Union organizing in Hawaiʻi

Ah Quon tell us about union organizing in Hawaiʻi. She began by explaining how Hawai‘i workers, living on the most isolated land masses on the planet learned about unions and the labor movement. Part of the answer to this question was that merchant seamen brought word about the movement from the U.S. Continent.

Among those sailors were: Harry Komoku who organized the Hilo waterfront and the first ILWU local in Hawai‘i; Jack Hall who would lead the development of the ILWU across all Islands; and Bob McElrath, ILWU Communications Director, pioneering the use of radio to spread the union message. There were of course others, like Bill Bailey, originally from Hoboken New Jersey. Bailey was involved as an advisor to the 1937 strike by Filipino workers on Maui. These men experienced the 1934 Longshore strike on the U.S. West Coast and were able to bring their knowledge of the labor movement and lessons of solidarity to Hawai‘i.

While these men were important to the labor movement in Hawai’i, our documentary, Ah Quon McElrath: The Struggle Never Ends!, tells the story of AQ, an equally important figure in Hawai‘i labor history. A story often overlooked because of her gender!

For those who missed the TV premiere of Ah Quon McElrath: The Struggle Never Ends!, or want to watch it again, here are the link to PBS Hawaiʻi Presents. If you are outside Hawaiʻi use PBS Hawaiʻi YouTube page. PBS Hawaiʻi will also rebroadcast the program on Thursday May 15 at 8:30 pm. It will repeat on Sunday May 18 at 1:00 pm.

Each month we will continue to post short excerpts from our extensive moving

image archive on the Ah Quon McElrath website (www.laborhistoryhawaii.org). Please share with your coworkers, friends, and family.

Mahalo Nui Loa,

Chris Conybeare, Executive Producer