Resolutions

WHEREAS, President Bush supports a defense of marriage amendment to the United States Constitution that would be the first amendment ever to categorically deny rights to a group of American citizenry; and

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution is the contract that governs the relationship between the States and the Federal Government; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the Constitution is to define the powers of the Federal Government, reserve the remainder to the States and enumerate certain protections for the people; and

WHEREAS, while the original Constitution contained certain inequities that reflected the signs of the times when the Constitution was written, every subsequent amendment has created more protections and more rights for the American people; and

WHEREAS, the President supports amending the Constitution to categorically deny rights to a group of the citizenry that is a direct contradiction to the 14th Amendment which provides for the equal protection of the laws for all citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, there is no more legitimacy to the proposed amendment than there was to the old laws banning interracial marriage, denying women and African Americans the right to vote, and supporting segregation. In each case, the argument "we must protect the social well being…we must protect society's moral fabric" and in each the old laws were nothing but hurtful and shameful and predicated on ignorance; and

WHEREAS, the amendment supported by President Bush is not different, it is hurtful, and shameful and, at best, predicated on ignorance; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution provides for the rights of all citizens to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness equally; now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party in order to Protect the Constitution opposes the amendment supported by the President which discriminates against a minority citizenry and is contrary to the Constitutional guarantees of equal rights protection for all citizens; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party in Hawai'i has from its beginning championed the cause of public education as a necessity for democracy to thrive and the State of Hawai'i to flourish socially and economically; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has held as one of its core values that education is a basic right of all the children of Hawai'i; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Teachers Association has set forth in a document, entitled Every Child Succeeds, a description of the educational benefits that should be guaranteed to every child who graduates from a Hawaii's public school; and

WHEREAS, to ensure that all public school children have a real opportunity to take full advantage of the education to which they are entitled, Every Child Succeeds lists six steps that must be taken:

1. Put more money for resources into the control of school and teachers
2. Streamline and simplify the existing governance system
3. End the teacher shortage
4. Create greater parent and community support or schools, education and learning
5. Ensure basic education standards for every school, teacher, and student
6. End classroom overcrowding and make every school a safe and healthy place to learn; and

WHEREAS student achievement needs to be recognized as the ultimate goal by all involved with educating a public school student; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the O'ahu County Democratic Party supports the concepts as listed above of the Hawaii State Teachers Association document; Every Child Succeeds: Six Steps to Better School; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of the Resolution be transmitted to the members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, the President of the University of Hawai'i, the Dean of the College of Education, the Chair of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of the Department of Education, the Business Roundtable, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

WHEREAS, there are approximately 1,300 public school teachers that leave the profession each year either through retirement, career change, or relocation; and

WHEREAS, there is a high demand for qualified public school teachers who meet the criteria as defined under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act commonly known as No Child Left Behind; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education annually recruits teachers from the mainland who are qualified but often are not able to adapt to the culture of our multi-ethnic public school students; and

WHEREAS, the students in the public schools are faced with a continued revolving cycle of substitutes to fill the temporary void; and

WHEREAS, annual incremental increases will help stop the teacher shortage and help provide every student with a qualified teacher throughout the year; and

WHEREAS, increments will help bring qualified Hawai'i born/raised teachers on the mainland home to teach without feeling as though they have taken a pay cut; and

WHEREAS, increments will help every qualified teacher to attain their career salary on our teachers' salary schedule; and

WHEREAS, teachers are frozen on a step unless incremental steps are negotiated; and

WHEREAS, increments will help Hawai'i be competitive with teachers' pay in other states and in other professions; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the O'ahu County Democratic Party supports the recruiting and retaining of qualified public school teachers by urging the members of the Hawaii State Legislator to enact legislation that will make annual increments statutory; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

Resolution 04-04. RESOLUTION RELATING TO THE VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEES' BENEFICIARY ASSOCIATION TRUST (VEBA)

WHEREAS, attracting and retaining public school teachers is a growing concern; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Teachers Association has been actively pursuing the reinstatement of a VEBA for its active and retired members; and

WHEREAS, there has been a perception this will add a financial burden to the State; and

WHEREAS, a 1999 State Auditor's Report caused the birth of the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) and capping the retiree benefits; and

WHEREAS, the EUTF consultant now claims if teacher retirees leave the EUTF it will cost the Employer more money; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Teachers Association had a VEBA that was operated under the Federal ERISA guidelines with an IRS 501 (c)(9) designation; and

WHEREAS the HSTA is suggesting a pilot for 3 years to show there is a cost saving to the Employer; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the O'ahu County Democratic Party supports the reinstatement of a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association Trust for the Hawaii State Teachers Association for a 3 year pilot; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of the Resolution be transmitted to the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, the Administrator of the EUTF, the Board of Trustees of the EUTF, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i believes and supports the concept that "government's equal application and enforcement of the laws are fundamental to a just society"; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i opened the doors that lead to economic, political, and social opportunity for all of our people and has remained dedicated to the principle that equal opportunity and individual freedom are fundamental to our democracy; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i's vision "is guided by traditional commitments to equality, opportunity, compassion, inclusiveness, and the celebration of our diversity"; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i believes and supports fairness. And "fairness is not a slogan; it requires constant attention to detail, dedication, and hard work. It requires aloha"; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i has a profound respect for the individual and recognizes that responsible, individual freedom, compatible with the rights of others, is fundamental to our democracy; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i supports families and believes that individuals are best nurtured within families of caring people; and

