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Kanno supports right
to petition government

I usually agree with Star-Bulletin editorials, but not the April 13 editorial, "Senators' hounding of cruise line violated ethics." You have prejudged senators guilty before they have had the opportunity of a hearing before the state Ethics Commission.

Norwegian Cruise Line did not give Leon Rouse a hearing either. Rouse was fired without the opportunity provided other employees to face his accusers by a company that had arbitrary sexual harassment procedures, and ordered off a ship 2,000 miles from home without providing airfare to return to Hawaii. What the cruise line did may have been legal, but it lacked class and the spirit of aloha expected of a company doing business in the aloha state.

I have criticized my fellow Democrats in the past when they have failed to live up to their fiduciary responsibilities. However, as a former member of Hawaii's Civil Rights Commission and interested in ensuring worker rights are honored, Norwegian Cruise Line's treatment of Rouse, the citizen that Sen. Brian Kanno was trying to help, appears to have been shabby at best.

There is a natural tension between businesses that want to be left alone and workers who believe that, in America, they have a right to fair treatment. Businesses need to be free from excessive interference by legislative bodies, but businesses should be expected to treat employees humanely.

Many workers find their jobs vulnerable to the whims of their employers and are sometimes treated like expendable pieces of meat.

Kanno, in his dealings with Norwegian Cruise Line, was motivated by his role as chairman of the Senate Labor Committee and his commitment to the civil rights of Rouse, an American citizen. The notion that Kanno or any other senator or House member was seeking "unwarranted privileges or advantages" for himself or Rouse, as alleged by Senate Republicans, is truly ridiculous. Kanno did not stand to gain anything by helping Rouse, who is not a lobbyist, only an average citizen.

Kanno and other Democratic legislators believed that Norwegian Cruise Line's conduct was outrageous and requested clarification of the cruise line's sexual harassment procedures. When the company stone-walled, a resolution was introduced to look into how this company, which has been sued by at least one travel agency for poor performance, conducts its business.

If the resolution had been heard, Norwegian Cruise Line would have had to state precisely what the company's sexual harassment procedures are and justify why it had treated one of Hawaii's employees one way and others a different way.

The editorial implies that it might have been appropriate for Kanno and others to help Rouse if his case involved government agencies, but not intervention with private companies.

However, legislators at the city, state and federal levels take action all the time through tax credits, subsidy programs and the elimination of premium taxes to help private companies. The Star-Bulletin's position seems to be that private companies helped by legislators cannot be held accountable for their conduct with their employees or recipients of services.

The editorial also appears to imply that because Rouse lives in Waikiki, and is not a constituent of Kanno's, he should not have received Kanno's attention. No legislator could pass that test. Citizens, company officials and lobbyists frequently go to legislators with jurisdiction over matters that concern them, and Kanno is the chairman of the Labor Committee.

The description of Rouse as a "gay rights activist" accused of sexual harassment by "male" employees seems more about inciting passion against Rouse than describing who he is, a person deserving the right to fair treatment.

Had Rouse been given a hearing as he requested on the ship, or if Norwegian Cruise Line had responded to the legislators' letter asking about its policy and procedures regarding accusations of sexual harassment, this issue might more easily have been resolved. Or does Norwegian Cruise Line have something to hide regarding disparate treatment of its employees?

I urge citizens and the media to consider both sides of this issue before passing judgment on Kanno's conduct or the conduct of any other legislator.

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