McClung is unswayed

Every Sunday, “Back in the Day” looks at an article that ran on this date in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The items are verbatim, so don’t blame us today for yesteryear’s bad grammar.

The hostility of 2,500 union machinists to Congressional candidate David C. McClung’s pro sky-bus stand hasn’t swayed the 14th District Democrat one bit.

Reached at his home yesterday, State Representative McClung said he will continue to push for the inter-Island low-fare proposal despite the announcement June 17 by the International Association of Machinists that it will fight McClung’s bid for the U.S. House unless he "backtracks."

McClung said he will make a "statement" tomorrow night and that he also will meet "sometime this week" with Carl J. Guntert, senior business agent of the machinists union, to discuss their differences on the matter. … Guntert has said the sky-bus service would undermine the operations of the two existing intra-State carriers — Hawaii Airlines and Aloha Air Lines — by throwing 500 employees of both airlines out of work.

McClung, however, sharply disagrees. As he put it yesterday:

"I intend to keep fighting to accomplish two things: to see that the State controls its own inter-Island air travel, and to achieve low-cost air transportation for our people."

The Machinists’ furor was first aroused when McClung appeared on television June 7 and nailed the Civil Aeronautics Board to the wall for its failure to approve the sky-bus.

The low, inter-Island fare Island Airlines, now inactive and embroiled in fare and schedule hearings before the Public Utilities Commission, is not necessarily McClung’s champion, however.

"It doesn’t matter to me how low-cost Inter-Island travel is accomplished, via the existing airlines or some other. What does matter is that the C.A.B. should keep its nose out of the state’s business, and that we need low-fare transportation for our people."…

McClung said he can understand the concern by the machinists for their jobs, but he doesn’t think job loss is an issue.

"There’s a basic principle at work here," McClung continued. "When you increase travel, you increase job opportunities.

"The more people that can afford to travel the more jobs there will be — there will be no reduction in employment."

McClung added that he had heard no hint of similar disgruntlement from other Hawaii A.F.L.-C.I.O. unions.