Whereas, the rights and protections of workers have been eroded by State and federal laws and regulations originally intended to protect them; and

Whereas, only one in eight workers in the United States today enjoys union membership and the right to bargain collectively for wages hours and working conditions; and

Whereas, average worker wages and availability of well-paying jobs have decreased significantly; and

Whereas, the cost of living, and especially health care, transportation and housing have increased significantly; and

Whereas, the overall community and state economy benefit when employee rights are protected; labor is fairly and justly compensated; and the standard of living is raised; and

Whereas, it is the responsibility of government to protect its citizens, their rights, their work, their environment, and their opportunities for education and advancement from the opportunistic actions of publicly traded corporations and wealthy and powerful individuals; now therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i shall promote laws guaranteeing a workplace environment safe from abuse and coercion by employers; and protected against discrimination based on race, creed, color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age and other forms of discrimination, without fear of retaliation; and

Be it Further Resolved, that basic worker rights shall include reasonably paid vacation leave, sick leave, paid health premiums and overtime pay; and

Be it Further Resolved, that employees shall have the right to reasonable time off, with or without pay, for family emergencies; and

Be it Further Resolved, that part-time and seasonal employees shall be statutorily included as employees; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Whereas, public opinion polls indicate that a majority of U.S. workers say they would join a union now if they had the opportunity; and

Whereas, union membership provides workers better wages and benefits, and protection from discrimination and unsafe workplaces, while benefiting whole communities by strengthening tax bases, promoting equal treatment and enhancing civic participation; and

Whereas, even though our laws guarantee America's workers the right to choose for themselves whether to have a union, employers across the nation routinely violate that right by harassing, intimidating, coercing and even firing workers just for exercising, or attempting to exercise, this fundamental freedom. Tens of thousands of private sector American workers are illegally threatened, coerced or fired each year because they try to form a union; and

Whereas, when employers violate the right of workers to form a union, everyone suffers; wages fall, race and gender pay gaps widen, workplace discrimination increases and job safety standards disappear; and

Whereas, a worker's fundamental right to choose a union must be guaranteed by law; now therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i support the bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would authorize the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining representative when a majority of private sector employees voluntarily sign authorization cards, commonly known as "card check" recognition, provide for first contract mediation and arbitration and establish meaningful penalties when employers violate workers' rights to join a union; and with possibilities of tax credits for employers that comply; and

Be it Further Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i urges legislators to amend Chapters 89 and 377 of Hawai'i Revised Statutes to include the same provisions as proposed in the Employee Free Choice Act; and

Be it Further Resolved, that the Democratic Party will also continue to advocate for a federal law covering all public sector employees; and, until such a law is passed, that it lead the fight for state and local laws granting bargaining rights to public & private employees who currently do not have such rights; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 03: Urging Enactment of a Meal/Rest Breaks Law for Workers in Hawai‘i

Whereas, there is no right under federal wage & hour law to have a rest or meal break at work; and Whereas, 21 different states, among them, all the West Coast states who our Ninth Circuit neighbors: namely, California, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon, have long required employers to provide meal and or rest breaks to employees, as a matter of state law; and

Whereas, research has clearly demonstrated that workers who are rested are more productive and less likely to experience job-related accident and or injury; and

Whereas, Governor Lingle vetoed legislation in 2003 and 2005 that the House and Senate Democrats passed that would have provided at least some protection for working men and women who now have no right to enjoy even a single thirty minute break in their work day; and

Whereas, Governor Lingle's veto messages erroneously assert that federal law preempts our State wage and hour law ... which is not the case for any of the other states that currently have comparable statutory language; and

Whereas, Democrats in California rallied together to defeat a measure proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger that would have repealed their meal break law; and

Whereas, under the California meal-break law, 116,000 disenfranchised Wal-Mart workers were able to successfully sue Wal-Mart, when it was proven they had been cheated out of this simple right; now therefore,

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i calls upon its elected representatives to again pass, and, as needed, overturn the governor's veto of a fair and just law to require Hawai'i employers to provide lunch and rest breaks for employees working a full shift; and