WHEREAS, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Caucus was unanimously recognized as an official caucus of the Party by the Central Committee at its January 12, 2002 meeting; and the Caucus has honorably served with dedication and commitment to the values of the Party over the past two and a half years; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party will continue to support and promote justice and equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity for such issues and concerns as:

Government Operations, Government Rule-Making and Practices, Government Funding and Appropriations; Welfare and Social Service Benefits; Hate Crimes; Relationship Rights and Responsibilities; Parenting, Adoption and Definitions of Family; Employment; Housing; Public accommodations; Health; Education; Tourism; Economic development; and Military Service; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

Resolution 04-06. RESOLUTION URGING THE COMPLETION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I - WEST O'AHU

WHEREAS, the State of Hawai'i has designated Kapolei as the new city and growth areas for new opportunities in business and employment on O'ahu; and

WHEREAS, the Master Plan for the State projects University of Hawa'i - West O'ahu as part of the educational program for new growth; and

WHEREAS, the Master Plan for the University of Hawai'i projects the building of University of Hawai'i -West O'ahu by 2007; and

WHEREAS, the business development in the new city would be greatly enhanced by and educational facility to support education and training; and

WHEREAS, West O'ahu has the population to support an institution of higher education; and

WHEREAS, the completion of University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu will affect the daily traffic flow from West O'ahu to Honolulu; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party supports the completion of University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu campus as planned by advocating for an appropriate budget to build and staff University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu in the Kapolei area; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party advocates and supports the development of private/public partnerships to provide more educational and employment opportunities for the communities in Central and West O'ahu; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, the President and Board of Regents of the University of Hawai'i, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

Resolution 04-07. RESOLUTION SUPPORTING WORKERS IN HAWAI'I'S TRAVEL AND VISITOR INDUSTRY

WHEREAS, the travel and visitor industry is the State's largest and most important industry which directly generates approximately one quarter of the State's gross product and approximately one third of the State's jobs and indirectly generates many more jobs; and

WHEREAS, the most significant economic benefits of the Hawai'i travel and visitor industry are wages and benefits paid to workers; and

WHEREAS, the largest source of tax revenue from the travel and tourism industry is generated by workers' income tax payments; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the O'ahu County Democratic Party strongly supports efforts to improve working conditions, wages and benefits of all workers in the State's travel and visitor industry and urges our Federal, State and County elected officials to consider the impact on workers of any decisions taken with regards to Hawaii's travel and visitor industry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, the County Visitor Bureaus, the four County Councils, the four Mayors, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention for their consideration and support.

Resolution 04-08. RESOLUTION SUPPORTING EXPANDED HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR EMPLOYEES

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i has a long, proud tradition of supporting broadened access to health coverage and insurance, striving to achieve universal coverage within the American model utilizing private industry partnered with the government; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i is committed to supporting steps that encourage a healthy employer/employee relationship; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i has as one goal the retention of valued employees and their experience in Hawai'i, which can be improved through better employment benefits; and

WHEREAS, Hawai'i enjoys the unique advantage of insurance premiums for health coverage that are lower than other states even though the cost of services is usually higher, due to the broad base of insureds and the relatively lower proportion of unpaid services that must be covered through increased insurance premiums; and

WHEREAS, current Hawai'i State law does not extend any mandate for employer-provided coverage, even partly paid by the employee, when the employee works less than 20 hours per week; and

WHEREAS, due to variations in the economy, many employers have reduced the working hours of employees to less than 20 hours per week; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i recognizes the need to consider the possible impacts on employers when the employment relationship is used as a vehicle to accomplish social benefits; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party of Hawai'i supports the expansion of mandated pre-paid health coverages to part time employees through an approach that may include employer-paid premiums set as a proportion of a part time employee's monthly hours compared to that paid for an employee who qualifies under the current mandate; or alternatively to allow all part time employees to enroll in the employer's plan, even if the part time employee pays all of the premium; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

Resolution 04-09. RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO SO-CALLED "RIGHT TO WORK" AND "PAYCHECK PROTECTION" LAWS

WHEREAS, strong and free labor unions are necessary to preserve and defend the legitimate rights of working people to participate with dignity in the political and economic life of their communities and states; and

WHEREAS, the success of organized labor raises the standard of living generally, expanding and fostering the growth of the State's middle class; and

WHEREAS, so-called "Right-to-work" and "Paycheck Protection" laws have over the years been proposed to allow workers to gain the benefits of collective bargaining without joining the union or paying union dues or service fees; and

WHEREAS, famed business advisor Peter Drucker has said, "Union Security is also in the social interest. Without it, no union can be expected to accept the responsibility for labor relations and for contract observance which our society must demand of a successful union movement"; and

