Business Manager’s Message
Valentino B. Ceria
After a long summer break, it was good to have the in-person General Membership Meeting back at the Washington Middle School Cafeteria. The rap sessions are also starting up again on the various islands.
We recently were able to hold the Labor Unity Picnic on September 4th at the Waikiki Shell. This free event sponsored by the Hawaii Building & Construction Trades Council which we belong to, also included affiliated unions under the Hawaii State AFL-CIO. The LUP is an annual event that started up again after Covid, highlighting Labor Day and honoring our own union workers. I want to thank Brother Sam Barrett, Jr. for spearheading the coordination for our Union, along with the Office and Training staff for their assistance at the picnic.
I want to remind everyone if you haven’t already done so, it’s not too late to register to vote. You can go to elections.hawaii.gov for detailed information and to register online. Remember, the General Election is on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. You should be receiving your ballots in the mail by October 21st. We are committed to supporting the Primary Democratic nominees for Governor, Josh Green and Lt. Governor, Sylvia Luke. I was happy to be at their headquarters celebrating their respective victories and congratulating them on behalf of Local 675. Other candidates for various districts who we support for the General Election are published in this newsletter.
I would like to inform you of important changes coming up with our own Local 675 elections. Specifically regarding the election for various board positions for the Executive Board, Finance Committee, and Examining Board. Currently, we have been electing the board members on a staggered basis, with certain members elected one year, others elected the following year, and so on, which has been the practice for Local 675 since 1980. Administrative Assistant to the General President, Derrick Kualapai and International Representative for California and Hawaii, Aaron Stockwell have advised Local 675 that all Local Union offices set forth in Section 100(a) of the UA Constitution—including the Executive Board, Finance Committee, and Examining Board—must be elected every three years in the same election. General President Mark McManus in a letter has directed Local 675 to carry out a plan to make the corrections. We will be holding an election for some board positions expiring by the end of this year, 2022. As directed by the UA, the positions expiring this year will be elected for a two-year term. Next year, in 2023, expiring positions will be elected for a one-year term. All elected positions will expire at the same time in 2024.
In the last election held in 2021, we were able to utilize mail-in ballots giving the members every opportunity to cast a vote and have a voice, especially the neighbor island members. The members voted in favor of using mail-in ballots at the General Membership Meeting held on September 6, 2022. I am happy to report that General President Mark McManus and the UA General Office have approved our request to continue with the mail-in ballots.
On a related note, we are working on revising the Constitution, By-Laws and Working Rules of Local 675, to ensure that it is in compliance with the UA rules and regulations.
At this time, congratulations go out to the winners of the Local 675 Scholarship Fund and also a United Association scholarship recipient. All the deserving winners are listed in this newsletter. The Local 675 scholarship amount was increased this year from $1,000 to $1,500. Next year’s scholarship application will be available online in March, so if you have dependents graduating please take advantage of this opportunity.
On July 9th we held the PAMCAH-UA Local 675 56th Apprenticeship Graduation ceremony and dinner at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom. On behalf of the Union, I welcomed and accepted the 94 graduating apprentices from the Fall of 2021 and Spring 2022. Congratulations to all the proud graduates!
This year we were able to start up the Membership Benefits Conference once again. It was recently held on Saturday, September 24th at the Mauna Lani Hotel on the Big Island. This is an informational event as far as learning about your Union and your health and welfare benefits. It is also a free, fun event for Big Island members and their ohana with prizes and giveaways. We try to rotate the MBC every year on the different islands.
Our annual holiday dinners for Oahu and neighbor islands are coming up this year after a long absence due to Covid. You should have received your invitations by now. Check the dates in the calendar section of this newsletter.
One last note, be ready for the Great Aloha Run in 2023!