Be it Further Resolved, that such law would set a minimum break requirement for all employees in the State of Hawai'i, whether represented by a collective bargaining agreement or not and should not be construed to preclude additional or longer breaks or breaks for shorter shifts; and

Be it Further Resolved, that such law should contain provisions requiring the employer to pay triple wages for any break period not given; and

Be it Further Resolved, that such a fair and just law shall contain no provision that would permit employees to waive or elect not to utilize any such statutory right in recognition of the well established principle of state and federal employment laws that "at will" employees have, otherwise, no ability to resist an employer's right to terminate or refuse to employ them unless such minimal rights are surrendered or abandoned; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 04: Reaffirming the Importance of Prevailing Wage Laws for Construction Workers

Whereas, Federal Prevailing Wage laws and State Prevailing Wage Laws have been in effect for over sixty years and have been effective in protecting a decent standard of living for workers in local areas where the laws have been implemented; and

Whereas, prevailing Wage Laws were enacted to prevent the erosion of living wages by out-of-state employers who ship from one state to another low wage, under-trained, unskilled workers, to work on a locality's government construction projects to the detriment of construction quality and of that locality's workers' employment opportunities; and

Whereas, Hawai'i construction workers' living wages have made the construction industry a cornerstone of Hawai'i's economy by elevating the construction trade class of workers into the stable economic middle class; now, therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i reaffirms its commitment to the guiding principles first articulated by the Democratic Party in 1955 that bids for construction of public works should be based on the relative skill and efficiency of the contractors concerned and not on a difference in wages paid, and that government money, coming from the taxes of all of us, should not be used to subsidize contractors who are depressing the wages of some of us; and

Be it Further Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i reaffirms and encourages the strengthening of the Federal and Hawai'i prevailing wage laws as a means of ensuring public construction of high quality and reasonable cost, while furthering the economic well being of workers in Hawai'i; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 05: Urging Enactment of State Living Wage Laws

Whereas, the Hawai'i State Democratic Platform has traditionally affirmed the Dignity of Labor and expressed the Democratic Party's commitment to the achievement of a living wage for all Hawai'i's workers; and

Whereas, the Hawai'i State Democratic Platform has further traditionally expressed the belief that our government, even while seeking operational efficiency, must never exploit its labor force, erode prevailing wages, or compromise the principle that government money, derived from the taxes of all of us, shall not be used to depress the wages or standard of living of any of us; and

Whereas, over 70 Living Wage ordinances have been passed in the United States since 1991, improving living standards for low-wage workers without overburdening public funds or harming the local economies; and

Whereas, paying no more than the current state and federal minimum wages leaves most workers in Hawai'i far below the poverty level for a family of four; and

Whereas, privatization of government services without the protections of living wage statutes similar to the federal Service Contracts Act, favors contractors whose low bids are based on payment of minimum wages and benefits; and

Whereas, people who are paid enough to support their families, not only are less dependent on government aid, but also pay more taxes and buy more goods and services, stimulating local economic growth; and

Whereas, when subsidized employers are allowed to pay their workers less than a "Living Wage", taxpayers end up footing a double bill in emergency medical, food stamps, housing and other services that low wage workers need to support themselves and their families even minimally; and

Whereas, there are private contractors and service providers receiving Federal, State, and County financial assistance and support in the form of grants, contracts, loans, and bond financing; and

Whereas, tax abatements and other development subsidies need to be leveraged for the public good; and

Whereas, in 1933 that greatest of all Democrats, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, boldly expressed his administration's policy that "No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level. I mean the wages of a decent living." Now, therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i reaffirms its commitment to passage of a statewide living wage law and service contracts act that will let Government in Hawai'i show by example that payment of living wages and benefits is the best way to uplift our economy and the standard of living for all Hawai'i's working families; and

Be it Further Resolved, that public dollars be reserved for those employers who demonstrate a commitment to providing decent family-supporting jobs, and a "Living Wage", currently at $22 per hour, in our local communities; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 06: Supporting the Collective Bargaining Rights of Employees of Federal Department Of Defense

