sheraton Kaua'i work-
situation during the rede
velopment of the Princess
ers, when they reported to
Ka'iulani hotel on O'ahu. In
renovations, and we all like
.move forward, but I don't
know what to do already."
«"«*A
"You really forgot your workforce," said
Priscilla Badua, a state employee for 39
The
Garden island
820 Scattered Clouds
years. "I cannot believe you're supporting
this plan. Give me a break."
•
DHS workers brace for another
round of layoffs
Clients launch protest strategy
Posted: Friday, February 25, 2010 11:45 pm
Paul C. Curtis - The Garden Island
LIHU'E — Not long ago, state workers experienced
office-shuffling when some of their colleagues lost jobs
through reductions in force late last year.
Now, some of those same state Department of Human
Services employees on Kaua'i are readying for even
more cuts that seem likely to also include closure of
certain Kaua'i DHS offices.
Penny Rubio, an income maintenance worker in the
DHS Kapa'a (East) office of the Benefit, Employment
and Support Services Division, is at the same time
worried that her job and office are targeted for closure
while also concerned for low-income clients who
Photos by Paul C. CurtisfThe Garden Island
depend on the face-to-face contact to start or keep
necessary financial benefits flowing.
Protest signs line a fence outside the Kaua'i War
Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu'e Thursday at a
meeting of the Governor's Council of Neighbor
How is a person who signs her name with an "X"
Island Advisers.
with state DHS workers via fax, phone, or computer,
because she can't read or write supposed to navigate a
mechanized system that may soon require her to deal
Rubio asked Thursday night at a public meeting to
discuss the planned DHS reorganization.
"Those people are going to fall through the cracks." said
Rubio, who said she has been told by a supervisor that
her position will be eliminated, and her office closed, in
the DHS reorganization.
State DHS Director Lillian Koller, Deputy Director Henry
Oliva and consultant Sandie Hoback said at least one
Kaua'i office will remain open for face-to-face
interviews, though most of the other initial claims
processing workers will all be in either Honolulu or Hilo
on the Big Island at proposed new Eligibility Processing
Operations Division centers.
Photos by Paul C. Curtis/The Garden Island
Anne Punohu of Kalaheo, standing left, one of
several dozen clients Gf the state Department of
Human Services attending a public meeting at the
Few specific details of the plan were available at the
Governor's Council of Neighbor Island Advisors
meeting at the Kaua'i War MemorialConvention Hallin
Kaua'i War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu'e
Lihu'e Thursday night, but Friday Kollersaid 31 DHS
Thursday night, has organized other DHS clients on
offices statewide would close, and 230 DHS positions
Kaua'i and said a federal lawsuit is being
considered should DHS go ahead with a planned
increase efficiencies for all involved, save the state
reorganization that will see workers lose jobs and
would be eliminated, in the reorganization she says will
millions of dollars, and move the DHS system into the
present century.
some Kaua'i offices closed. She said the state 'war
on the poor" penalizes beneficiaries with little or no
means to Tight back.
"We cannot get out of this hole by cutting," said state
Rep. JimmyTokioka, D-Wailua-Lihu'e-Koloa, adding
that the reorganization is'not a good idea."
Clients and employees of DHS on Kaua'i Thursday
night saw things differentlyfrom the DHS leaders and
"I think that takes the 'human' out of 'human services,'" said Linda Shigeta, a DHS worker for 18 years who added
that she doesn't think the planned DHS reorganization will comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
"This is not being accessible."
Around 60 people attended the meeting.
Hoback and Oliva said the reorganization should "create enormous efficiencies," and that the current system is
simply not fiscally sustainable.
The new system planned to be patterned after a similar Florida reorganization would be "very efficient, very
accurate, and allow the whole system to become very efficient," said Hoback.
It would also provide more options (fax, e-mail, computer, telephone) to enter into the system, she said.