WHEREAS, that great Democratic President, Harry S Truman has likewise commented, "You will find some people saying that they are for the so-called 'Right-to-Work' law, but they also believe in unions. This is absurd -it's like saying you are for motherhood but against children" ; and

WHEREAS, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. most eloquently warned us all that, "in our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as 'right-to-work'. It provides no 'rights' and no 'work.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining, we demand this fraud be stopped"; and

WHEREAS, the O'ahu County Democratic Party reaffirms its commitment to collective bargaining; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party opposes the introduction, consideration or enactment of any so-called "Right-to-Work" or "Pay Check Protection" bills which would seek to limit, restrict, or control a duly constituted and democratically run labor organization from collecting and using dues or representation fees for such lawful purposes as our national labor laws allow; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

Resolution 04-10. RESOLUTION REAFFIRMING PREVAILING WAGE LAWS

WHEREAS, Federal Prevailing Wage laws and State's Prevailing Wage Laws have been in effect for over sixty years and have been effective in protecting a decent standard of living for workers in local areas where the laws have been implemented; and

WHEREAS, prevailing Wage Laws were enacted to prevent the erosion of living wages by out-of-state employers who ship from one state to another low wage, under-trained, unskilled workers, to work on a locality's government construction projects to the detriment of construction quality and of that locality's workers' employment opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Hawai'i construction workers' living wages have made the construction industry a cornerstone of Hawai'i's economy by elevating the construction trade class of workers into the stable economic middle class; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party reaffirms its commitment to the guiding principles first articulated by the Democratic Party in 1955 that bids for construction of public works should be based on the relative skill and efficiency of the contractors concerned and not on a difference in wages paid, and that government money, coming from the taxes of all of us, should not be used to subsidize contractors who are depressing the wages of some of us; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party reaffirms and encourages the strengthening of the Federal and Hawai'i prevailing wage laws as a means of ensuring public construction of high quality and reasonable cost, while furthering the economic well being of workers in Hawai'i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

WHEREAS, the Hawai'i State Democratic Platform has traditionally affirmed the Dignity of Labor and expressed the Democratic Party's commitment to the achievement of a living wage for all Hawai'i's workers; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai'i State Democratic Platform has further traditionally expressed the belief that our government, even while seeking operational efficiency, must never exploit its labor force, erode prevailing wages, or compromise the principle that government money, derived from the taxes of all of us, shall not be used to depress the wages or standard of living of any of us; and

WHEREAS, Over 50 Living Wage ordinances have been passed in the United States since 1991, improving living standards for low-wage workers without overburdening public funds or harming the local economies; and

WHEREAS, paying no more than the current state and federal minimum wages leaves most workers in Hawai'i far under the poverty level for a family of four; and

WHEREAS, privatization of government services without the protections of a living wage statute similar to the federal Service Contracts Act favors contractors whose low bids are based on payment of minimum wages and benefits; and

WHEREAS, people who are paid enough to support their families, not only are less dependent on government aid, but also pay more taxes and buy more goods and services, stimulating local economic growth; and

WHEREAS, in 1933 that greatest of all Democrats, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, boldly expressed his administration's policy that "No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level. I mean the wages of a decent living."; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the O'ahu County Democratic Party reaffirms its commitment to passage of a statewide living wage law and service contact act that will let Government in Hawai'i show by example that payment of living wages and benefits is the best way to uplift our economy and the standard of living for all Hawai'i's working families; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.

WHEREAS, civilian defense employees have worked to support and deploy our armed forces, and the rights and personnel policies under which they work have never been cited as an impediment to national security; and

WHEREAS, current laws already give the United States Department of Defense (DOD) the flexibility it needs to balance employment policies and environmental protection with national security and military readiness; and

WHEREAS, the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill included the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) which will change the pay system and take away civil service protections from some 16,000 civilian Department of Defense (DOD) employees in Hawai'i; and

WHEREAS, NSPS allows the Secretary of Defense to: (1) eliminate employees' collective bargaining and statutory appeal rights; (2) refuse to bargain at the local level even where union certification is at the local level only; (3) issue regulations that supercede negotiated agreements, rendering the collective bargaining process meaningless; (4) change the pay system to one open to favoritism; and (5) eliminate employee protections such as veterans' preference and seniority in layoffs; and

WHEREAS, Congress stated that DOD could not waive Chapter 71 of the US Code, which establishes federal employees' collective bargaining and appeal rights, yet the DOD's plan states that DOD "will not employ any provisions of U.S.C. Chapter 71"; and

WHEREAS, nothing in the NSPS deals with national security, despite national security concerns being Congress' sole rationale for giving the Secretary of Defense authority to change DOD's pay and personnel system; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the O'ahu County Democratic Party that it opposes the DOD's attempts to weaken USDOD employees' existing collective bargaining and statutory appeal rights; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the O'ahu County Democratic Party urges Hawai'i's Congressional delegation to work to rescind the broad grant of authority to the Secretary of Defense and, instead, require that DOD's new rules continue to adhere to Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the US Code; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i urges all state and county officials to communicate its support of DOD employees' collective bargaining rights to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, and the Hawai'i Congressional delegation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Hawai'i members of Congress, Democratic members of the Hawai'i State Legislature, and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention.