CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM A Del Monte employee for 12 years, Danny Crisostomo lives with his wife and three children in one of the company's plantation homes.

Facing the future

Losing a home on the plantation is what worries Del Monte pineapple workers most

It's everybody's nightmare, a Kunia Camp resident said when Del Monte Fresh Produce announced it would be shutting its operations in 2008.

"It's going to be hard for us, and I think everybody is preparing and talking about what we're going to do," said Carmelita Hechores, who has been living at a plantation home.

Keeping a roof over their heads is one of their main concerns. Hechores anticipates that she and other residents will struggle if they are forced to leave their homes.

Representatives from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union continue to work with Campbell Estate on a plan for residents to remain at the plantation homes owned by the company.

Christine Cannella, spokeswoman for Del Monte based at Coral Gables, Fla., could not be reached for comment. Edward Littleton, general manager for Del Monte, would not comment.

Already, management is significantly cutting work hours because of a lack of harvest.

Del Monte leases 5,100 acres of land in Kunia from Campbell Estate. About 3,100 acres of the leased land is used to harvest pineapple.

According to ILWU international representative Tracy Takano, around 140 to 150 families reside in homes owned by Del Monte at Kunia Camp.

Generations of families have lived at the camp, described by residents as a quiet, rural area away from traffic and noise.

Hechores, who migrated to Honolulu from Luzon in the Philippines 31 years ago, when she was 17, said Kunia Camp reminds her of her native country.

"It's very country," she said. "It's like back home."

Roosters can be heard crowing in the late afternoon hours.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Crisostomo and other resident employees have been worried about Del Monte's plans for the housing. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union and landowner Campbell Estate are working on a plan to help residents stay.

"I think this is the best place for me," Hechores said. "I'm used to it already."

Many plantation residents who work for Del Monte migrated from the Philippines.

Hechores, a fresh-fruit packer, and her husband, a harvester, said they earn a combined $1,600 a month. But the company has been cutting hours because there is no harvest, forcing her husband to file for unemployment.

Many plantation workers said they are now working two to three days a week instead of five.

The Hechores couple pays $240 a month for rent, which is automatically deducted from their paychecks.

Hechores said she is not sure they would be able to meet the rent for places outside of Kunia Camp.

"If the rent is $1,500, we're going to be working two jobs each to supply our needs, pay the bills," she said.

For Danny Crisostomo the estimated $265 monthly rent has been manageable at Kunia Camp for he and his wife, Divina, and their three children. What's most important is the house, said Crisostomo, who migrated to Hawaii from Ilocos Norte in 1991.

Other family members, including her mother and brother, also live at Kunia Camp.

"It's a really tense time for the residents," Takano said.

Kunia Camp is one of the last places on Oahu where plantation life can be found, Takano said. "We really want to preserve it."