Hawai‘i State AFL-CIO
Twenty Third Biennial Convention
2009

 
GENERAL RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED:
  No. 1   Relating to Labor's Community Services Program
  No. 2   Relating to the Support of the United Way Fund Drive
  No. 3   Relating to Urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
  and the Anti-Trust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to
  Investigate and Prohibit the Control of Television Stations
  KGMB, KHNL, and KFVE by Raycom Media of Alabama
  No. 4   Relating to Encouraging Inclusiveness and Equality
  No. 5   In Support of AFGE's Campaign to Organize TSA Employees
  No. 6   Emergency Resolution on the Honolulu Symphony
 
LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION ADOPTED:
  No. 2   in Support of Health Care Reform



General Resolution No. l

RELATING TO LABOR'S COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAM

WHEREAS, the basic principle of the Labor's Community Services Program is that union members are first and foremost citizens of their community, and that union members must cooperate with their fellow citizens in making the community a good place in which to live, to work, and to raise children; and

WHEREAS, union members must be concerned about the availability of adequate health, welfare, and recreational services for the whole community; and

WHEREAS, through the Labor's Community Services Program, union members across the nation have been instrumental in making the community health and welfare agencies more representative of the people and more responsive to human needs, and

WHEREAS, through the Labor's Community Services Program, unions have been better able to respond to the health and human service needs of our members and have helped to increase the access to and knowledge of these essential services; and

WHEREAS, an important part of the Labor's Community Services Program is our mutually beneficial partnership between the United Way and Labor which has benefited union members and all citizens of our community and has been a means of increasing Labor's contributions to our community and increasing union members' involvement in our community; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the Twenty-Third Biennial Convention of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO that this body continue it full support of the Labor's Community Services Program and that all local unions support the Labor's Community Services Committees on all islands to meet the health and human services needs of union members and to broaden the unions' interest in the community services program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of the Resolution be transmitted to all United Way Professional Officers and Chief Volunteers, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons, Labor's Community Services Committee Chairs, and all unions in the State of Hawaii.

Submitted by: Labor's Community Services Committee

General Resolution No. 2

RELATING TO THE SUPPORT OF THE UNITED WAY FUND DRIVE

WHEREAS, the United Way's 2009 annual fund drive is in full swing and support is needed to reach the statewide goal of $13.1 million which is used by agencies to continue providing needed services to our membership and our community; and

WHEREAS, one out of every two persons receives important assistance and services from United Way agencies and therefore, when we support United Way, we support ourselves, our families, and our friends, and

WHEREAS, Labor plays a unique role in the United Way as the only group that crosses all three sections of the community campaign-federal, private, and public, and

WHEREAS, the partnership between Labor and the United Way has been a beneficial and productive one and it is through this partnership that the Labor's Community Services Liaison Program was formed, and

WHEREAS, the United Way is the only organization that accords Labor official recognition with a Memorandum of Understanding, Labor Committees, and Labor Liaisons, and while there may be other worthwhile charities, only the United Way relates to Labor on an official level; and

WHEREAS, giving through the United Way is one means of sharing those benefits we have obtained through the collective efforts of the men and women of organized labor; and

WHEREAS, from September through the end of November, the United Way conducts its fund drive the labor's commitment because together, we can make a difference; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the Twenty-third Biennial Convention of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO; that we support the United Ways Fund drive and will encourage all affiliates to support the fund drive; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of the Resolution be transmitted to all United Way Professional Officers and Chief Volunteers, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons, Labor's Community Services Committee Chairs, and all unions in the State of Hawaii.