"I'm not somebody that doesn't understand bottom line,' said Lihu'e attorney Michael Ratcliffe, acknowledging that
a one-hour, face-to-face interview is inefficient, "but for some that's all that works."
"No more layoffs, no more furloughs, and no more client suffering,"said Raymond Catania, a DHS worker who
survived the first reduction in force.
"Without face-to-face (interviews), you're asking for fraud," said Anne Punohu, of the Kaua'i DHS Clients Coalition,
adding that clients without access to telephone, fax or computer will have a difficult time communicating with DHS
workers.
"It's definitely not client-friendly," said Punohu, like other clients also concerned about the loss of "terrific"DHS
workers.
The DHS recently announced consolidation of offices and positions involving determination of eligibilityfor certain
state financial and medical benefits to low-income and otherwise challenged residents.
The DHS fact sheet on the proposed establishment of the EPOD indicates two centers, in Honolulu and Hilo on the
Big Island, where centralized processing of applications would take place.
Details of the plan indicate that several current DHS offices on Kaua'i might end up closing, with several positions
eliminated or moved off-island as a result, leaving just a "south" office to serve the entire island's client base
requiring face-to-face contact.
The plan so far has not been warmly received by the workers' union, the Hawai'i Government Employees
Association, nor affected employees or clients.
Rubio, who works in the first-to-work and child care unit's East income maintenance unit in Kapa'a, which may be
closed in the reorganization, worries both about her job and her clients, she said.
"Of course I'm concerned about losing my job," said Rubio, who with five years of stale employment might not
have enough seniority to supplant or "bump" another state worker witti fewer years of service.
"I'mconcerned about my clients," including one elderly woman who comes in every year to have Rubio help fill out
her paperwork necessary to keep her benefits flowing or the homeless person who has no access to a phone, fax
or computer.
"We offer them a kind face, a kind voice." human "contact. They're used to the old way" of face-to-face interaction,
said Rubio.
"They're not used to change," or leaving a telephone message with a call center and not knowing when the call will
be returned.
Rubio said she has been told by supervisors that her otfice could be closed as early as July 1, and that she would
likely lose her job in the process. "I'm kind of lower on the totem pole," said Rubio.
Judy Lenthall, executive directorof the Kaua'i Food Bank, said she has twofears: the new system won't be
implemented, leaving the existing, broken status quo; or the new system will be implemented but not correctly.
"Both of them scare me to death. That's not good enough for Hawai'i."
A DHS client said someone who applies for food stamps appears before a DHS interviewer, and through the
process of the face-to-face interview it becomes clear the client is eligible for services in addition to food stamps
and the appropriate referrals are made, under the current system.
"It's a very personal issue" that can't be totally accomplished via computers or other electronic means, she said.
When you get it right it helps. "When you get it wrong a lot of people suffer," said another client.
"Youfolks are taking away the human element." said Janice Shitanaka, a DHS worker for 26 years. "It's so sad
because clients are powerless. It's an injustice.
"I pray that this does not go through because you're going to be hurting thousands of people in Hawai'i."
"Youreally forgot your workforce."said Priscilla Badua. a state employee for 39 years. "Icannot believe you're
supporting this plan. Give me a break."
UBLIC UMPLOYEES
WORK FOR YOU
EVERYDAY
NO LAYOFFS!!
State workers brace for uncertain
future
Story
State workers protest
layoffs
Posted: Thursday, July 9, 2009 12:00 am
By Coco Zickos - The Garden Island
Posted: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 12:00 am
KAPA'A — Still faced with the possibility of layoffs, state employees on Kaua'i are nervous about the future of their
employmenL
V
Raymond Catania of the state Department of Human Services, along with co-workers, have been glued to every
media outlet, concerned with how they will make ends meet if they lose their jobs.
feMLE
m
"Workers are very worried," he said. "They're scared because where are they going to find work?"