Whereas, civilian defense employees have worked to support and deploy our armed forces, and the rights and personnel policies under which they work have never been cited as an impediment to national security; and

Whereas, laws already give the United States Department of Defense (DOD) the flexibility it needs to balance employment policies and environmental protection with national security and military readiness; and

Whereas, the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill created the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) and changed the pay system, proposing to take away civil service protections from some 16,000 civilian Department of Defense (DOD) employees in Hawai'i; and

Whereas, NSPS allows the Secretary of Defense to: (1) eliminate employees' collective bargaining and statutory appeal rights; (2) refuse to bargain at the local level even where union certification is at the local level only; (3) issue regulations that supercede negotiated agreements, rendering the collective bargaining process meaningless; (4) change the pay system to one open to favoritism; and (5) eliminate employee protections such as veterans' preference and seniority in layoffs; and

Whereas, Congress stated that DOD could not waive Chapter 71 of the US Code, which establishes federal employees' collective bargaining and appeal rights, yet the DOD's plan states that DOD "will not employ any provisions of U.S.C. Chapter 71 "; and

Whereas, nothing in the NSPS deals with national security, despite national security concerns being Congress' sole rationale for giving the Secretary of Defense authority to change DOD's pay and personnel system; and

Whereas, the President and his administration have blatantly used the emotional impact of 9/11 to take away the human rights of workers and American citizens, when so many of the first responder and heroes of 9/11 were union men and women; now therefore

Be it Resolved, by the Democratic Party of Hawai'i that it opposes the DOD's attempts to weaken USDOD employees' existing collective bargaining and statutory appeal rights; and

Be it Further Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i urges Hawai'i's Congressional delegation to work to rescind the broad grant of authority to the Secretary of Defense and, instead, require that DOD's new rules continue to adhere to Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the US Code; and

Be it Further Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i urges all state and county officials to communicate their support of DOD employees' collective bargaining rights to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, and the Hawai'i Congressional delegation; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 07: Supporting Workers In Hawai'i's Travel And Visitor Industry

Whereas, the travel and visitor industry is the State's largest and most important industry which directly generates approximately one quarter of the State's gross product and approximately one third of the State's jobs and indirectly generates many more jobs; and

Whereas, the most significant economic benefits of the Hawai'i travel and visitor industry are wages and benefits paid to workers; and the largest source of tax revenue from the travel and tourism industry is generated by workers' income tax payments; and

Whereas, hotels and visitor industry businesses are bought and sold on a regular basis, in good and bad economic times and over the past several years, many of these hotels have been bought by mainland and global corporations, having little local presence in Hawai'i; and

Whereas, hotel jobs are service jobs that are not subject to being outsourced, and, therefore, can be stable, steady, solid jobs for the economy in which they are located; and recent years have seen a dramatic increase in workload for hotel workers, especially housekeepers, which has resulted in increased stress, pain and injury; and

Whereas, in 2006, the contracts will expire for 14 hotels on O'ahu employing over 6,500 workers; several others on Neighbor islands expire in 2007 and Turtle Bay Resort remains unsettled; and

Whereas, in an effort to unite and raise the standards of all hotel workers, union members are participating in nationwide campaigns such as the Hotel Workers Rising Campaign which calls for fair wages, family health coverage, sick days, a humane and safe workload, protections for immigrant workers, and the right to choose to have a union without interference from management; and now therefore,

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i strongly supports efforts to improve working conditions, wages and benefits of all workers in the State's travel and visitor industry

Be it Further Resolved that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i advocates protection of the jobs of workers whose employers have changed because of a transfer of ownership or new management of a hotel by preserving their income, benefits and unique local lifestyle;

Be it Further Resolved, that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, the County Visitor Bureaus, and the four County Councils, and the four Mayors.

