Sugar mill’s closure
raises housing worries

By Gary T. Kubota
Maui correspondent

LAHAINA -- Teruo Mukaisu points to the nearby mango trees planted by Japanese immigrant workers in Wainee Village in the early 1900s and recalls how hundreds of people once lived here.

Mukaisu, 75, a Pioneer Mill Co. retiree, hopes he'll be able to continue living in the camp, despite the company's plans to close sugar operations by September.

"From the past, we had the understanding we could live here," said Mukaisu, who worked for the company for 46 years.

As the owner Amfac/JMB Hawaii plans the shutdown of the 104-year-old business, sugar workers and retirees worry about future employment and housing.

The camp is about a half mile south of the mill, but an era away from suburban and resort dwellings along the four-lane highway through Lahaina.

A dirt road leads to the village, where most homes were built before the 1950s and available for low rent as an incentive to immigrant laborers.

Mukaisu, whose parents emigrated from Hiroshima, Japan, to work for Pioneer in the early 1900s, said he pays about $38.60 a month for his house and water.

Residents say about 32 families live in the village, most of them retirees from the company.

Mukaisu recalled that about 2,000 people worked for Pioneer in 1949. The numbers have dwindled throughout the years.

In an announcement yesterday, the mill said the shutdown will affect some 76 regular workers, 50 seasonal workers and 21 people in management.

At least 12 workers will be retained for diversified agriculture operations.

The plantation once had about 6,000 acres in sugarcane cultivation. It now has a little over 2,000 acres in sugarcane, according to the International Longshore and Warehousemen's Union.

The company said it lost $7 million the past five years and was looking at a loss of $2 million for 1999.

ILWU officials representing the workers say they will be negotiating with the company for severance pay and talking about the future of housing at Wainee Village.

Amfac officials could not be reached immediately for comment on the future of the village.

The shutdown of Pioneer will leave west Maui without miles of rolling green hills of sugarcane. Only one sugar company, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., will remain on the island.

"It's sad," said William Kennison, the ILWU's chief negotiator. "It's the end of an era."

Kennison blamed the shutdown on low sugar prices from foreign competitors. He said Amfac plans to continue to operate its 500-acre coffee plantation, which employs 20 regular workers.

The company said it has identified some 1,500 to 2,000 acres north of Lahaina that may be used for diversified farming in conjunction with federal funds to train workers.

Some Maui residents say the shutdown will affect their businesses, especially independent contractors involved in industrial work.

"It'll be a great loss," said Patrick Ulep, president of Maui Industrial Services Inc.

Lahaina businessman Richard Nagasako said he expects the shutdown to affect his operations, including his restaurant serving takeout lunches.

Nagasako recalled a significant drop in business when the plantation went from year-round to seasonal harvesting a couple years ago and reduced the number of regular workers.

Pioneer worker James Sumibcay, 53, said he and other workers took a 9 percent pay cut in February of last year.

Sumibcay, who works in the processing department, says he doesn't know what he'll do after the shutdown but he's facing some major expenses.

"It's going to be hard to pay for the mortgage," he said.