With the island's unemployment rate reaching 10.3 percent in May. finding jobs has become a difficult feat It took
Hawai'i job seekers an average of 22.7 weeks to find a new job, according to May data from the federal Current
Population Survey.
"I really feel it's important for state and public workers to make their plight known to the rest of the community — to
let them know that what happens to us. happens to a lot of working people. It's not an isolated thing," Catania said,
explaining that, economically speaking, layoffs would have a negative trickle-down effect
After calling last week's announcement that Gov. Linda Lingle's furlough plan was blocked in court a "victory,"
Catania said she is now "threatening" employees with potential job losses in order to help relieve budget deficits
People, several of whom were recipients
and has not offered much room for negotiation in the meantime.
of the state layoff notices, take their
displeasure to the streets with a lunchhour sign-waving campaign outside the
Kapa'a Library. Paula Schultz, a state
employee of 15 years, right, is one of the
"The state has a take-it-or-leave-it kind of an attitude," Catania said.
Unions are blaming Lingle and her chief labor negotiator of "bad faith bargaining," the Associated Press reported
Wednesday
United Public Workers reportedly submitted a prohibited practices complaint Tuesday with the Hawai'i Labor
state workers who received a layoff
notice. Next to her, Iwalani Kaauwai-
Herrod, a supervisor, said her
department received seven notices.
Relations Board, contending that state Human Resources Development Director Marie Laderta engaged in unfair
Photos by Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden
bargaining on Monday by abruptly leaving negotiations on new contracts with four state worker unions.
Island
The complaint also apparently asserts that Laderta canceled talks on June 25 and refused to meet last Friday.
Laderta argued Tuesday the state did not cancel the June 25 meeting and the talks last Friday were never
confirmed.
(Correction: Original photo by
In addition, Laderta and Lingle have said they will not participate in talks until the unions submit their own formal
proposal.
"Lingle is not serious about negotiating with our unions," Catania said. "We want to discuss more. We want the
state to be serious and sit down with us and help alleviate this crisis."
He said his ideal situation would be finding other ways to cut government spending rather than employee furloughs
or layoffs.
An estimated 2,500 individuals or more could potentially lose their jobs statewide and it's hard to say at this point
who or what offices would be affected, though Catania said it will likely be based on seniority (duration of
employment).
Dennis Fujimoto, but it mistakenly
identifies Paula Schultz, a nurse and
Family Support Worker, and a state
employee at that time of 15 years,
for retired DHS Social Worker
Janice Askenazy. Both of them were
very passionate fighters in this
struggle.)
Union workers are typically required to get 90 days notice, he added.
"Employers have to make an attempt to find work for those employees," Catania said, noting his experience with
similar situations in the past.
"We dont really know how her system willwork," he said, but hopefully Lingle will "sit down at the table and do the
right thing."
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or
czickosrSkauaipubcp corn
• 2013 Thegardenisland.com. AJI rights reserved This material m3y not be published, broadcast, rewnllen of redistributed.
In late 2009 the Gov. Lingle Administration began layoffs of public workers, with the Department
of Human Services (DHS) taking the brunt of the attacks. Unfortunately, determined and
outspoken resistance by the Hawaii Government Employees Union (HGEA) was not able to stop
the elimination of over 900 HGEA positions. Republican Lingle and her business supporters
successfully turned large sections of the community against the workers. Eventually, the public
began to turn against Lingle when she started enforcing public school closures or "furlough
fridays." She could conduct austerity measures on public workers, but ignited an outrage when
she picked on our children.
In early 2010, her next attack ended in failure. Although a number of DHS service centers were
closed, we were able to beat off any more layoffs. Unfortunately today, the workload has
increased for the hard pressed clerical staff that is left.
What helped the workers the second time, was more community support from DHS clients
themselves, led by recipients like Ann Punohu of the DHS Clients Coalition and homeless
activists like John Zapalla that leafleted the homeless on the beaches encouraging them to call
Gov. Lingle and get involved.
Other community supporters like the Kauai Alliance for Peace and Social Justice did sign
holdings and put up huge wooden signs around key intersections in the Kapaa and Lihue areas
declaring how important public employees are to the overall community. We also had critical
support from Democratic Party legislators like John Mizuno who understood how the economic
stability of the community would be severely disrupted with the lost of decent paying jobs. It
should be remembered that his political support and the support from any politician can only
happen when people are organized and direct the struggle themselves.
UBLIC EMPLOYEES
WORK FOR rOU
EVERYDAY
NO LAYOFFSI
V
biooci in
r
i
i e rieias:
i ne
Hanapepe Massacre
And The 1924 Filipino
Strike
November 26, 2012 /
Dean Alegado
Pablo Manlapit, labor leader and self-made lawyer, couldn't be stopped by
arrests, intimidation and exile.
(Courtesy of Filipinas Magazine)
n Sept. 9,1924, striking Filipino workers from
the Makaweli plantation in Hanapepe, on the
Hawaiian island of Kauai, armed themselves with
guns, knives, rocks and clubs and plunged headlong
into a bloody confrontation with the police. What
came to be alternately known as the Battle of
Hanapepe and the Hanapepe Massacre was only one
of several dramatic battles that shaped the
relationship between labor and capital in the state of
Hawaii. And Filipinos figured centrally in almost all
of them.
Between 1920 and 1940, Filipinos, making the greatest
sacrifices, led the struggle of Hawaii's working class
for the democratic right to belong to a union and for
an end to racial discrimination and the feudal
practices of plantation bosses.
When Filipinos first arrived in Hawaii at the turn of
the century, they found a colonial backwater
dominated by a small elite of (white) businessmen
whose corporations were known as the BigFive—
Castle & Cooke, Theo H. Davies, Alexander &
Baldwin, C. Brewer and Amfac.
The Big Five controlled the islands' economy and
politics, following the overthrow of the Hawaiian
Kingdom and annexation by the UnitedStates in
1898. At the bottom of society were the masses of
immigrants and Hawaiian laborers who produced the
wealth of the islands.
Theplantationsystem was sharply divided not only
along class lines, but also along race and nationality.
The Hawaii Sugar Planters Association (HSPA)
skillfully practiced divide-and-rule by deliberately
recruiting workers of different nationalities and races,
and abetting cultural and linguistic differences by
housing workers in segregated camps: Pake (Chinese),
Japanese, Podagee (Portuguese), Spanish and Filipino.
Work assignments and wageswere often determined
by race.
By the 1920s, the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans —
who had suffered bitter defeats in earlier strikes —
were leaving plantations for betterjobs and payin
Honolulu and other big towns, or migrating to the
U.S. mainland. To make up for the loss of workers,
the HSPAencouraged the immigration of more than
100,000 Filipinos to Hawaii between 1910 and 1932.
Oncethe Filipinos arrived, they were distributed
among 40HSPA-affuiated plantations on the islands
of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and the Big
Island of Hawaii, drastically changing the ethnic
composition of the plantations. In 1915,Filipinos
constituted only 19 percent of the work force, the
Japanese, 54 percent. By 1932,only 19 percent of the
plantation workers were Japanese and nearly 70
percent were Filipino.
Most Filipino workers were from the Ilocos provinces
and the Visayan islands. Between 1916 and 1928,
HSPA labor recruiters brought 66,436 FiUpinos to the
islands. Of this number, 37,114 (about 60 percent)
came from the four Ilocano provinces of IlocosSur,
Ilocos Norte, Abra and La Union; 17,799 (or about 27
percent) originated from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and
Negros. About 8,525 reported that they came from
Pangasinan and Tarlac. The rest came from 35 other
provinces.
"The Hanapepe Massacre was only
one of several dramatic battles that
shaped the relationship between
labor and capital in the State of
Hawaii."
