Labor picnic provides fellowship, fun

Organizers of Sunday’s annual Labor Unity Picnic at the Waikiki Shell drew even more union supporters than last year, when they served 5,209 meals.

Before the doors to the Shell opened on Sunday, people were driving up with armfuls of canned goods to donate to needy families.

Children ran around the grounds of the Waikiki Shell as event chairman Gino Soquena said, "Union families stick together. They know it’s important to help one another."

Even though times remain hard for many unions, organizers estimated the crowd at 7,500 by early evening. The picnic was scheduled to end at 10 p.m.

Especially with the Hawaii and U.S. economies continuing to sputter, Sunday’s picnic helps union members remember the struggles — and successes — of organized labor, said Reggie Castanares, president of the Building Trades Council.

"Events like this remind our members that we’re here, we’re united and our members are not forgotten," Castanares said.

But with cutbacks, it can be difficult for younger members at risk for layoffs to see the benefits of belonging to a union, said Castanares, 46, whose wife and daughter also belong to unions.

So Castanares walks younger members through the medical benefits and pay increases guaranteed in their contracts, with an eye to the longer-term benefits they’ll earn later in their careers.

"We believe in transparency," Castanares said. "That’s a message that works for us."

The Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association did not participate last year but was one of 16 unions that set up booths on Sunday "to ensure that we remain the strongest organized state in the country," said Eddie Akau Jr., 33, a labor relations specialist for the nurses union.

He brought his wife and five children — ages 1 to 11 — to help send the message that organized labor looks out for union members and their families, no matter how old or young they are, Akau said.

"With unions," Akau said, "it’s important to remember that you have a voice. And your voice counts."