Union endorsement
is a good boost for a
political candidate

But many members do not
cast their votes for a
straight union ticket

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Union members say they pay attention when their labor leaders make political endorsements suggesting whom they should vote for.

But that doesn't mean they'll vote a straight union ticket once in the privacy of a ballot booth.

Jon Babila, a soft-drink company delivery driver and member of the ILWU 142, thinks unions are essential for maintaining job security and looking out for workers' rights.

But for shop steward Babila, 34, that loyalty doesn't guarantee he'll go with an all-union slate come Election Day.

When he casts his vote, "it's my personal decision," he said, noting he's gone with about 80 percent of his union's endorsements over the years.

Babila's comments were echoed by many at yesterday's Union Labor Day '98 gathering at Thomas Square.

Where the endorsement of a union once carried with it the promise of a hefty share of the labor vote, that's not necessarily the case in 1998.

"I vote whatever way I want to vote, and it's not always what the union says," said Sharlene Smythe, 55, a member of the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

But like Babila, Smythe appreciates her union's efforts and always reads what labor leaders have to say. "There are some good people they're endorsing," said Smythe, a supervisor with the Traffic Violations Bureau.

Waipahu firefighter Bert Kasai, 40, estimates he votes the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association union slate up to 98 percent of the time. But when he's checked off a ballot for a nonendorsed candidate, he said, it's usually because of a nonunion issue.

Barbara Keohokalole, an income maintenance worker who is with HGEA, said she will nearly always go with the union slate.

"If the union suggests an endorsement, I know I should listen," Keohokalole said. Union leadership takes the time to screen and interview candidates for what's in the best interest of unionized workers, she said.

But Gov. Ben Cayetano, who's received the lion's share of union endorsements in his bid for re-election, acknowledges that union support doesn't carry the number of votes it used to.

The union's Democratic loyalists, he said, "need to convince the rank and file who have had it so good they believe they've become Republicans."

But rookie hopefuls like Sylvia Luke, a Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives 26th District seat, continue pressing flesh at union gatherings like the one yesterday.

Luke said the union endorsements she's received are important for her because she wants to appeal to as broad a base as possible. She also believes that it's important for unions to recommend candidates who would best represent the interests of their members.

Both Eusebio "Bo" Lapenia, president of the AFL-CIO, and Russell Okata of the HGEA believe union endorsement still packs a wallop.

Okata said of 40,267 HGEA members, 86 percent are registered to vote, making it one of the largest political blocs of any kind in Hawaii. Okata said it's up to him and his leadership to convince people which candidates would best serve union members.