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Changing Hawaii
IT'S Wednesday, April 19, four o'clock in the afternoon, another gloriously sunny day in paradise. Motivated by the public demonstrations for Elian in Miami and the mass arrests in Washington, D.C., I go in search of a little excitement myself at the multi-union, anti-civil-service-reform rally at the state Capitol. Diary of a union watcher
About 6,000 others have the same idea.
The uniform of choice is a white T-shirt with turquoise wording that declares, "We're All In This Together/Labor 2000."
Picketers and sign-wavers line both sides of Beretania, taking particular delight in standing outside the iron gates of the governor's mansion, Washington Place. Their slogans hiss, "Negotiate Don't Retaliate," "You Judge Now/We Judge Later" and "I Vote!"
A convoy of yellow garbage trucks, with unionized drivers at the wheel, cruise by. They honk loudly at the alphabet soup in attendance: HGEA, HSTA, ILWU, UPW, UHPA, IBEW, AFL-CIO.
Somehow the blue-tarped tents, blaring rock music and folks milling around make it seem more like a giant tailgate party sans hibachi than a protest.
The primitive urgency of the Taiko drums from the Capitol soon empties the sidewalks, as dues-payers stream into the rotunda or go upstairs to line the second- and third-floor balconies for the program.
It's showtime! The bigwigs of Hawaii's largest unions take the stage, one by one, to inflame the masses with their jargon and jingles.
Russell Okata of the HGEA snaps a photo of the crowd and promises to send it to legislators as proof of the "rebirth of the labor movement in Hawaii."
Gary Rodrigues of the UPW believes Hawaii has been fortunate to have good governors in Burns, Ariyoshi and Waihee, but got unlucky with Cayetano, whose name elicits reaction from the boo-birds.
Karen Ginoza of the HSTA says the media are wrong to paint union members as afraid of change. The state's 12,000 teachers do want reform -- in the sense of slashing waste and improving management, not "laying it on the backs of workers" and "cutting the heart out of collective bargaining."
And so it went. Tony Rutledge of Unity House, Eric Gill of Local 5, Leonard Hoshijo of the ILWU. By 5:30 p.m., the crowd is shrinking. Many miss the fiery speeches of the real "stars" -- congressional Reps. Patsy Mink and Neil Abercrombie.
They talk about how the Democratic Party has always stuck up for the rights of laborers, and how it will continue to do so as union salaries, pay hikes, benefits and negotiating power are threatened by austere-minded axe-wielders.
HOLY irony! Does anyone else notice that Cayetano, titular head of the Democrats, and Democratic stalwarts in the House like Ed Case are the very ones pushing hard for civil service reform?
Could it be that all of this has nothing to do with partisan politics but plain, simple, budgetary practicalities?
It's Wednesday, April 19, six o'clock in the afternoon, and the singing of "Hawaii Aloha" signals the remainder of the already thinned-out throng to dissipate and go home.
Picket signs and folding chairs are carefully stacked up for retrieval, while the TV news vans roll up their cable and buses roll in to claim their fares. Hardly anyone takes off his or her union T-shirt -- not because of pride, in all probability, but because the previously gloriously sunny day is turning cold and cloudy. It looks like rain.
At least for the unions.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
dchang@starbulletin.com, or by fax at 523-7863.