Labor Resolution 08: Urging Protection of American and Immigrant Workers from Exploitation

Whereas, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i supports the inherent dignity of all people, regardless of their legal status, as well as their civil and due process rights; and

Whereas, although undocumented workers pay taxes and contribute to the economic, cultural, and social life of the communities in which they live and work, they are denied basic protections, subjecting them to abuse and exploitation by employers and federal enforcement agencies; and

Whereas, undocumented workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation because they cannot complain to the Labor Relations Board about illegal treatment, cannot join unions, and cannot strike or protest poor working conditions without risk of deportation or job loss; and

Whereas, prosecution of undocumented workers has only resulted in more silence on the part of exploited workers and appears to encourage unscrupulous companies to use more and more undocumented workers in order to bring down wages and circumvent labor protection laws,

Whereas, allowing undocumented workers to be exploited encourages unscrupulous companies to lower the benefits and wages for all U.S. workers: citizen and non-citizen alike; and

Whereas, encouraging undocumented workers to report abuses and exploitation will benefit all workers and inhibit the erosion of working Americans' rights, and therefore, rewarding any employee, documented or not, for reporting violations of labor laws with part of the fines assessed against the company will benefit all workers and serve as a check on exploitive labor practices; and

Whereas, the sanctioning of employers for the hiring of undocumented workers has often led to the firing of workers for union activity and discriminatory practices on the job; and

Whereas, a bill being considered by the US Congress would make undocumented workers felons and further militarize the border with Mexico, which will only lead to even greater loss of life among workers who cross the border illegally, while other bills would deport thousands of immigrant workers, thereby dividing families, and create a temporary guest worker ("bracero") program, creating an easily exploitable class of workers without due process rights; now therefore

Be it Resolved that the Democratic Party will work to strengthen laws which protect workers from exploitive practices, poor wages, poor working conditions, inadequate benefits, and using part-time or contractor status to deny benefits; and

Be it Further Resolved that the Democratic Party will work for legislation that rewards and protects all workers (including undocumented) from job loss, prosecution or deportation, who report labor law violations; and

Be it Further Resolved that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i urges that undocumented workers be provided earned access to permanent residency, the right to organize in their workplaces without fear of retaliation, and protection from discrimination; and

Be it Further Resolved that the Democratic Party will work for legislation which imposes substantial fines on companies which violate labor laws and exploit their workers; and

Be it Further Resolved that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 09: In Opposition to Anti-Union Laws Deceptively Titled "Right To Work" and "Paycheck Protection"

Whereas, strong and free labor unions are necessary to preserve and defend the legitimate rights of working people to participate with dignity in the political and economic life of their communities and states; and the success of organized labor raises the standard of living generally, expanding and fostering the growth of the State's middle class; and

Whereas, private sector workers in nearly half of the United States are prevented by law or state constitution from negotiating union shop or agency shop clauses in their union contracts by so-called "right-to-work" laws; and

Whereas, similar restrictions apply to some or all public employees in 32 states; and

Whereas, deceptively titled "Paycheck Protection" laws seek to deny unions the right to expend resources in political action and are, therefore, more accurately described as "paycheck deception" laws; and

Whereas, the corporate-GOP-right-wing movement for a "union-free environment" has a wide ranging program to impose limitations on labor unions, through right-to-work laws, laws prohibiting public employee collective bargaining, rulings of the NLRB favoring employers, and conservative Court decisions such as the Hudson and Lenhert decisions, which restrict the ability to obtain full agency shops or fair share agreements; and

Whereas, bills to enact a deceptively titled "Right to Work" law in Hawai'i have, over the years been regularly proposed by Republican legislators; and

Whereas, "Right-to-work" laws weaken unions and foster disunity by encouraging workers to ride the' backs of their union sisters and brothers by benefitting from the good wages, benefits and job protections negotiated by union members with out sharing the costs of winning and maintaining those gains. Instead of solidarity, the mutual obligations workers share at the workplace are shirked; and

Whereas, in practice, right-to-work laws encourage employers to "race to the bottom" in pay, benefits, and employment security for their workers, so that of the 15 states with the lowest average annual pay, 10 are "right-to-work" states. "Right-to-work" states have historically paid lower wages and benefits than free states. The adoption of these laws in other states can only lead to a reduction in workers rights, power, wages and benefits; and

Whereas, the great Democratic President Harry S Truman once referred to such laws as "right-to-work-for-less"; and

