October 2006 VOICE ILWUOF

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Volume 46 • No. 8 October/November 2006The VOICE of the ILWU—Published by Local 142, International Longshore & Warehouse Union

Next Local Executive Board Meeting scheduled for March 22-23, 2007 • 10:00 am • ILWU Union Hall, Honolulu

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The notice gives workers 66days notice, a little morethan the 60 days minimum

advance notice required by the USWorker Adjustment and RetrainingNotification Act (WARN). WARNrequires 60-days notice before anyactual “employment loss” such as atermination of employment, layoff ofmore than six months, or a cut inhours of more than 50 percent for sixmonths.

The intention of giving advancenotice is to provide workers and theirfamilies some transition time toadjust to the loss of employment, toseek and obtain another job and, ifnecessary, to enter skill training orretraining that will allow theseworkers to successfully compete in

the job market. WARN also providesnotice to the State dislocated workerunits so that worker assistance canbe promptly provided.

Pineapple left to rot

Fresh Del Monte’s earlier shut-down means the company has chosento abandon thousands of acres ofpineapple worth an estimated $23million. This figure is based on thecurrent price of $600 per ton forfresh pineapple, a yield of 7.5 tonsper acre, and an estimated 5,000acres of pineapple in the field. [DelMonte has 8,000 acres.]

The decision to abandon thepineapple crop is surprising, as finalharvests are almost always profit-able. In a final harvest, there is no

Fresh Del Monte Produce announced that it would shutdown its Kunia, Oahu operations two years earlier thanexpected. Notice was given to workers by letter onNovember 17, 2006, that all production, operations, andshipments out of Hawaii would cease immediately withlayoffs of all employees to take place around January22, 2007. The shutdown will affect 551 remaining FreshDel Monte Produce employees in Hawaii, of whom 516are ILWU members.

replanting and no cultivation ormaintenance of the replanted fieldswhich greatly reduces the cost ofoperation.

It appears that Fresh Del Monteexecutives made the decision toabandon Hawaii in mid-October. OnOctober 11, 2006, the companyannounced a cash dividend of 5 centsa share. On October 31, 2006, thecompany canceled the cash dividendand reported a loss of $84 million forthe third quarter of 2006. Included inthat loss was $23.1 million for the“impairment of deferred growingcrops in Hawaii” and $1.5 million forseverance and shut-down expensesin Hawaii.

Business has not been that bad forFresh Del Monte. Sales were downslightly and costs were higher due tooil prices. There was some badweather in California and Europewhich cut into some sales. Bananasand pineapple did okay. There wasan unusual recall of $16 millionworth of pineapple jam produced byFresh Del Monte Kenya, because theproduct contained too much ironcontent.

What is really spooking Del Monteis a steep drop in their stock price,which has been in a free-fall since

the end of 2005 when it traded forover $30 a share to less than $15 ashare on November 22, 2006. Thisrepresents a paper loss of $446million for Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh and nine members of theAbu-Ghazaleh family who own 51.2%or 29,692,861 shares of Fresh DelMonte stock.

In a statement released on October31, 2006, Fresh Del Monte’s Chair-man and Chief Executive OfficerMohammad Abu-Ghazaleh an-nounced that the company wasresponding to tough times withtough measures. “We have initiateda major turnaround effort at FreshDel Monte Produce, which involvesreorganizing at every level, in everygeography, and in every business ofour global enterprise.” ◆

On the Inside

142 Convention wrap-up, pages 4-6

Are our ports safe? page 2-3

Hawaii & national elections, page 8M O R E D E L M O N T E P H O T O S I N S I D E O N P A G E 7

Del Monte workers met on November 22 at the Kunia Gym to get information to help them deal with the sudden lossof their jobs.

Fresh Del Monte Kunia toshut down immediately

VOICE ILWUOF

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The VOICE of the ILWU (ISSN 0505-8791) is published

monthly except April and combined June/July and October/

November issues for $2 per year by Hawaii International

Longshore & Warehouse Union, 451 Atkinson Drive,

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VOICE of the

ILWU, c/o ILWU Local 142, 451 Atkinson Drive, Honolulu,

HI 96814. Editorial Board: Fred Galdones, Donna Domingo

and Guy K. Fujimura.

Editor: Mel Chang

L o n g s h o r e I n d u s t r y U p d a t e

Not to worry—our ports are safe?“Not to worry,” insists the Bush Administration. We screen on

hundred percent of every container entering the US. High risk

or suspicious containers are X-rayed and checked for

radioactivity.

The statement is misleading.Over 9 million containers are

never physically screened. Theonly thing screened is the cargomanifest that describes thecontent of thecontainer. Thescreening isnot done by ahuman being,but by acomputer andan artificialintelligence program called the“Automated Targeting System.”

The program is supposed tolook at a number of risk factorsand identifies those high-riskcontainers that require additionalscreening by radiation detectors,X-ray imaging, or by opening andinspecting the contents of thecontainer. A certain number ofcontainers are also picked atrandom. About 5 percent or500,000 containers are physicallyscreened in this way.

The Bush Administration callsthis a multi-layered approach tosecurity and insists the ports aresafer. This may sound good, butexperts in security and supplychain logistics seelittle or no im-provement in portsecurity. Theproblem lay withPresident Bush’spolicy of outsourc-ing criticalgovernment func-tions to privatebusiness and thepeople he put incharge of theDepartment ofHomeland Security(DHS).

President Bushappointed careerpoliticians andattorneys to headHomeland Securitywho had no real-world experience in

supply-chain operations or secu-rity tradecraft. DHS was underpolitical pressure to come up withsomething fast. Since the agency

had no in-houseresearch orscientificstaff, DHSwas forced topay outsideconsultants to

come up with recommendationsand plans.

DHS executives, lacking theirown experience and expertise,ended up being influenced bybusiness interest groups, academ-ics and internal politics. They gotsold on par-ticulartechnologieslike the smartcard forTransporationWorkersIdentificationCredential(TWIC) andthe radiationportal monitors. Their “one sizefits all” approach led to heavy

investments and commitments inthese technologies, and when thesystems didn’t work as planned,they added another layer to fixthe problem.

The GovernmentAccountabilityOffice (GAO) foundthat DHS wasthrowing money ata lot of differentprojects, was notprioritizing thisspending on themost importantprojects, did notprovide adequate staffing forcritical programs, and basicallylacked an overall strategic plan.

Billions ofdollars ingovernmentcontractswere handedout to privatebusiness withlittle over-sight oraccountabil-ity. In one

case, auditors found only threepeople tracking the performance

Over 9 million

containers are never

physically screened.

In one case, auditors

found only three people

tracking the performance

of contractors—a job

that normally requires

90-100 people.

of contractors— a job that nor-mally requires 90-100 people. Inanother case, DHS paid contrac-tors to watch over othercontractors.

The results were predictable—systems don’t perform asrequired; work was not completedon schedule; projects are delayedfor years or left unfinished;billions of taxpayer dollars arewasted. But businesses got theirprofits, guaranteed by cost-plusgovernment contracts.

Every layer of President Bush’smulti-layerportsecurityprogramis behindschedule,notworkingproperly,and iscosting

more than expected. Other pro-grams that are known to be farmore effective and important areunderfunded—such as the needto expand and modernize theCoast Guard’s aging fleet. Top-level positions in FEMA andother DHS agencies are filled bypeople with no experience butplenty of connections to the Bushcampaign and Republican Party.Critical government functions areleft to private contractors. ◆

Every layer of Bush’s

multi-layer port

security program is

behind schedule, not

working properly, and is

costing more than

expected.

Does thismake youfeel safer?

October 2006 VOICE ILWUOF

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L o n g s h o r e I n d u s t r y U p d a t e

Flaws and delays in Port Security

Problems with cargoscreening and manifests

After five years of effort and billions of taxdollars spent, the Bush Administration’smulti-layer approach to security has donelittle to secure our ports.

Every manifest of all containersentering the US is screened. Foreignshippers are required to send themanifest to US Customs 24 hoursbefore the containers are loaded.High security seals are used to lockthe container doors and detecttampering with the container.

The problem—most terroristsdo not mark their shipments as“weapons of mass destruction”and even with normal shipments thecontents of the container do notmatch the manifest over 30 percentof the time.

Another problem—The destinationport must check the number on eachseal to make sure it hasn’t been cutoff and replaced. The top, bottom,and sides of each container must alsobe inspected in case someone cut ahole to access the container.

“Trusted” shippers are supposed tosubmit true and accurate manifestsand secure containers from tamper-ing. Over 5,000 shippers andcompanies have applied and havebeen granted certification under the

Customs-Trade Partnership AgainstTerrorism (C-TPAT) program.Shipments from certified shippersare given priority treatment and aresubject to less inspections.