HSPA labor recruitersin the Philippinesconsciously
selecteduneducated workers of peasant origins. As
late as 1930, seven out of ten Filipino plantation
workers could neither read nor write. Recruits
suspected of having even slight schooling were
systematically screened out by the HSPA as potential
troublemakers.
Most of the early Filipino immigrants were young
men who came without parents, wives or children.
From1920 to 1930, the HSPA brought in 65,618
Filipino laborers, while allowing 5,286 women and
3,091 children to accompany the men. The Filipino
male to female ratio was almost 14 to 1.
The social handicaps of the early Filipino immigrants
made them ideal candidates for the most arduous and
monotonous tasks,such as hoeing, planting and
weeding during caneplanting and cutting,hauling,
loading and flurning during harvest. Their lives
revolvedaround the 10-12 hour work day and the
factory mill whistle.
It didn't takelong beforethe first wave of Filipino
immigrants, like the other nationalities before them,
began to rebel against the social and economic
conditions they found in paradise.
BLOOD-UNIONISM
HSPA's divide-and-rulepolicy resulted in ''blood
unionism" among the various ethnic groups. Each
group—the Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese,
Hawaiians and Filipinos—fought the plantation
bosses separately and without coordination. All
strikes prior to the establishment of the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in the
1940s ended in tragic and costly defeat for the
workers. The exception was the strike of Filipinos on
Maui in 1937led by Vibora Luviminda, the last of the
racially-based unions in Hawaii.
Between1920 and 1940,Filipinos organized 12 strikes
against the sugar barons. The most dramatic and
bloodiest of these occurred in 1920,1924 and 1937.
The most important historical figure in Hawaii's
Filipino community before World War II was Pablo
Manlapit, the founder of the early Filipino labor
movement.
Unlike most Filipino workers, who were Ilocanos or
Visayan, Pablo Manlapit was a Tagalog. Born in Lipa,
Batangas, Manlapit was five years old when Jose
Rizal, the Philippine national hero, was executed by
the Spanish in 1896 and eight years old when the
Philippine-American War began in February 1898.
Manlapit came to Hawaii as a 19-year-old in 1910. He
had completed grade school in the Philippines but
was somehow able to convince labor recruiters that he
was a suitable worker. He was assigned to a
plantation on the island of Hawaii but was soon
dismissed. He moved to the town of Hilo, where he
started two newspapers and ran a pool hall. Later, he
moved to Honolulu and worked as a salesman and
stevedore.
Manlapit becamean interpreter and janitor in a legal
office, where he studied law. In 1918, he qualified as a
DistrictCourt Practitioner, becoming the first Filipino
lawyer in Hawaii.
A labor historian wrote that Manlapit was "an
eloquent agitator, but an incapable administrator."
For all his faults, Manlapit had charisma, and elderly
Filipinos still speak of him with awe and respect.
A plantation-era house
Mestizo-looking and tall for a Filipino-he was six
feet tall-Manlapit tirelessly represented Filipino
workers intheir grievances against their employers,
becoming enormously popular among Filipinos
throughout the territory. He also drew the attention
and hatred of the HSPA.
In1919, Manlapit traveled from island to island
recruiting members into the Filipino Labor Union
(FLU). In 1920, Manlapit and Japanese labor leaders
formed the Higher Wage Movement. Following the
HSPA's rejection oftheir demands for better wages,
improved working conditions and equal pay for the
same work regardless of race and sex, Manlapit and
the Japanese labor leaders asked their respective
unions to strike. It was the first time unions
representing different nationalities united in a joint
strike with a common demand.
Filipinos and Japanese workers left the fields and kept
the millsidle in Waipahu, Waialua, Ewa, Kahuku and
Waimanalo. At the height of the strike, the HSPA's
hired goons evicted more than 12,000workers from
their plantation housing.
But the strike was broken when Manlapit suddenly
pulled the Filipinos out ofit due to an apparent
dispute with the Japanese leaders. The HSPA took
' advantage ofthe splitby spreading rumors and
intrigues to demoralize the strikers.