Whereas, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. most eloquently warned us all that, "in our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as 'right-to-work'. It provides no 'rights' and no 'work.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining, we demand this fraud be stopped"; and

Whereas, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i reaffirms its commitment to collective bargaining; now therefore,

Be It Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i opposes the introduction, consideration or enactment of any "Right-to-Work" or "Pay Check Protection" bills which deceptively seek to limit, restrict, or control a duly constituted and democratically run labor organization from collecting and using dues or representation fees for such lawful purposes as our national labor laws allow; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 10: Rejecting the WorldTrade Organization's Anti-Worker and Anti-Environmental Rules

Whereas, the negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are conducted by Trade Ministers and Trade Representatives and other officials charged with promoting trade, to the exclusion of officials charged with the representation of other interests such as public health, labor rights or environmental protection; and

Whereas, trade and investment disputes are resolved at the WTO by non-elected panels in secret processes that have the authority to override local, state and federal law, which is outside and above U.S. courts; and

Whereas, in all cases decided by the WTO in the last four years, the dispute panels have favored corporate interests over public interests and have overruled domestic laws protecting the environment, human health, endangered species and local economies; and

Whereas, the "National Treatment" concept of the WTO could prohibit the use of domestic procurement preferences and subsidies and other benefits to local businesses for the purpose of encouraging local economic development; and .

Whereas, by attacking domestic laws, the WTO is actually dismantling the democratic process under the guise of a trade pact, and

Whereas, a broad and growing global movement has formed to challenge the WTO's ability to establish free trade rules that threaten human health, fragile ecosystems, labor and human rights, democratic institutions and local economies; and

Whereas, the State of Hawai'i is the home to a major seaport and is actively interested in the promotion of international trade as a means to improve the quality of life for all people and not as a means for creating a race to the bottom on public health standards, environmental protection and labor rights; now therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i oppose the further expansion of the powers of the WTO to overrule the sovereign policies of nations, states and local governments; and to oppose those existing provisions which inhibit Federal, State and Local Governments in protecting their workers, environment and citizen health; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 11: Urging Enactment of Laws to Provide Job Training Through a Civilian Conservation Corp

Whereas, many young Americans feel that they need to join the military in order to obtain job skills; and

Whereas, there are many public areas in which the availability of labor would improve community and environmental resources; and

Whereas, the experience of participating in a civilian job corps program which is providing needed services to the community would be extremely valuable to both the participants and the communities being served; now therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i calls on the National Democratic Party as well as our Hawaiian and U.S. legislators to provide a two year civilian conservation corps for all persons over the age of 16, whether high school graduates or not, wherein will be provided job skills and academic training sufficient to prepare our young people for gainful employment upon completion of the civilian conservation corps; and

Be it Further Resolved, that successfully serving in the Civilian Job Corps shall entitle one to the same educational benefits as serving in the military; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 12: Supporting Del Monte Hawai'i Workers

Whereas, on February, 1, 2006, Fresh Del Monte Produce, which grows and packs pineapple in Hawai'i, announced plans to shut down its operations in 2008, which will result in some 700 workers, most of them union members, becoming jobless; and

Whereas, in a press statement announcing the shutdown, Del Monte said: "As a result of increased planting of pineapple at lower costs in other parts of the world, the company believes that it will not be economically feasible to continue to produce pineapple in Hawai'i"; but Del Monte failed to note that most of the foreign acreage is their own; and

Whereas, Del Monte is not shutting down because they are not making money; in fact, Del Monte's gross profits have averaged more than $300 million each year for the last five years; and

Whereas, much of Del Monte's profit is because Del Monte, a company based in Costa Rica and owned since 1996 by the Abu Ghazaleh family from United Arab Emirates, has capitalized on pineapple technology developed in Hawai'i by Hawai'i workers; and

Whereas, for years, Del Monte shipped seed material for the highly successful MD-2 variety of pineapple to Costa Rica, Brazil and Kenya; now that thousands of acres of pineapple in Kenya and Brazil are ready to harvest, Del Monte has no further need for Hawai'i; and

