Evening star., 1949-07-15
The "Other Side"
In Hawaii's Long Dock Strike

To the Editor Of The STAR
The Star recently ran a long letter from
a local representative of the 1LWU con-
cerning the strike situation in Hawaii
This letter seems to me highly mislead-
ing. Among other things it raises race
prejudice issue, even though plantation
wages in Hawaii are the highest year around
agricultural wages in the world.
Furthermore, it calls for arbitration. but
completely ignores the report of Fact
Finding Board issued June %, which the
EMPLOYERS accepted and the union rejected,
even though President Truman. secretary
Krug and others urged its acceptance.
wish to state the other side of the case
The employers of Hawaii believe in union
ism. They believe in collective bargaining.
Through the collective bargaining process
they now pay the highest year-around agrl-
cultural wages in the world. 1t Is slgn1ncant
that since the war there has not been
single top-level NLRB decision charging any
employer with unfair labor practice.
The ports of Hawaii have now been block
AIDED for more than two months by strike
of longshore members of the international
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union.
Employers Efforts.
The employers have done their utmost to
settle this dispute, first by offering wage in
creases far in excess of average increases
in the territory during the past year, and
second by accepting the findings Of an i'm
partial Fact Finding Board. appointed under
the auspices of the Federal Government.
The extremist attitude of the union lead
ers in this dispute is evident from the unions
refusal to accept the findings of this board
Certainly. if the officers of this union were
working for an impartial determination OF
the merits of this dispute, they would have
accepted the boards report. No arbitrator
could have done a more thorough job
than this board. Its membership COM
prised retired Territorial Supreme
Court judge. the head of the Territorial de-
partment of public welfare. professor OF
economics who was long on the staff OF
the NLRB in Washington. the head OF the
Veterans Administration in Hawaii, and an
official of the Territorial public school sys-
tenn.
Increases under union contracts in the
islands in the past year have averaged
cents an hour. Early in the negotiations IN
this case the employers offered an increase
of cents. AS long ago as April 80 they
offered IL cents The union went on Str1ke
May l. The Fact Finding Board recommend
ed IA cents. Even though this was double
the average of increases in the islands dur
ing the past year, and seemed to the en-
ployers to be excessive. they were willing to
accept the Boards finding in the public in
terest This record abolishes the union pro-
paganda of any employer design OF union
busting.
It is clear from the record that this dis
pute represents an effort on the part OF
certain union leaders to substitute an ex-
tremist. syndicalist procedure for collective
bargaining. This union is determined that
it will not be in the position Of having to
agree with employers. While the employers
have done everything they can to settle
this dispute on its merits the union seems
determined to drive a permanent wedge
between employees and employers These
union leaders have been trying to obscure
their design with word. The word is
arbitration.
Clear Record.
The record is clear that this union has re-
fused to bargain collectively. From the be-
ginning, it officially stuck to demand OF q
32-cent- -an-hour increase. or arbitration. 1t
has to be one or the other. The 32-cent de-
mand, as the Fact Finding Board found. was
completely unrealistic.
Employers in Hawaii have long used ar
bitration in the manner that it has been
commonly accepted by unions and manage
ments on the mainland-for interpretations
of contracts and settlement of grievances
But now apparently the HWU wants all
issues between employees and employers de-
termined by third parties rather than set
tied in honest collective bargaining. They
don't want to have to agree with an en-
ployer.
Look at the record:
Only last June 10, Harry Bridges. head Of
the nWU. said in its San Francisco publ
cation, "We use arbitration as hghting
program to get things for U.S."
AS long ago as September Is, 1947,
Bridges said, "The next tieup Gin HawaiD
will come early next year. Then we will
bring the whole strength of the union to
bear-in sugar, in pineapple in the ware
houses and on the docks. We will fight for
one thing the principle of arbitration. "
This determination to refrain from frank
collective bargaining must be viewed In the
light of such statements as this: On May
IA, 1887 Bridges said in Seattle. 1--WE take
the stand that we as workers, have nothing
in common with employers. We are in q
class struggle and subscribe to the belief
that if the employer Is not in business, his
products will be necessary. and we will be
providing them when there Is no employing
class"
Again, this spokesman for the nWU
leadership said in a pineapple negotiating
meeting in Honolulu, January IA, 1948, 'The
LWU believes in naturalization Of indus
try-all basic industries, not only railroads
and shipping lines but the pineapple in
dustry and all basic industries everything
but the corner grocery and the barber shop. v
Extremist Philosophy
1t is deplorable that this extremist phil
osophy must be injected into the Hawaiian
situation. But it cannot be ignored. In the
current dispute, it has made collective bar
gaining impossible, and it has blocked set
tlement through an impartial fact-f1nding
board sanctioned by the United States Gov
ernment It is significant that right now
this same unions warehouSemen are on
strike against some ITO distributing estab-
lishments in Northern California. The real
issue there is an effort to force what the
nWU calls arbitration. If this strike con-
tinues, it will cause a serious crisis In the
San Francisco area
The people Of Hawaii are now fully aware
that much more is involved in the long
shore strike there than wages. or what Is