The problem—less than 500 ofthese shippers have been vali-dated by the handful ofinspectors hired by the Customsand Border Protection (CBP) andit will take three or more years tofinish the job. The validation processis also very limited, as CBP makesno attempt to verify that all thesecurity measures are actually inplace. CBP sees this as a voluntarypartnership and will work withshippers to decide which securityelements and which locations will beinspected, so shippers know inadvance when and where an inspec-tion will take place.

CBP’s solution to the backlog?If a shipper’s container is seizedbecause of an illegal shipment, theyget a higher priority for a validationinspection. ◆

Problems with automatedcomputer systems

Customs and Border Protectionuses the “Automated TargetingSystem” to screen 100 percent of thecargo manifest to catch the high riskcontainers.

The problem—No one knows ifthe system works. According to aMarch 30, 2006 report by the Gov-ernment Accountability Office(GAO), the system has still not beenfield tested to see if it actually works.Plans to test the system by shippingweapons or chemicals from various

locations have not yet been con-ducted. There were delays in gettingsecurity clearances for the employeesof the company contracted to do thetest.

Another untested component isthe validity of the risk factorsprogrammed into the artificialintelligence software. Anyone whowatches the TV series Numb3rs cantell you the wrong algorithm willgive you the wrong answers. ◆

Problems with radiationEvery port will have radiation

portal monitors to detect radioactiv-ity. Honolulu received its firstradiation portal monitor this April2006. As of Feb. 2006, there were 143radiation portal monitors (RPM)installed out of 300 sea ports. Includ-ing international airports,international mail facilities, bordercrossings, and other facilities a grandtotal of 670 RPMs have been in-stalled at a cost of $300 million.Bush requested only $125 million forRPMs in the 2006 budget. At thisrate, it will take 10 years to installthe 3,034 monitors needed.

The problem—these monitors onlydetect moderately shielded radioac-tive materials and will not detectanything that is highly shielded. Theportal monitors are very good atdetecting kitty litter—one-thirdof the false alarms come fromkitty litter. The machines aresupposed to identify the source ofradiation but are not working as theyshould. As a result, natural radiationfrom kitty litter, toilet bowls, floortiles, and granite counter tops areproducing a lot of false positiveswhich waste a lot of time since everyfalse alarm must be checked out.

Another problem, these moni-tors only detect radiation and donot detect dangerous chemicalsor biological agents. AdvancedSpectroscopic portal monitors candetect the chemicals but costs about$400,000 each.

A third problem is inadequateprocedures and training. InDecember 2005, undercover inspec-tors from the Accountability Office(GAO) succeeded in transportingradioactive materials into the USfrom Mexico and Canada by using afake letter from the Nuclear Regula-

tory Commission. The radiationmonitors detected the radioactivematerials but border guards werefooled by the fake letter.

High risk containers are scannedby gamma-ray machines which aresupposed to catch the highly shieldedmaterial. To test this, in July 2004,ABC News shipped a briefcasecontaining 15 pounds of depleteduranium inside a lead-lined pipe.The briefcase was harmless but hadthe same radiation signature of asuitcase dirty bomb. It was shippedby rail from Hungry to Turkey thenin a container to the port of NewYork where it was scanned but notdetected. ABC News repeated theexperiment in the port of Los Ange-les in August 2004 by shipping thefake briefcase bomb in a containerload of furniture from Jakarta,Indonesia. The container wasflagged for x-ray screening sinceit came from Jakarta but againthe container was cleared andthe briefcase was not detected.

The problem—the gamma rayimaging takes about 40 seconds percontainer, but it takes a humanoperator another two minutes toanalyze and interpret the image. Italso requires a lot of experience andtraining to recognize a shieldedweapon among other cargo. Becauselooking at the image would take toolong, the images are stored andexamined by a human operator onlywhen there is a problem.

The gamma ray is also themost deadly of the x-ray ma-chines available and poses aserious health hazard to dockworkers and truck drivers.Gamma rays can penetrate the bodyand increases the risk of cancer orcan cause radiation poisoning. ◆Every port worker must have a

tamper proof identity card and mustpass a background and securitycheck. This is the TranspirationWorker Identity Credential (TWIC)card which has taken the BushAdministration four years to get offthe ground. Homeland SecuritySecretary Michael Chertoff, in apress conference on April 25, 2006,called port workers and longshore-men “potentially the greatest risk toour security” and wants to startissuing the cards by the end of thisyear to 400,000 port workers. Thenext phase will cover 750,000 truckdrivers, railway and vessel crews.

The problem—Longshore andport workers are not the greatestrisk to port security. Every sce-nario involving our ports say thethreat will come from the outside—abomb inside a container, peoplesmuggled inside a container, anattack from the land side, a smallboat used to sink a container ship, orhijacking a ship. Far from being athreat, port workers have beenthe first line of defense in mak-

ing the ports safer.More problems—Homeland Secu-

rity received almost 2,000 commentsabout the TWIC cards and almost allof the comments pointed out why the“one card for everyone” program is abad idea: TWIC duplicates existingidentification systems and doesn’twork as well; it uses old technologyand is more expensive then othertypes of cards; it is not flexibleenough to use on existing door accesscontrol; it is not color coded to allowinstant recognition of improperaccess; the smart cards used byTWIC are not difficult to hack; oncehacked the card can be used at anyfacility; the use of fingerprints andPIN numbers is too complex andcumbersome; there is no relationshipbetween criminal or arrest recordand terrorism; the list of disqualify-ing reasons are too board and notshown to be relevant to security; themaster list of suspected terrorists isfaulty and includes names thatshould be removed; the faulty namelist will produce a lot of false posi

—continued on page 8

Problems with theTransportation WorkerIdentity Credential (TWIC)

More on the problemswith TWIC, page 8

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L o c a l 1 4 2 C o n v e n t i o nReport on the work of the

The Convention is the highest gover142. It is held once every three year

of the most active and dedicated memberwhom hold positions of leadership. TheseConvention review the work of the officersthe policies and programs of the ILWU for

This was the 24th Convention and i25-29, 2006, at the Ritz-Carlton Ka

Maui. This was the first time the ConvenNeighbor Island and the first time at an There were other “firsts.” To reduce cosMonday morning instead of Sunday andMonday afternoon. To increase participadelegates to more of the union’s activitiassigned to two committees.

Local 1Convention

union for

What did you like bestabout the Convention?The Convention is much more than a 5-day long, working meeting. It is one ofthe only times when ILWU members from every island, every industrial group,and every unit can come together, meet each other, and talk story. It is a learningexperience for many new delegates who will learn first-hand what the union is allabout. It is when old-timers can pass on the culture and legacy of the union toyounger members. And, finally, the Convention builds solidarity and tightens thebonds that tie the diverse membership of the ILWU into a single organization.

Delegates shared their thoughtsof what they liked best about theConvention in their evaluations.Most of the delegates who re-sponded thought the education andwealth of information they receivedfrom the speakers and the materi-als were the best part of theConvention. Meeting new people,seeing old friends, and buildingsolidarity were other common highpoints of the Convention. Manydelegates were proud of the top-notch facilities of the Ritz-CarltonKapalua and the excellent serviceprovided by the hotel workers.

Strength and

Solidarity“Solidarity of union members—our

union brothers and sisters.”“Working together and building a

stronger union.”“Getting together with our broth-

ers and sisters and seeing howstrong we are.”

“How we support each other andhearing the words “an injury to oneis an injury to all.”

“The encouragement to be a goodmember and participate in unionfunctions.”

“Seeing everyone come up withfeedback. People come from otherplaces and we are very united intrying to make a difference together.”

“Democratic process, whereeverybody can be heard.”

“Meeting the people in charge andlearning more in depth on unionfunction and procedures.”

“The best thing was learning allaspect of the union and how changesand improvements are made to theILWU 142 constitution.”

Meeting our

Brothers and Sisters“Meeting our brothers and sisters.

different islands and unit and goodlearning lessons to bring back to ourunit.”

“Meeting and speaking with otherunits. Learning how important PACwas to us as a union and as anindividual.”

“It’s a great learning experience.To meet all other rank and file anddelegates in other divisions of theILWU.”

“I learned so much and I also meta lot of ILWU members. I also got somuch ideas.”

Education“My first time to attend this

Convention and I learned a lot,especially the importance of politicalaction and the Bylaws and Constitu-tion of the ILWU.”

“Being the first time attending aconvention, it was a very educationalexperience. I’ve learned so much ofwhy we are ILWU!”

“My first, so information, educa-tion to take back to my unit.”

“First time to attend this conven-tion, its wonderful, learned a lot ofnew ideas.”

“Learning about politics and whois not helping us as working peopleor our Union and what they standfor. Learning that political action isvery important.”

“All about the politics and recogniz-ing all the individual and the peoplewho work hard for the union.” ◆

Political Action was the dominantmessage throughout the Conven-tion—it was a theme repeated byalmost every speaker.

The following speakers addressedthe 24th Convention: Maui DivisionDirector Willie Kennison welcomedthe Convention to Maui; Local 142President Fred Galdones challengedthe delegates to adopt a Conventionprogram to build a better future;Maui County Chairperson RikiHokama welcomed the Conventionon behalf of Maui County; HawaiiState AFL-CIO President Randy

Speakers at the ConventionPerreira spoke of the need for peopleto vote and become more active inpolitics; retired ILWU Social WorkerAh Quon McElrath talked aboutlearning from the union’s past;candidate for Governor Randy Iwaseand candidate for Lieutenant Gover-nor Malama Solomon thanked theunion for its support; and candidatefor US House of RepresentativeMazie Hirono spoke of the need toshift the national priorities of ourcountry.

Congressman Neil Abercrombieprovided a video-taped message and

Senators Daniel Inouye and DanielAkaka sent written messages.

The International ILWU officersalso spoke at the Convention. Presi-dent Robert McEllrath talked aboutsolidarity. Vice President MainlandJoe Radisich talked about the impor-tance of political action. VicePresident Hawaii Wesley Furtadotalked about the upcoming longshorenegotiations, political action, and theneed to organize. And Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams spoke of theneed to restore the balance of justiceand rebuild America. ◆

Convention participants work hard setting Local 142’s policies, programs,and budget for the next three years.

Local President Fred Galdones (right) addresses Resolutions and Organizing.

Convention Sgt. at Arms kept order, distributed matOfficers to make sure the Convention ran smoothly.Advertiser), Galen Teraoka (Pepsi Bottling Group), Cfrom Island Movers), Aurelio Mina (Yamada DiversifieKapalua), Bobby Andrion (Maui Business Agent froCo.), Joey Silva (Grand Hyatt Kauai), and Jon Garci

October 2006 VOICE ILWUOF

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L o c a l 1 4 2 C o n v e n t i o nrk of the 24th Convention

highest governing body of ILWU Localery three years and is attended by someated members of the union, many ofership. These delegates to theof the officers and have the power to setthe ILWU for the next three years.

vention and it was held from Septembertz-Carlton Kapalua on the Island ofe the Convention was held on at time at an ILWU organized hotel.

o reduce costs, delegates traveledSunday and the Convention started

ase participation and to exposeion’s activities, delegates weres.

cal 142tion moves

n forward

Changes to the ConstitutionThe ILWU Constitution sets the rules by which the Union and its membersoperate. Ten Constitutional amendments were adopted by the 24th Convention.Four of the amendments made small changes so the requirements would be morerealistic and practicable. These dealt with how often to hold meetings and how tofill a vacancy for unit chairperson. Four other amendments made corrections—dealing with election procedures, associate membership fees, and theInternational ILWU’s name.

A total of 16 Constitutional amend-ments were submitted to theConvention. Ten were adopted, fivewere rejected by the ConstitutionCommittee, and one was withdrawnby the maker.

1. Amendment C-2 adds newlanguage to Article 1 on the “Compo-sition of the Union” which gives theLocal Executive Board the powerto disclaim an existing bargain-ing unit that no longer meets thelegal requirements of unionrepresentation, where the unitwants to get out of the union, orwhere the unit refuses to complywith the ILWU Constitution. Thisis a rare event but clarifies some ofthe conditions where a unit can be“disowned” by the Union.

2. Amendment C-5 changesArticle 2 Section 2.02.3 by reducingthe six elected business agentpositions for Hawaii, Maui, andOahu Divisions to five. There is nochange in the two positions forKauai. This would take effect for thenext union elections in 2009. Theintent is to fill these positionswith appointed Full-Time Offic-ers and to provide better serviceto the membership by having acombination of elected andappointed officers.

Practical amendments

3. Amendment C-9 modifiesArticle 7 Section 7.01 by removingthe requirement for the LocalExecutive Board to hold at leastone meeting in each Division. Itnow gives the officers the option ofholding meetings on a NeighborIsland if there is a need to do so.

4. Amendment C-13 modifiesArticle 17 Section 17.06 dealing witha vacancy in the office of unit chair.The unit now has the option ofappointing the next officer insuccession or to conduct a spe-cial election. The old languagerequired a special election within 60days.

5. Amendment C-15 modifiesArticle 32 which required the TitledOfficers to meet at least once a week.The new language gives them theoption to meet once a month ormore often as needed.

6. Amendment C-16 modifiesArticle 32 Section 32.07 whichrequired the Unit Executive Boardand Stewards’ Council to meet atleast once every month. The newlanguage gives the unit the optionto meet once every six months ormore often as determined by theunit. Reference to the Stewards’

Council is removed.

