OF February 2007 VOICETHE ILWU page 1 Volume 47 • No. 2 The VOICE of the ILWU—Published by Local 142, International Longshore & Warehouse Union February 2007 ADDRESS LABEL Recruitment begins for 8th ILWU Labor Institute HONOLULU—The 8th ILWU Labor Institute, a five-day long leadership training program for rank and file leaders, is scheduled for October 15-20, 2007, at the ILWU Hall in Honolulu. All delegates, including Oahu, will be housed at the Ala Moana Hotel across the street. Top labor educators from the mainland and Hawaii have been recruited to teach work- shops on the skills and practical knowledge needed by rank and file union activists. A highlight of this year’s institute will be workshops and panels by Robert M. Schwartz and Marsha Niemeijer. Schwartz is an attorney and author of a number of labor books, including Strikes, Picketing and Inside Campaigns: A Legal Guide for Unions. Marsha Niemeijer is a writer for “Labor Notes” and contributed to the writ- ing of A Troublemaker’s Handbook 2 - How On the Inside to fight back where you work — and Win. The two books are important and power- Pineapple industry news, ful tools for labor activists and union page 2 leaders. These tools can help unions develop more creative and effective strate- Meet your Local President, gies to win improvements when a contract expires page 3 and also help union activists in their everyday struggle on the job. All participants will receive a Hawaii Division copy of the two books recognition night, The Institute will begin at 10:00 am on Monday October 15. Classes will run from Monday through pages 4 & 5 Friday, and delegates will return home on Satur- day, October 20, 2007. Units on Oahu may send Remembering Edwina additional delegates for shorter periods of one or Smythe, James A. King, more days. and Nobu Tamura, pages Sending Delegates 6, 7 & 8 Units are encouraged to take this opportunity to improve the skills and education of their unit lead- ers. The Local will pay for all instructional costs, Next Local Executive materials, travel, room and board for all delegates. Units are responsible for paying lost wages for any Board Meeting delegates they may send. Units will need to hold scheduled for June 28- membership meetings to choose delegates and get 29, 2007 • 10:00 am • membership approval to spend unit funds for this purpose. 451 Atkinson Drive, Units should work with their Business Agents to Honolulu submit names of delegates and alternates to their Division in July 2007. The Division will make the final selection of delegates. The deadline for Divisions to submit names to the Local for the Institute is The VOICE of the ILWU welcomes September 1, 2007. letters, photographs and other A total of 120 participants will be accepted into the submissions from members. Institute. Following are the number of delegates Write to: Editor, VOICE of the ILWU, allocated to each Division: Hawaii - 28; Maui - 47; 451 Atkinson Drive. Honolulu, HI Kauai - 12; and Oahu - 33. 96814, or e-mail: For more information contact your business agent. ◆ [email protected] OF page 2 VOICETHE ILWU February 2007 P i n e a p p l e I n d u s t r y N e w s Labor board orders Del Monte Hawaii to pay more to laidoff pineapple workers HONOLULU—A ruling by the Hawaii Labor Relations Board orders Del Monte Fresh Produce (Hawaii) to pay additional severance and medical benefits to eligible former employees of Del Monte. The workers lost their jobs in January 2007 when the Florida- based company permanently closed pineapple operations on Oahu. The March 21, 2007 ruling by the tion on the union and employer to Hawaii Labor Relations Board bargain collectively in good faith. (HLRB) was the result of unfair On November 17, 2006, three labor practice complaints filed in months after the ILWU filed its August 2006 by the workers’ union, unfair labor practice complaint, Del the International Longshore and Monte Fresh Produce announced it Warehouse Union, Local 142 would close immediately, two years (ILWU). The ILWU complaints ahead of schedule. charged Del Monte Fresh Produce Many Del Monte workers have a positive outlook despite being faced with the with failing to bargain in good faith Remedy ordered by Board challenge of finding a new job. Some have taken advantage of job training between February 2006 and July The three-member Hawaii Labor opportunities and are learning new skills, such as how to use computers. 2006, after the company first an- Relations Board was unanimous in nounced they would cease Hawaii its conclusion that Del Monte Hawaii new jobs. tiations on the single issue of provid- pineapple operations in December did not bargain in good faith. In a The Board further concluded Del ing at least 12 months of extended 2008. thorough and well-reasoned 22-page Monte’s bad faith bargaining re- medical coverage to workers and sulted in the loss of over two years of their families who have not yet medical coverage for eligible workers acquired insurance. and their families. The opinion by Negotiations concluded in May and the Board’s major- eligible ity stated: “Health workers are insurance often The three-member being stands as the last Hawaii Labor Relations contacted barrier between about their families and Board was unanimous interest in poverty or tragedy restoring in the [face] of in its conclusion that coverage to medical emergen- Del Monte Hawaii did not February cies . It is 2008. “For difficult, if not bargain in good faith. those work- impossible, for the ers who have Board to calculate no medical the damages that flowed as a result plan, the HLRB’s decision goes a of Del Monte’s bad faith bargaining long way to correct the injustice of of health insurance. But it would be Del Monte’s bad faith bargaining,” ILWU Local President Fred Galdones answers Del Monte workers’ questions cruel and unfair to not try to address said Fred Galdones, ILWU Local 142 about many topics, including severance, medical coverage, and unemployment benefits at a meeting held at the Kunia Gym. the effects of the violation.” President. “We’re hopeful that all The Board’s remedy to the loss of former Del Monte workers will soon The duty to bargain in good faith is document, the Board laid out their medical coverage was to order the be reemployed and can put this ◆ required by the Hawaii Revised findings of the facts, their conclu- union and company to reopen nego- ordeal behind them.” Statutes Chapter 377. The Hawaii sions of law, and their orders to law is patterned after the US Na- remedy the situation. tional Labor Relations Act which The Board ordered Del Monte to states in Section 1 of the Act: pay each eligible worker an addi- tional severance allowance based on It is declared to be the policy of the a closure date of December 2008. United States to eliminate the Workers had already received causes of certain substantial severance benefits based on their obstructions to the free flow of years of service to January 22, 2007. commerce and to mitigate and The additional severance would eliminate these obstructions when amount to about 15 days of pay or they have occurred by encouraging over $1,600 for a Grade VI worker the practice and procedure of earning $13.66 an hour. collective bargaining and by protect- The collective bargaining agree- ing the exercise by workers of full ment with the ILWU provides freedom of association, self-organi- workers classified as “Regulars” a zation, and designation of severance benefit of 8 days at the representatives of their own choos- current rate of pay for every year of ing, for the purpose of negotiating service with the company. For the terms and conditions of their example, a worker earning $14 an employment or other mutual aid or hour with 10 years of seniority would protection. receive a severance allowance of Over 350 workers filled Kunia Gym for a meeting held by the ILWU in January about $8,900. The money is intended 2007 to provide information on the closure of Del Monte Fresh Produce Both laws impose a mutual obliga- to help support workers as they seek (Hawaii). OF February 2007 VOICETHE ILWU page 3 M e e t Y o u r L o c a l P r e s i d e n t Turning the tide for working people— get involved with your union By Federico Fred Galdones of the working people getting Having laws favoring the happens in the political arena Local President involved and electing politicians working people will level the that affects your conditions of The Local Convention com- who will vote for laws that favor playing field in organizing work- employment and standard of pleted its work in September the working people. Understand ing people into unions. Large living. Get involved. ◆ 2006 and adopted programs that how important it is. Learn how membership provides a greater will guide us for the next three the politicians have affected your influence in improving your years. It addresses the various conditions of employment and benefits in negotiations. Large areas that are important to our standard of living. Register to membership will provide more membership. I would like to cover vote and vote for the politicians opportunities to provide the one program area that needs to who care what happens to work- membership with more programs. be strengthened. ing people. Get involved if you care what The business community took a page from the labor union’s political campaign workbook and has been successful in electing “Get involved if you care [about] what politicians who support their happens in the political arena that affects agenda.