Submitted by: Labor's Community Services Committee

General Resolution No. 3

RELATING TO URGING THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) AND THE ANTI-TRUST DIVISION OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO INVESTIGATE AND PROHIBIT THE CONTROL OF TELEVISION STATIONS KGMB, KHNL, AND KFVE BY RAYCOM MEDIA OF ALABAMA

WHEREAS, knowledge of the community, diversity of opinion, and multiple sources of information are essential to democracy; and

WHEREAS, broadcast television is a primary source of news and information for a majority of citizens; and

WHEREAS, the public owns the airwaves by which broadcast companies transmit their signals; and

WHEREAS, the FCC grants valuable licenses to broadcast companies to use these airwaves only if the broadcaster serves the public interest, convenience and necessity; and

WHEREAS, to guarantee diversity of opinion, fair competition, and multiple sources of information, the FCC limits ownership and control of broadcast stations; and

WHEREAS, actual operation of these broadcast stations in the gathering, preparation, and production of news and local programming is dependent on many workers with unique skills; and

WHEREAS, Raycom Media of Alabama has taken over ownership and control of stations KHNL, KGMB, and KFVE in violation of FCC ownership rules; and

WHEREAS, Raycom has proceeded to fire one third of the workforce of the combined stations, and placed production and editorial decisions under control of one manager, thus limiting the ability to cover local news and produce diverse local programming; and

WHEREAS, the merged operations of the three stations will result in Raycom's control of 44% of total Hawaii advertising revenues, giving it unfair competitive advantage and resulting in barriers to others who may wish to enter the market; and

WHEREAS, Raycom's control of three broadcast stations, and two of the top four stations will limit diversity of opinion, restrict sources of information, create barriers to local ownership, and diminish democratic discourse; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the Twenty-Third Biennial Convention of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO that this body joins with many other organizations and individuals in urging that the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department's Anti-trust Division take immediate action to end the merged operation of KHNL, KGMB, and KFVE television stations by Raycom Media of Alabama and to restore fully independent operation of the stations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted to members of the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, the Federal Communications Commission, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, and all unions in the State of Hawaii.

Submitted by: Screen Actors Guild Hawaii Branch IBEW, Local 1260

General Resolution No. 4

RELATING TO ENCOURAGING INCLUSIVENESS AND EQUALITY

WHEREAS, the union movement has fought long and hard to end discrimination and to bring real equality to the workplace as well as in housing, credit, public accommodations and public services; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO at its 2007 Convention voiced its support for civil unions as a way to provide equality for same-sex partners and their families; and

WHEREAS, the national AFL-CIO at its 2009 convention stated that the union movement must "increase commitment to the inclusion and full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers in our society and movement," by providing LGBT workers with "every opportunity for full participation and representation at every level of the labor movement, including leadership," and by ensuring that "the rights of LGBT workers must be protected and the issues and concerns of LGBT workers must be addressed"; and

WHEREAS, despite the passage of laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, discriminatory employment practices and pay and benefit inequities persist, even in Hawai'i; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO reaffirms its commitment to fight against and eradicate workplace discrimination against LGBT people once and for all and to use the collective power and voice of the union movement to ensure equal opportunity for all workers in Hawai'i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO calls upon its affiliates to recommit to the fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression by continuing to fight for passage of and organize members in support of the federal Employment Non- Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the state's Civil Unions bill (HB444); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO urges it affiliates to take direct and meaningful action to secure equality for LGBT workers by seeking to negotiate LGBT inclusive benefits and non-discrimination protection into all contracts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai'i State AFL-CIO and its affiliates encourage greater activism and involvement by LGBT workers in their unions.

Submitted by: Pride at Work Hawai'i

General Resolution No. 5

IN SUPPORT OF AFGE'S CAMPAIGN TO ORGANIZE TSA EMPLOYEES

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFLCIO has consistently and successfully worked to organize and represent the federal employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) during the entire seven year-plus history of the TSA, in spite of every legal, political, and management obstacle; and

WHEREAS, more than 11,000 of the 38,000 federal Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), Behavior Detection Officers (BDOs), Lead TSOs, and Supervisory TSOs are already dues-paying members of AFGE, thereby showing their support of AFGE as their union; and

WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO consistently supported AFGE's efforts to organize TSA during the whole tenure of the Bush Administration, and state federations and central labor councils have supported AFGE with timely resolutions and petitions in favor of collective bargaining rights and against contracting out federal screening functions; and

WHEREAS, on August 7, 2007 AFL-CIO President Sweeney reported that the Strategic Campaign Registration Program Oversight Panel had granted AFGE's TSA Registration Request for a three-year term; and

WHEREAS, with the ascension of a more pro-labor Administration in Washington, D.C., a legal framework for collective bargaining for TSA employees now exists; and

WHEREAS, the election of AFGE as the exclusive representative of all eligible TSA federal employees would be a significant victory for union rights on the job for all working people in this country; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Hawaii AFL-CIO will ask the AFL-CIO to re-affirm its support for AFGE's TSA campaign as a strategic campaign and expresses its support for AFGE in its efforts to become the exclusive representative of all eligible employees of the Transportation Security Administration nationwide; and calls upon all of labor to grant all material and moral support to the AFGE campaign for recognition at TSA; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Hawaii AFL-CIO will ask the AFL-CIO to urge the TSA Administrator to take immediate internal administrative and executive action to rescind the agency's ban so as to grant restored civil employee rights, protections, and collective bargaining rights to eligible TSOs and TSA employees; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Hawaii AFL-CIO will call upon the Governor of the State of Hawaii; Mayor of Honolulu; and U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives for Hawaii to support legislation to permanently grant collective bargaining rights and workplace protections to TSOs and be it further

RESOLVED that the President of the Hawaii AFL-CIO will transmit a copy of this resolution to all relevant parties to convey the strong support for AFGE's campaign to organize TSOs.

General Resolution No. 6
EMERGENCY RESOLUTION.

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Hawaii, employing more than 85 full-time and part-time musicians, and has been a valuable cultural and educational resource for the community for 110 years; and

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Symphony reaches beyond its own presentations to collaborate with other organizations such as the Hawaii Opera Theater, Honolulu Theater for Youth, Chamber Music Hawaii, and Ballet Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Symphony has presented virtually all internationally renowned classical artists, as well as virtually every prominent Hawaiian musical artist over the last half-century, contributing immeasurably to the development of Hawaii's own unique culture; and

WHEREAS, the Grammy-nominated Honolulu Symphony regularly receives rave reviews and is widely recognized as a world-class orchestra of the highest quality, bringing honor and recognition to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the musicians of the Honolulu Symphony bring their art to the community directly through their Symphony work and also indirectly by playing in chamber music groups and in church and theater presentations, teaching thousands of students from kindergarten through adulthood in private lessons and at many local educational institutions, and volunteering their time and skills to other nonprofit arts and community organizations; and

WHEREAS, the musicians of the Honolulu Symphony have suffered through nearly 30 years of financial distress, enduring round after round of cuts, layoffs, strikes, lockouts, contract violations, and bad-faith bargaining, with no end in sight of the bad management and board governance that brought these problems about; and

WHEREAS, in the last two years the musicians went as many as 15 weeks without paychecks, waiting as long as 8 months to finally be paid, in order to give Symphony management every opportunity to use the continuing concerts as a vehicle for fundraising and income production; and

WHEREAS, this unprecedented generosity by workers toward their struggling employer has been repaid with unprecedented new violations of the collective bargaining agreement and even deeper disdain and disrespect for its union workers; and

WHEREAS, the most recent and egregious pay cut was implemented just two weeks ago, unilaterally, without warning, in violation of the collective bargaining agreement and federal law, less than two months after a 15% pay cut was agreed to by the union as a condition for the musicians to finally receive the remainder of the back pay they were owed for the previous season; and

WHEREAS, adding insult to injury, the Symphony management still refuses to pay over to the Musicians' Association of Hawaii, Local 677 AFM, the union work dues withheld from musicians' paychecks over most of the last year, totaling approximately $50,000 to $70,000; and