Corrections to Constitution

7. Amendment C-1 corrects areference to the InternationalLongshoremen’s andWarehousemen’s Union in the“Declaration of Principles.” TheILWU’s name was changed to Inter-national Longshore and WarehouseUnion.

8. Amendment C-3 changesArticle 1 Section 1.04 on the “Compo-sition of the Union” to require staffemployees of ILWU Local 142who are not members or eligibleto be members to become Associ-ate Members of ILWU Local 142and pay associate membershipfees. The old language requiredthem to become Associate Membersbut to pay Local 142 dues.

9. Amendments C-12 and C-14changes an election procedurefor handling extra ballots inArticle 14 Section 14.03.1.3 for localelections and Article 18 Section 18.05for unit elections. The old procedurecalled for randomly removing andnot counting extra ballots which isprobably a violation of federal rulesthat govern union elections.

Use the order form below if you want to buy Convention group photos printed with thefollowing words on them: “ILWU Local 142 - 24th Convention, Sept. 25-29, 2006 - Ritz-Carlton,Kapalua.”

Five photos are available—the entire Convention group, Hawaii Division, Maui Division, KauaiDivision, and Oahu Division. All of them will be printed with the same words as above.

The photos are 8 by 12 inches and are $7.00 each, which includes postage. Please allow 3-4weeks for delivery.

I want the following number of Convention Group Photos:

_____ Entire Group _____Hawaii Division _____ Maui Division_____Kauai Division _____ Oahu Division

Enclosed is $__________ for ________ photo(s).

(Make check payable to “ILWU”. Each photo is $7.00.)

Mail to (please print) _____________________________________________________________

Address____________________________________ City__________________ Zip__________

Phone or email (in case we have to contact you)_______________________________________

Get your Souvenir Convention Photo

ght) addresses the committee on Officer’s Report,

distributed material, and coordinated with the Localn ran smoothly. (L-r) Patrick DeCosta (The Honoluluottling Group), Claro Romero (Maui Business Agentamada Diversified), Amy Kawaguchi (The Ritz Carltonsiness Agent from Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar, and Jon Garcia (Kauai Commercial).

VOICE ILWUOF

THEpage 6 October 2006

L o c a l 1 4 2 C o n v e n t i o n

Resolutions set union policyThe 24th Convention adopted 15 Resolutions whichdefine the policy of the union on certain issues orexpress the sentiment of the delegation. Followingare summaries of these resolutions.

1. Resolution R-1 reaffirms thepolicies adopted by the 33rdInternational Convention of theILWU held in Vancouver, Canadain May 2006. The Convention calledon ILWU members to get more activein union political action, to organizethe unorganized, to protect theenvironment and reduce pollution inan around the ports, to promoteuniversal health care and affordablehousing, to demand an end to thewar in Iraq, and to insist that theUnited States guarantee workersrights at home and abroad. Local 142pledges whole-hearted support towork towards the goals expressed inthose policies and resolutions.

2. Resolution R-2 commemo-rates the 100th Anniversary ofthe Sakada and salutes theSakadas for their accomplish-ments in improving the lives of theirfamilies in the Philippines and inHawaii and for the tremendouscontributions they made to the labormovement in Hawaii.

3. Resolution R-3 supportsLocal 142 Tourism Bargaining.The union stands in solidarity withour brothers and sisters in the hotelindustry as they negotiate newcontracts and applauds their tremen-dous achievement in raising theconditions of hotel workers in Ha-waii.

4. Resolution R-4 supportsLongshore Bargaining in 2008.The union stands in total solidaritywith our brothers and sisters in theLongshore industry and will work toeducate all ILWU members and thecommunity and expose the mediapropaganda and political attacks

that will be directed at our Long-shore Division.

5. Resolution R-5 welcomes800 members in new units orga-nized during the past triennium -Wailea Golf Club Attendants,Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resortand Spa, Kamaaina Motors,Pacific Beach Hotel, Mid-Week/Star-Bulletin inserters, GrandWailea Concierge, Kaluakoi GolfCourse, Sodexho Maintenance,Luana Hills mechanics andHawaiian Fluid Power.

6. Resolution R-6 bids Aloha tounits whose companies closeddown in the past triennium—Schuman Carriage, HT&THauling and Repair, HawaiiNaniloa Resort, and the KapaluaBay Hotel.

7. Resolution R-7 supports DelMonte Hawaii Workers in theirfight for transitional benefits.Convention delegates and observerspledge to circulate petitions at theirunits and in their communities tosupport the Del Monte workers andto inform the public that Del Montepineapple will not be Hawaii-grownwhen Del Monte leaves Hawaii.

8. Resolution R-8 puts theILWU Local 142 on record urgingchanges to Medicare Part D,specifically to: 1) allow the federalgovernment to use its buying powerto negotiate with drug manufactur-ers for lower prices; 2) offersimplified benefits with no coveragegap; 3) and reconsider privatizationof the program. Convention delegatesand observers pledge to take advan-tage of Medicare Part D while

educating themselves, their mem-bers, and their families about thepitfalls of the program.

9. Resolution R-9 extends goodwishes to Big Island BusinessAgent Roy Jardine on his retire-ment in August 2006.

10. Resolution R-10 extendswarm wishes to Local ExecutiveBoard member Daisy Nakamotofor a happy retirement spent withher family and friends—and theILWU.

Contract Administration

11. Resolution RCA-1 supportsthe ILWU Health and WelfareTrust Fund and will strive toeducate members to support theFund as part of a long-term strategyto control medical costs. For thosecurrent contracts that have anagreement to re-open the contract ifa Health and Welfare Fund isestablished, the employer will becontacted to initiate such discus-sions.

Political Action

12. Resolution RPAC-1 chal-lenges all Units to increase their

involvement with the ILWUPolitical Action Program andmake it their goal to register at least80% of their eligible members andachieve a voter turnout of 70% orbetter.

Membership Services

13. Resolution RMSD-1 sup-ports the VEBA Trust whichstands for Voluntary EmployeeBeneficiary Association. Thefuture of the ILWU VEBA Trust willdepend on members’ commitment tothe concept and willingness torecruit other units into the program.The Convention strongly supportsthe ILWU VEBA Trust and delegatesare urged to help their unit membersto understand the VEBA programand encourage participation.

14. Resolution RMSD-2 sup-ports the United Way in thetradition of Jack Hall and thissupport is extended also to theLabor’s Community ServicesProgram of Hawaii. The Conven-tion urges all members to donate tothe United Way. The ILWU will alsopromote volunteerism and involve-ment in the community. ◆

Break-even budget adoptedConvention delegates unanimously adopted a three-year budget that maintains existing services of theunion with no increase in union dues. Therecommended 2007-2009 budget is a “break-even”budget, with expenses almost equal to income. Theprojected deficit over the three years of the trienniumis $272,935.

One of the major expenses ofthe new budget was the manda-tory contribution to the StaffPension Plan, which provides

Act basically requires anyunderfunding in a pension plan tobe made up in seven years begin-ning in 2007. This would havecost more than $1.5 million for thecurrent plan with significantlyincreasing amounts required eachyear. To reduce the fundingrequirement to $1.4 million annu-ally for seven years, the StaffPension Plan will be amended toprovide for a benefit based on a“career average formula” insteadof the “high five” years.

All scheduled pay increases for

retirement benefits to all full-time officers of the union andother employees of the union. Therecently enacted Pension Reform

Full-Time Officers in the nexttriennium are suspended, but theincrease for January 1, 2007 isbudgeted. The pay increases maybe released, in whole or partially,by the Titled Local Officers.

The union’s finance policieswere revised to increase mileagefor non-full time personnel from$.30 to $.40 per mile and to allowthe Titled Officers to authorizedonations up to $5,000.

There is no increase in Localdues which will remain at 2percent of gross wages. ◆

More on the Local 142 Convention, including program reports, in the next issue of the VOICE of the ILWU

Convention speakers included Mazie Hirono, who has since been elected tothe US House representing Hawaii’s Congressional District 2 (rural Oahu andthe neighbor islands).

October 2006 VOICE ILWUOF

THE page 7

P i n e a p p l e I n d u s t r y U p d a t e : D e l M o n t e

Fresh Del Monte Kunia show pride, resilienceDespite the unexpected announcement of the immediate closure of DelMonte in Hawaii on November 17, workers showed up to work the next daywith a positive attitude. They worked hard and supported each other,keeping their spirits up—even though many knew it would be their last dayof employment with Del Monte (left, top and bottom; below).

One day after the closure was announced Del Monte had already instructedworkers to start plowing under fields that it did not intend to harvest. DespiteMaui Pineapple Company’s show of interest in harvesting the fruit, by mid-day rows and rows of pineapple were plowed under.

The ILWU arranged for state agencies to provide information to DelMonte workers on November 29-30 about job search, job training, andunemployment benefits.

Del Monte workers have already been participating in job training and otherclasses. Pictured above are students in the diploma class: (l-r) Bella Tolentino,Aguida Rivera, Sheila Alapati (instructor), Gregoria Padilla, Ahmel Braceros,Virginia Garo, Darlina Gumayagay, Remy Sagocio, and Lilia Guira.

If you are a Del Monte worker and have any

questions about the layoff, your benefits or

transitioning to another job, please call the

ILWU at 949-4161 and ask for Social Services

Coordinator Joanne Kealoha or Business Agent

Brandon Bajo-Daniel.

VOICE ILWUOF

THEpage 8 October 2006

ILWU Rewards Program

There was no change in the StateSenate with 20 Democrats and 5Republicans. A previously Demo-cratic seat held by Brian Kannowent to Republican Mike Gabbard.But this was offset by Democrat, JillTokuda, winning the seat previouslyheld by Republican Bob Hogue.

In the State House, the Democratspicked up two additional seats for atotal of 43 members, while the Repub-licans lost 2 seats and are down tojust 8 members in the House.

The only bad result of the electionswas the strong showing of Republi-can Governor Linda Lingle with61.7% of the vote. Lingle had 20times more money than the Demo-cratic challenger Randy Iwase, with$6.5 million in campaign fundscompared with Iwase’s $330,000.Lingle’s campaign ads ran constantlyon radio and television before theGeneral Elections, and she tookcredit for everything good that everhappened in Hawaii.

ILWU endorsed candidates on thecounty levels also did well.

Democrats win big

The overall results in this year’s

tives; there is no procedure forremoving names; many terroristsare unknown and not on the list;it would be a financial burden onsmall tour boat operators, cruises,whale watching, etc.; Customsand Border Protection does notrequire similar background checksfor foreign port workers under theC-TPAT program; the cards don’tmake sense for hula dancers andmusicians playing dockside for acruise ship; it would hinderemergency access required byutility crews and first responders;

U n i o n P o l i t i c a l A c t i o n

Hawaii and national election resultsUnion Political Action did very well in Hawaii. OurCongressional Delegation is stronger than ever withDaniel Inouye, Danny Akaka, Neil Abercrombie, andthe newly elected Mazie Hirono.

state legislative races across thenation show a dramatic rejection ofthe Republican brand of governmentand a swing toward the Democrats.In races for state Senate, whichusually undercount urban areas, theDemocrats went from a 48 percentminority to a 51 percent majority; instate House races, they went from 49to 55 percent of all seats. Prior to theelection, Republicans controlled 20state legislatures, the Democrats 19,and ten were split between Houseand Senate (Nebraska’s legislature isnon-partisan). After the election,Democrats controlled 23, Republi-cans 15, and eleven were split.

Democrats also won 6 more gover-norships and hold a 28 to 22 majorityof state governors. In the US Senate,Democrats added 6 senate seats togain a majority of 51 to 49 (includesindependents who will caucus withthe Democrats). In the US House,Democrats took away 29 seats fromthe Republicans for a 233 to 202majority (In Florida District 13, theRepublican is certified as the winnerbut that is being challenged in thecourts. Technically, the seat is stillundecided). ◆

Homeland Security doesn’t havethe budget, staff, and planning toimplement the program; the webbased update system used by thecards are vulnerable to hacking;and on and on.The large number of excellent andappropriate comments opposed tothe TWIC program would causeany rational person to step backand take a reality check. Unfortu-nately, the Bush Administrationwill most likely “stay the course”with the flawed TWIC program. ◆

TWIC problems—continued from page 3

Local 142 longshore leadership met to receive an update on portsecurity issues on November 17, 2006 at the ILWU hall in Honolulu.

State Legislatures 2006 2007

Democrats 19 23 +4Republicans 20 15 -3Split 10 11 +1Nebraska (non partisan)

Governors 2006 2007

Democrats 22 28 +6[adding CO, OH, NY,MA, MD, AK]

Republicans 28 22 -6

US Senate 2006 2007

Democrats 45 51 +6[adding MT, MO, OH,PA, VA, RI]

Republicans 55 49 -6

US House 2006 2007

Democrats 202 233 +31Republicans 232 202 -30Independent (VT) 1

http://www.ncsl.org/statevote/StateVote2006.htm

Democratic gains: state legislatures,governors, US Congress

Unit 4406 - The Honolulu Advertiser member Gordon Young “sign-waving” insupport of Senator Daniel Akaka. Union members played an important role ingetting Akaka re-elected to the US Senate.

ILWU members campaigned for and elected new legislators like Karl Rhodes,(with sunglasses) pictured above picketing in support of Pacific Beach Hotelworkers’ fight for a fair first contract.