hunterbishop.com

An unusual alliance of business and labor will join in strong opposition to the Puna Community Development Plan at this afternoon's County Planning Committee meeting.

Click to read more ...

Yesterday I placed the following comment under the online version of the editorial in Sunday's Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

Your anti-union hysteria got in the way of an important fact. Union membership did not decline in 2007. It grew nationwide. You could look it up and publish a correction. Check the Washington Post, Saturday, January 26, 2008, Page D02.

Yes, union membership has declined nationwide over many years but it is rising again, slowly but surely. And measures such as the Employee Free Choice Act will help it continue to grow and contribute to the healthy tradition of a strong middle class in America. Opponents like Governor Lingle and Hawaii Tribune-Herald, however, want to hide behind the flag, McCarthyism and fear to prevent workers from organizing to protect themselves from unscrupulous employers. House Bill 2974, also known as the card check bill, will help maintain an even playing field between management and employees who want to establish a union in their workplace by facilitating the organization process and ensuring that the company can't stonewall the ensuing contract negotiations.

Anybody willing to lay odds on a correction being published?

Here a few notes on the computer left over from the weekend:

Click to read more ...

Since getting the good news yesterday morning about the judge's decision in the Hawaii Newspaper Guild's case against the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, I've been swamped with calls and e-mails offering congratulations and seeking interviews and information. Mahalos to you all. I can't tell you how much we appreciate the tremendous support of the community throughout this episode, now well into the third year since I was fired.

Unfortunately the case is likely to continue on appeal by the company. Rod Thompson's story in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports that Tribune-Herald Publisher Ted Dixon vows to appeal to the National Labor Relations Board and then to federal appeals court if necessary. So don't expect mine or Dave Smith's byline back in the paper any time soon. More information about the decision is at the Guild's Web site, Holomua.org.

You might think that in a state with some of the lowest voting rates in the nation, there would be efforts made to get more people to the ballot box. But fears of identify theft have stopped the Deputy Registrar program that will cripple efforts to increase voter registration, say political activists including the ILWU and  League of Women voters.

Click to read more ...

Several people called or e-mailed about the Hawaii Tribune-Herald article today announcing that a lawsuit filed by the Hawaii Newspaper Guild against the newspaper had been dismissed.

Click to read more ...

I've been asked why I haven't reported the Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press employees' resounding victory against the union-busting newspaper's owner, billionaire Wendy McCaw. The National Labor Relations Board filed complaints against McCaw's newspaper similar to those the NLRB filed against the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and each newspaper faced a trial in 2007.

Click to read more ...