The first interracial strike in thehistory ofHawaii
lasted three months, with the HSPA spending several
million dollars to crush it. The defeat dealt a severe
blow to the Japanese union, and it would be another
20 yearsbefore it would again play a centralrolein
Hawaii's labor movement.
THE HIGHER WAGE MOVEMENT
After, the defeat ofthe 1920 strike, Manlapit started a
new labor organization with the help ofGeorge
Wright, later to become the English editor of the
Hawaii Hochi, the Japanese community newspaper.
The HSPA had Manlapit thrown in jail twice and
madeit difficult for him to practice law.Undaunted,
Manlapit continued visiting various plantations to
forge the Filipino Higher Wage Movement.
The Movement petitioned the HSPA in1923 for a $2a-day, 40-hour work week and an end to abuses. The
HSPA ignored these demands. Manlapit appealed to
the colonial Philippine government tosend a labor
commissioner to investigate the working conditions
inHawaii and to mediate between the planters and
theFilipino workers. Governor General Leonard
Wood appointed former Ilocos Norte governor
Cayetano Ligot as special investigator.
Escorted by HSPA officials, Ligot paid token visits to
severalplantations. In an authoritativestatementon
the situation of Filipino laborers in Hawaii, Ligot
blamed theFilipinos themselves for their troubles.
They were too unstable, said Ligot, and had fallen
prey to parasitic gamblers and con men who snuck
into theplantations to disrupttheir otherwise
pleasant situation. Management, he said, was doing
its best to provide wholesome working conditions
and decent wages. He urged his compatriots to give
their services wholeheartedly to the plantations to
bring honor to the Filipino people. Ligot concluded
his report by attacking the activities of Filipino labor
leaders, especially Manlapit.
Ligot was only one ofmany labor cornmissioners sent
by the colonial government in Manila who would
work hand in glove with the HSPA against the
interest of Filipino workers. While Ligot was
discouraging Filipino workers from fighting to get
more than their $20 a month wage, his report
included arequest to increase his monthly salary to
$250. Ligot's subservience earned him notoriety
among Filipinos in Hawaii. Filipino old-timers still
speak jokingly of "mistake Ligot" when something
goes wrong over matters which they have little or no
control.
THE 1924 HANAPEPE MASSACRE
In April 1924, one month after Ligot's report was
made public, Manlapit called on all Filipino workers
to walk out and strike. Twelve thousand Filipinos
from 23 of the 45 plantations went on along, violent
and tragic strike that would last eight months.
Thestrikewas doomed from the start. The HSPA
again employed its time-tested weapon ofdivide-
and-rule. This time they pitted Filipinos against
Filipinos-Ilocanos against Visayans. Ilocano laborers
wererecruited from the Philippines as strikebreakers.
The tragic scene ofstriking Filipino workers and their
families being evicted from their plantation-owned
houses and replaced with newly arrived workers
from the Philippines was repeated throughout the
islands.
Thousands ofstrikers pitched tents nearbeaches and
sugarcane fields. HSPA agents set up an elaborate spy
network to infiltrate strike meetings, sow dissension
and break up rallies. The plantation bosses adeptly
used bribes as well as actual physical beatings.
What became the bloodiest incident in the history of
labor in Hawaii occurred in Hanapepe on the island
of Kauai on Sept. 9,1924. Strikers at the Makaweli
plantation armed themselves with guns, cane knives,
rocks and clubs and captured two Ilocano
strikebreakers. Kauai Sheriff William Rice led a posse
to this camp on the banks of a small river just above
the town of Hanapepe to demand the release of the
captured scabs.
The strikers resisted, and a battle ensued lasting
several days. When the smoke cleared, 16 Filipinos
and four policemen were dead and scores wounded.
At Sheriff Rice's request, Gov. Farrington sent two
machine-gun squads and rifle companies of the
National Guard to Kauai. The National Guard
restored order, arresting more than 100 strikers.
Seventy-six Filipinos were brought to trial, and 60
were given four-year sentences.
.*•-
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The marker commemorating the sacrifice of Filipino workers in the history of
Manlapit and Cecil Basan, another prominent Filipino
labor leader, were sentenced to ten years, even
though the two men weren't even present in Kauai
during the massacre. Years later, one elderly Filipino
woman, then a nurse at the immigration station in
Honolulu, stated that several witnesses, who had
been promised $10,000 each and a ticket back to the
Philippines, testified falsely against Manlapit and
Basan.
The Hawaii Hochi wrote that Manlapit had been
railroaded into prison, avictim of made-up evidence,
perjured testimony, racial prejudice and class hatred.
Manlapit was exiled from Hawaii and left for
California where he stayed until 1932. With Filipino
leaders jailed or exiled and their organization
shattered, the strike of 1924 continued ineffectively,
albeit heroically, for another three months.
THE 1937 MAUI STRIKE
Labor activity on the plantations declined until the
height of the Great Depression in 1933, when
Manlapit returned from his exile. Together with
Antonio Fagel and Epifanio Taok, Manlapit formed a
new Filipino Labor Union. To avoid arepeat of 1924,
the HSPA made apreemptive move by jailing Taok
and banishing Manlapit permanently to the
Philippines in 1935.
Fagel took the union underground and renamed it
Vibora Luviminda. Vibora was the nom de guerre of
the Filipino patriot Artemio Ricarte, who fought in
the Philippine revolution against Spain and refused to
sign an oath ofloyalty to the UnitedStates.
Luviminda stood for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao -
signifying the unity of the Filipinos. In 1936, Fagel
brought Vibora Luviminda out into the open and
launched astrike atPuunene plantation on Maui.
Three thousand Filipinos joined the strike.
With the Depression still atits height, the HSPA hired
scabs from the massive ranks of the unemployed. The
Philippine Commissioner in Washington sent awire,
as did President Manuel Quezon, to the striking
Filipinos calling on themto return to work. After
three months, the HSPA negotiated with the union to
end the strike, afirst in Hawaii's history. The striking
workers won a15-percent wage increase.
In the midst of the negotiations, however, Fagel was
arrested on trumped-up charges of kidnapping a
Filipino strikebreaker. Fagel and seven other strike
leaders were brought to trial, which dragged on for
months. They were found guilty and sent to jail. The
Vibora Luviminda, the last of Hawaii's racial union,
then fell into disarray, making the Puunene strike the
last racial strike in Hawaii.
The Vibora Luviminda strike of1937 also marked the
first time that haole labor leaders extended strike
support to plantationworkers. Jack Hall,the founder
of the ILWU, who was sent to organize Hawaii's
waterfront workers by the left-wing Congress of
Industrial Organizations (CIO), played a central role
in building support for the strike. So did William
Bailey, the editor of The Voice ofLabor, who was also
an organizer ofthe American Communist Party in
Hawaii.
ONE BIG UNION
After 1937, the idea ofan industry-wide, interracial
union began to take hold among plantation and
waterfront workers. The plantation-based Filipino
community was drawninto thekey social drama
unfolding in Hawaii-the struggle to build one big
union. Taking the lessons from the bitter labor wars
waged by Filipinos between 1920 and 1940, the ILWU
started its drive tounite Hawaii's ethnically diverse
working class under the slogan, "An injury to one is
an injury to all."
The years following World War II saw epic battles
between Hawaii's workers-led by the ILWU-and
the Big Five: the three-month-long 1946 Sugar Strike,
the 1947 Pineapple Strike; the bitter six-month-long
1949 Long-Shore Strike and the four-month-long 1958
Sugar Strike. The ILWU won each time.