Whereas, despite the company's huge profits, derived in large part from the experience and know-how of Hawai'i pineapple workers, Del Monte has refused to agree with union proposals for enhanced severance (especially for "covered seasonal" workers who have no severance), extension of medical coverage for a few more months, and financial help for residents of Kunia Camp, home to 125 families; and

Whereas, while Hawai'i's economy is faring much better than in years past and Hawai'i's jobless rate is the lowest in the country, transition will be difficult for these agricultural workers into a job market where many jobs are in tourism or require technical skills that the workers do not possess or do not pay much more than minimum wage and will require workers to work more than one job to support their families; Del Monte workers will need time and assistance to make the adjustment; and

Whereas, misconceptions may persist, especially if companies like Del Monte are not required to label the source of their products; now therefore

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i strongly supports Hawai'i Del Monte workers in their fight for the company to provide enhancements in benefits and financial assistance to help them make the transition to a "life after pineapple"; and

Be it Further Resolved, that delegates to the Hawai'i Democratic Party Convention agree to spread the word to their family, friends, co-workers and other union members that when Del Monte shuts down its pineapple operations in Hawai'i in 2008 (or sooner), fresh pineapple with the Del Monte label will not be from Hawai'i; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

Labor Resolution 13: Supporting Employee Protection

Whereas, in today's fluid economy, businesses are bought and sold at will; and

Whereas, in Hawai'i, businesses most vulnerable to frequent sales are those in the tourism industry, namely hotels; and

Whereas, with Hawai'i tourism growing by leaps and bounds and hotel occupancy rates averaging more than 80% this year, hotel ownership has become a lucrative business, especially for investors who thrive on buying and selling; and

Whereas, for workers of these hotels, however, job security is often at risk when a hotel is sold and workers are terminated, asked to apply for their old jobs, must undergo screenings and tests to determine their suitability for jobs they have held for years, and may still be out of work despite all their efforts if the new employer does not want to hire formerly unionized employees; and

Whereas, such mass layoff practices create needless disruption--in the workforce, in the business itself, and in the community; and

Whereas, one recent example of this disruption occurred at the Hawaii Naniloa Resort, which had been organized for many years and was the only unionized hotel on the east side of the Island of Hawai'i; and

Whereas, early this year, Naniloa was sold to the highest bidder in an auction by the State for lease of the land on which the hotel is situated; the new owner hired only 20 of the 140 incumbent workers and brought in workers from his two other operations; and

Whereas, the sale left 120 Naniloa workers jobless, having to consider a two-hour commute to the west side of the island for hotel work or retraining for a completely new line of work; and

Whereas, the new owner claimed the workers did not have the right attitude for his business, yet his real motivation for not retaining incumbent workers may have been to make the operation non-union as his two other businesses are; and

Whereas, three separate times the Hawai'i State Legislature was urged to enact laws to protect workers against mass layoffs such as occurred at Hawaii Naniloa Resort and numerous other hotels, but business interests vigorously argued that such legislation is bad for business and will drive away investors; and

Whereas, some legislators agreed with business interests and each time legislation to protect incumbent employees was defeated; and

Whereas, Hawai'i is still a favored tourist destination and hotels are posting record profits, making it unlikely that investors will be dissuaded by employee protection laws that make good business sense; and

Whereas, at the Democratic Party of Hawai'i State Convention, May 2004 a Resolution supporting visitor industry workers was adopted, yet very few Democrats in the State House and Senate have supported that resolution; and

Whereas, a law to require the buyer of a hotel to retain incumbent workers makes sense because it: (1) helps to minimize disruption in the business; (2) protects management's right to manage the business and its employees; (3) avoids negative publicity and creates good will in the community; and (4) allows workers to make a smoother transition, if necessary, into new employment rather than be terminated in a mass layoff; now therefore,

Be it Resolved, that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i supports legislation to require, in the event of a sale or divestiture of a business, the buyer to retain the seller's employees, provided that the continuing business is the same as the seller's and urges elected officials to vote for employee protection; and

Be it Further Resolved, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress and the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature.