Editorials

Taxes to pay for jobless benefits for strikers

THE Cayetano administration is requesting an emergency appropriation of $4.5 million to pay unemployment benefits to state workers. Labor Director Lorraine Akiba told legislators that her department has exceeded by $2 million its annual allotment for unemployment benefits for state government employees.

The squeeze is so tight that Akiba admitted she had been forced to withdraw money - in violation of the law - from a trust fund into which private employers pay in order to cover the state's unemployment costs. Part of the appropriation she is requesting would be used to pay back the trust fund.

With the state government trying to cut its work force, it's not surprising that its unemployment benefit costs have increased. But there's another factor. Akiba said about $1 million would be used to pay benefits for workers who took part in the Hawaii Government Employees Association strike in 1994. This is jobless pay for strikers.

It's perfectly legal, but outrageous nonetheless. That's $1 million of taxpayers' money being used to pay people to go on strike against the government. Is that what you want your taxes to be used for?

The same law applies to the private sector. Companies have to subsidize the employees who are out on strike, unless the workers succeed in shutting down their operations.

Akiba defends the law in a letter on the opposite page by claiming that the workers on strike are somehow victims of "involuntary joblessness" because the strike was the result of the employer's refusal to resolve the dispute through collective bargaining. In other words, unless the workers succeed in gaining their contract terms at the bargaining table, they are forced to go on strike - and the employer must pay, because it's his fault.

This is sheer doubletalk. Striking is a voluntary activity. To force the employer, whether it be government or a private firm, to subsidize the strikers is a travesty. This law is another reason why Hawaii has a reputation as an anti-business state and why it is difficult for businesses to survive here. The Cayetano administration should stop defending the law and work for its repeal.

Other editorials, in brief:

Bases on Okinawa

THERE is no doubt that most Okinawans want the United States to remove its military bases from their island. But there is also no doubt that the Japanese government wants the U.S. forces to remain. The bases on Okinawa play a vital role helping keep the peace and as the only counterweight to China's growing military strength. They are not going away soon, no matter what the governor of Okinawa says, although no one wants them to remain permanently. And neither Japan nor the U.S. will accept Governor Cayetano's offer to his Okinawan counterpart to move the Okinawa-based forces to Hawaii.

Value of film studio

HAWAII'S film industry struggled in 1995 - Hawaii had no TV series after "Marker" was canceled, and only one major feature, "Race to the Sun," was shot here.But business is picking up this year. It isn't feature films, however. It's commercials. Production spending since Jan. 1 shows a 53 percent increase over the same period last year. The film studio is a good investment for the state in an industry with plenty of potential. This will continue to be true even if the studio isn't always busy.





Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership

Rupert E. Phillips,CEO

John M. Flanagan,Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro,Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang,Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner,Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser,Contributing Editor



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