As the largest ethnic group onthe plantations,
Filipinos played a crucial role in the outcome of these
historic events. The question of victory ordefeat
hinged on theirunity and determination to stand
behind their left-wing unions, which often came
under intense anti-communist attacks. With the ILWU
firmly established as a political and economic force in
Hawaii, those in powerhave had to listen with
begrudging respect to the voice of the Filipino
plantation workers. Hawaii's sugar and pineapple
workers would emerge as the highest-paid
agricultural workers in the world. The lowest paid
sugar and pineapple workers in the field earn more
than nine dollars an hour. They have comprehensive
medical plans, paid holidays and vacation andreceive
sick and severance pay. They're entitled to
workmen's compensation ifthey get injured on the
job, andarecovered by the state's collective
bargaining law. Hawaii isthe only state inwhich all
workers inlarge-scale agricultural enterprises are
organized in alabor union and have been for nearly
50 years.
But the captains of Hawaii's agribusiness never fully
reconciled themselves with labor's gains. Firms such
as Castle &Cooke, Dole and Del Monte have shifted
practically all of their sugar and pineapple operations
to countries suchas the Philippines, Thailand and
Costa Rica, where they can pay workers one-tenth of
the wages earnedby Hawaii's workers. After World
War II, there were 36 sugar and nearly a dozen
pineapple plantations employing more than 35,000
workers. Today, there are only four sugar and two
pineapple plantations operating inHawaii,
employing fewer than 2,000 people. The decline helps
mask the islands' history of epic labor struggles, a
tumultuous past in which Filipinos played a heroic
role.
Dean Alegado was a -professor in
ethnic studies and director ofthe Center
for Philippines Studies in the School for
Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies at
the University ofHawaii in Honolulu.
He currently lives in Suhic, Philippines.
Reprintedfrom Filipinas Magazine, October 1997.
DEBUNKING THE DEMEANING "PLANTATION
MENTALITY" MYTH
With the help of close friend and a very effective activist, Jimbo Alalem, the essay and
letter to the Garden Island on International Workers Day (IWD) was written. Lihue WalMart manager, Crystal Femandes, wrote a typical corporate response. The interesting
thing about her op/ed piece was that only a few of her workers actually read the letter
on IWD, which not only focused on Wal-Mart, but the benefits of union contracts and
most importantly the struggle to increase the minimum wage for our poorest workers,
points she never refered to at all.
Over the past couple of years there have been a number of letters to the Garden Island
Newspaper very critical of Walmart, with their Lihue "associates" avidly reading them. In
this case, because the letter was entitled as an international worker observance, many
of her workers missed it. Wal-Mart's response shows how worried they are of the
worldwide critisism they are getting daily and the twisted arguments they will use to
keep their huge profits rolling in. At this point, our local letters on Wal-Mart are like a
few annoying mosquito bites on a very big, but very thin-skinned and nervous elephant,
trying it's best to hide from a major swarm.
As of today, 6-20-2013, letters responding to Wal-Mart's half truths and outright lies,
written by union organizer and former Kauai resident Katy Rose and David Carr of
Honolulu's "Labor Fest" have not been printed in the Garden Island. I patiently wait for
it to make the paper.
Ifone gets a chance, check out the books by Gerald Home, "Fighting in Paradise" on the
influential role played by radical labor in Hawaii's history and, "Wal-Martthe face of
Twenty-First-Century Capitalism", edited by Nelson Lichenstien." I would also like to
thank the ILWU and the workers of the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki in their ten-year
struggle to win union recognition and garnering needed international support. Also a big
mahalo to Mike Miranda for turning me on to Dean Alegado's excellent account of the
little known "Hanapepe Massacre", required reading for all Kauai social justice fighters.
Hawaii, and in particular Kauai's "local" or multi-racial working class has a long history of
fighting back against injustice, both in the community and in the workplace, were not
brainwashed with the so-called "plantation mentality" or the inability to stand up to
authority. If you hear anyone mouthing that crap, please correct them.
Ray Catania (808 634-2737) [email protected]