WHEREAS, with the looming threat of Chapter 11 bankruptcy hanging over the Honolulu Symphony, these musicians who have sacrificed so much may be about to lose the jobs they have struggled for decades to preserve; THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hawaii State AFL-CIO recognizes the Honolulu Symphony, as embodied in its professional union musicians, to be an irreplaceable cultural treasure central to the quality of life of Hawaii that must not be allowed to disappear; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Honolulu Symphony musicians deserve an employer, as represented by the Honolulu Symphony Board of Directors, that honors and respects their level of artistry, commitment, and professionalism, and the Hawaii State AFL-CIO urges all businesses, community service organizations, and branches of government to join with us to help the Musicians Association of Hawaii, Local 677 AFM and the Honolulu Symphony musicians to break the decades-long cycle of the Honolulu Symphony's disrespect and abuse of its workforce.

Submitted by the Musicians' Association of Hawaii, Local 677 AFM

* * * Not Adopted by Delegtes * * *
Legislative Resolution No. 1

RELATING TO THE SUPPORT OF BUILDING MODULAR HOMES IN HAWAII

WHEREAS, housing in Hawaii is among the most expensive in the United States and infrastructure costs for roads, electricity, water, and sewage are often too high for developers and landowners to build in rural areas; and

WHEREAS, water catchment and solar power can be built into modular homes, thus allowing home construction in rural areas that have little infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, the use of steel framing in modular homes prevents problems with subterranean termites and also makes these homes resistant to hurricanes and earthquake damage; and

WHEREAS, homes that are built with factory construction can be moved, thus making them ideal for people who live on leasehold land; and

WHEREAS, by setting aside rural land banked areas, modular homes can be moved to safe areas if the property is in danger of a lava flow, hurricane, or flood, which would enable financial institutions and insurance companies to approve mortgages and insurance on homes that are in threatened areas; and

WHEREAS, in 2002, a steel-framed housing factory on Oahu manufactured homes at $60 per square foot, or $120 to $180 per square foot for site-built housing, demonstrating that a factory manufactured home can have a cost savings of over fifty per cent through the use of local materials and local labor; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the Twenty-Third Biennial Convention of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO that this body support measures at the state Legislature and county councils to enable the building of infrastructure free modular and factory manufactured homes in Hawaii, not including trailer homes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Mayors and Council Chairs of the respective counties of the State of Hawaii.

Submitted by: IAM, Lodge 1998

Legislative Resolution No. 2
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF HEALTH CARE REFORM

WHEREAS, today, we have the best chance of winning comprehensive health care reform since Harry Truman proposed national health insurance in the wake of World War II; and

WHEREAS, the national AFL-CIO has advocated a three-point program to guarantee quality, affordable health care for all-a program that consists of: (1) lowering costs; (2) improving quality; and (3) covering everyone by ensuring full participation of all public- and private-sector employers and making affordable health coverage available to everyone, including retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare; and

WHEREAS, in the context of health reform built off employment-based coverage, a public health insurance plan is crucial to making health care coverage more affordable for working families, businesses and governments.; and

WHEREAS, a public plan would have lower administrative costs than private plans and would not have to earn a profit; and

WHEREAS, a public health insurance option, coupled with a more regulated private insurance market, would break the stranglehold that a handful of companies have on the insurance market and would give consumers enough choices to vote with their feet and change plans; and

WHEREAS, the national AFL-CIO at its 2009 Convention supported a renewed effort to win comprehensive health care reform for all Americans; and

WHEREAS, the national AFL-CIO has called on all its affiliated bodies to support this effort by joining in a nationwide health care reform campaign to build support for enactment of Federal legislation; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the delegates to the Twenty-Third Biennial Convention of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO that this body supports endorses the health care reform principles of the national AFL-CIO; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we commit ourselves and our unions to join with the national AFL-CIO in its campaign to win universal health care for all Americans.

Submitted by: Hawaii State AFL-CIO Executive Board