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Capitol View
IF 5,500 protesters showed up at your office, that would be a good clue that something was wrong. Public unions test
political muscleThat's what happened at the state Capitol last week, but the actual meaning of the demonstration by Hawaii public and private unions is still being debated.
Politics continues to be the best game for adults because it always mystifies. The challenge is finding the correct answer, rarely the obvious one.
For instance, if public employee unions can make or break a political career, and public employee unions can define the issues and set the agenda for the state government, and stage a massive Capitol rally, shouldn't that be the end of the game?
So far, no.
Gary Rodrigues, head of the United Public Workers, will tell you the issue is "not allowing any legislator to take away our hard-earned rights and benefits."
The issue goes further than that. In a real sense, the ending days of this legislative session are about measuring exactly how much power the public worker unions have.
UPW has seized upon Rep. Ed Case, the House Democratic leader from Manoa, as the point person and the focus of their attack.
Rodrigues, however, goes on in this week's copy of the union newsletter, which also attacks the Star-Bulletin, by saying the UPW is ready to rumble.
"The UPW sent a clear message to the legislators, if they want a fight, they will have one," Rodrigues threatened.
There is more going on here than union bombast. The unions, especially the public employee labor organizations, are dropping in influence.
"There has been a sea change in general public attitude in the view of the union movement in the last two to three years," says Case.
Since Hawaii became a state, there has always been a solid, if silent, majority ready to support trade unionism in Hawaii. Forged in the plantation fields, the harbors and the docks of Hawaii, the unions represented the hopes of the majority against the greed of the few.
TODAY, the equation has changed. Case sees the public employee union leaders as fighting a rear guard action to hang onto their power.
"I believe in change and in the need for the fundamental change to some of the assumptions we have had. There are roads we need to go down to get to those changes," Case said.
"Given the choice of going down the road with the unions or not going down the road at all, I can't wait. I'm going."
Less than 200 days from now, the Legislature will be up for re-election. The unions are already muttering about how they "will remember in November" if the Legislature doesn't vote their way this week.
But there is a test case more important -- the race for mayor.
City Councilman Mufi Hannemann has been endorsed by the state's two biggest public employee unions, the UPW and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.
Hannemann was an enthusiastic participant at last week's rally at the Capitol and his campaign can count on rallies and supporters from the unions this fall.
In contrast, incumbent Mayor Jeremy Harris lost the support of the public employees after trying to reform city government.
The contrast could not be more dramatic, and the result will be the ruler we use to measure the union's political power in the beginning of this century.
Legislature Directory
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He can be reached by e-mail at rborreca@pixi.com